Writing for Your Audience
November 1, 2011 by Amy Gyoba
So you know what you want to talk about, but how will you write it? One of the first things they teach you in technical writing is know your audience, and this applies to blogging or any other type of writing.
Before you compose your content, think about who will be reading it and what you want them to do with the information. Use this analysis to guide the tone, language, and strategy of your writing.
When SEO Firms Make Guarantees: What You Should Know
October 19, 2011 by Martin Wong
When you run a digital marketing agency, the #1 query you get is: if I contract with you for search engine optimization, can you guarantee a first place ranking on Google?
What this tells us is that there are SEO providers out there who make such promises. As a result, there are clients who may achieve a top ranking – but not much else to show for their investment in SEO. The words “guaranteed rankings and traffic” have tainted the reputation of the industry. One of the most common tactics is for the SEO provider to select your keywords for you. They will select non-competitive keywords which your potential customers are unlikely to use. This makes it easy for them to deliver a high search ranking based on those keywords, but this does not deliver quality traffic.
Companies who spend a lot of money raising their ranking from #2 to #1 may lose sight of conversion or dismiss pay-per-click campaigns that could help their bottom line. It’s possible to reach #1 and achieve little or no impact. It depends.
Search Engines Warn Against Guarantees
Google provides a very instructive set of guidelines on search marketing that every SEO client should read. They make one very clear statement: No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Although this section specifically warns about providers who claim to have special relationships with Google (such as access to knowledge of the ‘secret sauce’ behind Google’s search algorithms), the warning comes straight from the company who would know better than anyone that SEO guarantees are not feasible. For one thing, this would destroy the integrity of Google’s organic search model, which is the entire basis of their business success.
Rankings are Dynamic and Unstable
A reputable provider knows that search results for the same search term can vary from hour to hour, and from location to location. It depends on which search engine server is fulfilling your query at any point in time; whether you log in to your personalized Google account or some other account; or which city you’re in when you type the query. These factors change the order of results, so making guarantees based on uncontrollable circumstances does not make sense.
Rankings are the Wrong Metric for Business ROI
This is the most important thing to remember. The reason companies want high search rankings is to increase business. Rankings are a means to an end, not the end. Rankings alone do not increase traffic or convert traffic into business.
The most basic metric of SEO success is quality traffic. If an SEO campaign shows a marked increase in search engine traffic, that’s one part of the success. The other part is whether visitors stay on the site and spend time on product and services information, play with demos or watch videos. This means SEO has brought the right audience to the site.
Traffic is good, but converting traffic into visitors who take action is the ultimate success metric. Conversion could mean buying a product, or for non-eCommerce sites, it could mean signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a white paper. When visitors land on a company’s website, how easy is it to find information? Is the content clear and informative? Is the website easy to navigate? Does it provide calls to action in visible, logical places? Does the company know which phone calls or emails to the sales department come through search and which ones through traditional marketing?
SEO can drive traffic but not conversion once the visitor lands.
This is where Analytics come into play. An SEO provider will always install analytics to determine where the traffic is coming from, which were the most popular search terms and so on. Analytics can also monitor user behavior on a website: which pages were most popular, how long did visitors spend on each page, when they abandoned the site and on which page. This helps determine how a website could be improved for better conversion. A website optimized for conversion is also part of the business equation. A high search ranking definitely helps, but by itself will not convert business for you.
So What’s a Reasonable Promise?
A good digital marketing provider will focus on increasing a client’s business. This means taking a consultative approach that is broader than merely SEO. Typically this means an audit of the client’s existing online presence that includes search, website effectiveness, social media, and even offline mediums that drive visitors to the website. This will generate recommendations which may include content strategy, website optimization, or a social media strategy. This takes a lot more work than just promising to submit a client’s website to all the search engines.
A client may not have the budget to implement all the recommendations, but the provider will be able to advise which components are the most critical.
The other factor is time. There will always be components that only the client can implement. This includes tasks such as freshening content and images, developing marketing content specific to the business, regular blog posts, and setting up offline mechanisms for tracking (different phone numbers for web queries and print ad queries is a good example). Fresh content helps boost search engine rankings; this is why regular blog posts are important. Social media also requires real commitment from the client. But a client may not have the staff or time to do this, so again, a good provider will explain how the various components impact the success of the plan and help the client prioritize.
Given factors such as: competing SEO campaigns, changing search algorithms, client resources and/or ability to implement, the only guarantee a digital marketing agency can give a client is: to provide the best advice possible for using the Internet to increase traffic and improve business.
6 Ways to Generate Leads Online
August 4, 2009 by Smartt Team
1. Blogs
A blog is like an online opinion column where the author writes about a topic he or she has specialized knowledge about. It’s generally written by one person and it’s understood that a blog is that person’s own point-of-view. Blogs are one of the best ways to reach your customers because they contain lots of information. People like reading them because they take an informal tone while at the same time provide useful information and advice. What’s even better, blogs tend to rank well on the search engines which improves your SEO and boosts your rankings. Blogs become an entrance point to your website and are a great gateway for introducing visitors to your company.
2. Videos
People love watching videos. If you need proof, just take a look at YouTube. Millions of viewers watch millions of videos every day. Videos are a great way for people to learn and a great way for you to attract potential customers to your site.
To use video for lead generation, the first thing you need to do is make a video. Make your video something instructional that provides useful information to your clients. The trick with these videos is to make it “useful, but incomplete.” That way, people feel like they’re learning something, but they still don’t have quite enough information to do it themselves. The next step in this process is to direct your customers to your website where they will find more informational articles or videos along with information about the product or service you offer.
3. Quizzes
Quizzes are a fun way to get customers interested in what you have to offer. To use this technique, create a quiz centered around your product or service. Make it interactive and relative to your customers. For example a weight loss company might create a quiz about the nutritional value of certain foods. After the quiz has been completed, provide advice and information related to the topics covered and make suggestions for how that person can improve.
4. Forums
Making use of forums in your industry is an excellent way to stay connected with your customer base, to scope out the competition and to generate leads. Find a popular forum within your industry and create an account. Right away, join in the discussion, making comments wherever you have something useful to say. Once in a while (but not too often because people will start to think you’re spamming and you’ll lose credibility) comment about one of your own products and services and link to your website. Make sure your comments are relevant to the discussion and not just there to give yourself some traffic.
5. Articles
Writing articles and creating article writing campaigns is a great way to connect with people from all over. Use a distribution site to send out your articles and they will get picked up by bloggers and article writers all over. Make sure to include a short bio about yourself at the end of the article and a link to your website. This way, when readers are finished with the article, they can visit your site for more information and to look at your products and services.
6. Social Marketing
Social marketing is all the buzz these days. If you want to get in on the action, choose two or three sites you want to get involved with and then make your presence known. Before making your decision, be sure to check out the demographics of each site so as to ensure that you are reaching your target audience. Once you’ve decided on your sites, create a page for yourself and fill it with content related to your business. Update it regularly with useful content related to your industry and relevant links. Don’t always direct people to your own website; be sure to include links to other sources as well. This way you’ll gain credibility and people won’t see you as abusing the system.
