10 Truths About Obtaining Better Google Rankings

Here's yet another article about gaining good Google rankings. Sound familiar?

With that, dear friends, I'm on vacation. I'll be back at it this weekend!

Link

What the heck is Social Media Optimization (SMO)?

I've been aware of the changes coming in search engine marketing for a while now. I've also been preaching the value of marketing to your market instead of the Search Engines. I've run it up the flagpole and well, it hasn't flown.

I'm guessing the reason is that your run-of-the-mill small business owner is unfamiliar with the whole social media thingy. The common web site owner only hears that MySpace is a breeding ground for perverts and predators. One guy I know thinks that blogs are only about negative rants. And, hey, it's new and unfamiliar (read frightening), therefore it must be killed.

Another reason, and it's a big one, is that it takes effort and resources far beyond that of handing your web designer a company brochure and telling them you want listed in the top ten SERPs on Google, Yahoo and MSN. It takes 1) Knowing your business inside, out and all around and KNOWING IT FROM YOUR CUSTOMER'S PERSPECTIVE; 2) More effort, and ongoing effort at that, from the business owner; 3) Marketing dollars that are wasted on mediums like print that are familiar and comfortable.

It's time to move beyond optimization of web sites for the search engines. It's time to get "out there" and get your profile set up on the social web sites and it's time to get a blog up and running and post to it consistently. It's time to start marketing to your market online. Let's not forget that it's people who buy from you, not the search engines.

Link

Cañon City Kayak Park

Join us at the Royal Gorge Bridge on August 11 at 8PM for a fundraiser for the Canon City Whitewater and Kayak Park. Print the poster and display it and pass it around.

This is a project that needs our support behind it. Cañon City is the only town from Buena Vista to Pueblo to NOT have a water park. It's about time, and something we can all enjoy in one form or another.

Your Website Should Engage Your Visitor

Here's an article that came across my desk today, and believe me, from a web developer's viewpoint, it tells it like it is:

10 Rules To Keep Your Website Visitors Engaged
By Deepak Dutta (c) 2007

Do you know that most visitors leave a website within 10
seconds of landing on the home page? And they may never return
to the same site. To keep your website visitors stay longer, you
need to engage them. Follow these 10 simple rules to build a set
of core loyal visitors who will return to your site frequently.

1. If you have a brick-and-mortar business and you want an
online presence, don't just hand over your printed brochure to
the web developer for your site's content.

2. Get good text, picture, and video content related to your
products or services and organize them into categories for your
website publication. How do you get content? You can ask your
kids to write content for you. Today's kids are information
savvy and know how to do research on right topics. They can help
take pictures and videos of your products and provide
narrations. If you cannot leverage your kids talents and you
don't have time to develop content, buy them from online
sources, like distributors of private label rights to articles
and stock photographs. You need a small content set to launch
your web site.

3. Ask your developer for some sample websites he has developed
in the past and review them. If you find clutter, music,
unprofessional graphics, etc. in those sites, run away from the
developer. Tell your web developer to use basic search engine
optimization techniques for your web site. Use a developer who
uses content management systems (CMS) to develop websites. You
or your kids and spouse will be able to maintain and add
content regularly to a CMS without much effort.

4. You must have an About US page in your website that explains
the expertise of your company and your unique selling
proposition. Also, you should provide a phone number and an
e-mail address for contact.

5. Publish a weekly tips section in your website. If you are in
a business for a long time, you have a wealth of knowledge about
your business, market, and technologies related to your
business. Make it a habit of jotting down one tip every day. You
will have plenty of tips for your weekly publication.

6. Don't use guest books, testimonials etc. These are so Web
1.0 concepts. Use a forum. Let your customers interact among
themselves. Develop a value network. You get into the insights
of your customers' minds by reading their posts and your
visitors know your products and services by talking to each
other. As a result, you will be able to provide improved
products and services and ask for a premium price.

7. Promptly answer all your visitors' e-mail. This is one thing
you should never delay. Use your visitors comments, e-mail, and
other form of communications to generate ideas for new articles
and tips.

8. Tell your web developer to include an RSS feed on your site
and publish filtered news related to the market you serve and
emerging technologies in that market. Don't use a weather
report. Nobody comes to your site to check the weather.

9. Publish a frequently asked questions page related to your
products and services. It helps save your visitors' time and
effort when they are looking for information on a particular
topic related to your website.

10. Did you know that the average person must be exposed to an
offer around seven times before they will make a purchase? Make
your website an advertising platform for your most popular
items. Advertise them throughout your site but don't use any
'in-your face advertising' techniques. You can use side bars for
this type of advertising with interesting anecdotes, pictures,
etc. Be creative and use your imagination.

Your website is your publishing medium. It is not your online
catalog. You want repeat visitors who spend their time at your
site for valuable information. The possibility of visitors
turning into a paying customers improves when they stick around
your site longer.
===============================================
Dr. Deepak Dutta is the creator of http://www.semanticbay.com -
an interactive social network website based on user shared text
and picture contents on any topics. His other website
http://www.classifiedsforfree.com - is one of the oldest online
classifieds sites.

Your Website Should Engage Your Visitor

Here's an article that came across my desk today, and believe me, from a web developer's viewpoint, it tells it like it is:

10 Rules To Keep Your Website Visitors Engaged
By Deepak Dutta (c) 2007

Do you know that most visitors leave a website within 10
seconds of landing on the home page? And they may never return
to the same site. To keep your website visitors stay longer, you
need to engage them. Follow these 10 simple rules to build a set
of core loyal visitors who will return to your site frequently.

1. If you have a brick-and-mortar business and you want an
online presence, don't just hand over your printed brochure to
the web developer for your site's content.

2. Get good text, picture, and video content related to your
products or services and organize them into categories for your
website publication. How do you get content? You can ask your
kids to write content for you. Today's kids are information
savvy and know how to do research on right topics. They can help
take pictures and videos of your products and provide
narrations. If you cannot leverage your kids talents and you
don't have time to develop content, buy them from online
sources, like distributors of private label rights to articles
and stock photographs. You need a small content set to launch
your web site.

3. Ask your developer for some sample websites he has developed
in the past and review them. If you find clutter, music,
unprofessional graphics, etc. in those sites, run away from the
developer. Tell your web developer to use basic search engine
optimization techniques for your web site. Use a developer who
uses content management systems (CMS) to develop websites. You
or your kids and spouse will be able to maintain and add
content regularly to a CMS without much effort.

4. You must have an About US page in your website that explains
the expertise of your company and your unique selling
proposition. Also, you should provide a phone number and an
e-mail address for contact.

5. Publish a weekly tips section in your website. If you are in
a business for a long time, you have a wealth of knowledge about
your business, market, and technologies related to your
business. Make it a habit of jotting down one tip every day. You
will have plenty of tips for your weekly publication.

6. Don't use guest books, testimonials etc. These are so Web
1.0 concepts. Use a forum. Let your customers interact among
themselves. Develop a value network. You get into the insights
of your customers' minds by reading their posts and your
visitors know your products and services by talking to each
other. As a result, you will be able to provide improved
products and services and ask for a premium price.

7. Promptly answer all your visitors' e-mail. This is one thing
you should never delay. Use your visitors comments, e-mail, and
other form of communications to generate ideas for new articles
and tips.

8. Tell your web developer to include an RSS feed on your site
and publish filtered news related to the market you serve and
emerging technologies in that market. Don't use a weather
report. Nobody comes to your site to check the weather.

9. Publish a frequently asked questions page related to your
products and services. It helps save your visitors' time and
effort when they are looking for information on a particular
topic related to your website.

10. Did you know that the average person must be exposed to an
offer around seven times before they will make a purchase? Make
your website an advertising platform for your most popular
items. Advertise them throughout your site but don't use any
'in-your face advertising' techniques. You can use side bars for
this type of advertising with interesting anecdotes, pictures,
etc. Be creative and use your imagination.

Your website is your publishing medium. It is not your online
catalog. You want repeat visitors who spend their time at your
site for valuable information. The possibility of visitors
turning into a paying customers improves when they stick around
your site longer.
===============================================
Dr. Deepak Dutta is the creator of http://www.semanticbay.com -
an interactive social network website based on user shared text
and picture contents on any topics. His other website
http://www.classifiedsforfree.com - is one of the oldest online
classifieds sites.