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Free
Report: Internet Marketing And PR Strategies - The Invisible Business
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Free Report: Internet
Marketing And PR Strategies
The Invisible Business
Way
back in the day, I had a client who owned a transmission shop in a city
of 100,000 people. His transmission shop was named 'AAA Transmission'.
He chose this name because this would be the first listing in the
yellow pages when someone searched for 'transmission' (yellow page
optimization was and is
much simpler than search engine optimization). This placement in the
yellow pages was responsible for bringing in nearly 90% of his new
business.
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One year, due to an
oversight, the phone book company failed to place his ad in the yellow
pages section. He lost 90% of his call-in business practically
overnight. The phone stopped ringing. This simple oversight nearly
destroyed his business. As a result, he was then forced to run large
ads in the local newspaper week after week after week - a very
expensive proposition.
As a business owner, you would likely find this story to be sad indeed.
However, believe it or not, this is
most likely your story if you have not taken the time to develop a
laser sharp Internet search engine
strategy for your business. The Internet has replaced the old phone
book for a very high percentage of the
population. In your case, however, you may be invisible to the entire
world, not just a city of 100,000.
Imagine for a moment a directory containing nearly half a billion
entries (this is close to the truth, assuming we count both websites
and blogs). Your goal is to have your business appear on the first page
of that directory under an appropriate heading such as
‘printer’ or ‘accountant’. How
would you do that? That is what search engine optimization is all
about.
Most businesses find this to be a very daunting, if not completely
overwhelming task. Very few people will every type your business name
directly into the search engine query box as most of the world
population does not yet know you even exist. Instead, they will use a
broader term, describing what they are looking for.
They will use words like ‘printer’ or
‘accountant’ or 'transmission'. If your competition
appears and you do
not, this is the same as having no listing in the yellow pages. If
nearly everyone is using that search engine to make decisions about
where to place their business, you are in trouble indeed.
Take just a moment and do this. Type in that very broad term that
relates to your business. Look at the total number of sites returned.
That is the number of sites that make up your competition in this 500
million entry directory known as the search engine.
The search engine will always hold the final say regarding where you
are placed in this directory. Again, for some, getting to that first or
perhaps second or third page can be likened to finding the Holy Grail
buried in your back yard. This is not likely to happen. And, for most,
this seems to be a nearly impossible task.
But it is not difficult if you have done your homework. All that is
required is a strategy that incorporates three key components
1. You must know how your potential client thinks and which words your
client will use to find you – not the words you might use,
but rather the words THEY will use. This keyword analysis is a vital
first step in the process.
2. You must know and fully understand how search engines work. This
will require some hours of serious study and research.
3. You must design a strategy that incorporates both of the above and
simultaneously outshines the strategy of the millions of sites who are
your competitors.
You have two options. You can take the time to learn what you need to
know and to develop that strategy based on your particular situation or
you must hire someone you trust to do this for your business. Failure
to do either will certainly cause you to be nearly invisible to those
who matter – your potential clients.
Posted by Don McCauley
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