January 2006 Issue:

• SEO Made Easy? I Don't Think So!
• A Lasting Impression: Make it a Good One
• New Year's Resolutions? Bah Humbug!

Archived Issues

SEO Made Easy? I Don’t Think So! (Part 1 of 2)

In the “good ‘ol days”, (like maybe the late 1990s) SEO used to be a fairly simple exercise that would ensure your web site would not only be listed in the major search engines, but also be listed on the first three pages, where it seems to matter the most. But as with most technologies, things change quickly, and SEO is no exception.

It used to be that if you added Meta tags such as description, title, and keywords, you were all set with your SEO strategy. Today, it takes so much more for the search engines to notice you, and it takes several strategies all used together to give your site a fighting chance. Being listed on the first three pages of search results is also the goal of the millions of other web pages out there, and competition can be stiff.

Of course, the best way to get your site ready for the search engines is to hire a professional. But the reality is that small businesses don’t always have the budget for this. So if you really want to improve your rankings in the search engines, learn as much as you can about the following techniques and implement the ones that make sense for your business. Then, track your results over several weeks to see if your efforts are working.

Techniques to Learn

1. Search Engine Optimization

True optimization of a web site combines creative use of keywords, creative writing, and measuring effectiveness through density statistics and lots of good, quality content. Research your keywords (there are several free or low-cost tools on the web that you can use) before plopping them into your page. Often, the keywords you think make the most sense for your site yield the worst results.

2. Link Popularity

Link popularity is important to search engines, and the theory goes something like this: the more web sites that link to your web site, the more popular your site must be. But….you can’t have just any site out there linking to yours. The sites that link to yours must relate to your business in some way. They should be similar in theme or subject matter, and be well-established, authoritative sites with high rankings of their own. Not easy to do, but well worth it if you take the time to establish this type of linking. The biggest mistake you can make with link popularity is to add your site to “link farms” or free-for-all listing sites. Many of these sites are already banned from the search engines, and your site could be penalized for being listed on these sites.

3. Articles

You know your business better than anyone, so why not share your insight and expertise? Writing articles is a great way to get links to your site, and also establish your company as an “expert” in your field! Write an article about an interesting area of your business, a current event relevant to your business, or anything that would interest your target audience. Then, submit your articles to sites like www.content-articles.com and www.ezinearticles.com. One of the most important things to remember when submitting articles is to ALWAYS add your business information in the “resource box,” the few lines at the end of the article that identifies the author, including a text link back to your web site.

To Be Continued…
In next month’s issue, we will be discussing some of the “newer” techniques used for boosting search engine rankings, including RSS (Really Simple Syndication), Blogs, and Diversification. Start with the first three techniques we listed in this issue, and by next month you will be ready to tackle the second half of what it takes to improve your search engine rankings!

A Lasting Impression: Make it a Good One

Let’s face it, the web is made up of millions and millions of web sites all trying to get your attention - or better yet, to get you to remember them and revisit their site. So with the crowded nature of the web, how can you make your visitors remember your site after they leave?

According to traditional research, we know that people tend to remember the first and last things that they see in a sequence, and don’t remember much about what was in the middle. Translate that into building your web site, and it means that your home page should be fun, interesting, attractive, or in some way memorable. (Visitors can jump off your site at any point, so there’s no way to tell what the “last” impression will be.)

People also tend to process information in small “segments,” typically three or four segments at a time. For example, a catchy slogan or a great web address will be memorable long after the visitor has left your site. The web address www.ford.com or www.makeup.com kind of sums it all up, right?

Slogans and jingles are also good ways to include memorable segments on your web site. How many of you know what product is “good to the last drop”? Do you know which company encourages us to “just do it”?
Information seems to stay with us when the items are repeated, using clever ways to say the same thing by using your logo, graphics, headlines, etc. Information re-circulates through our short-term memory when we see it over and over. The more your web visitors see the information, the more they will remember it. Just be sure to vary how you present the information so the message is consistent but not annoying.

So when thinking about what type of an impression your web site makes on your visitors, be sure to make it memorable in some way. Do the thinking ahead of time for your visitors, so all they notice is a great, memorable web site.

New Year’s Resolutions? Bah Humbug!

When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions, I’m kind of a scrooge. I’m not a big fan of resolving each year to solve all of my bothersome issues or problems, whether they are personal or work-related. In many cases, we set ourselves up for failure by making blanket statements about how this year we will change, and how things will be different.

Instead, it might be better to start the New Year by planning achievable, baby-step goals (not resolutions, of course), especially when it comes to business planning for the New Year. For instance, take your three most pressing business issues or goals that need attention first. Then, for each issue, break the tasks into manageable chunks and concentrate on these one at a time.

Step by step, you will find yourself achieving your goals and being successful a little bit at a time. If you look at your projects as a whole, it can be overwhelming or even paralyzing. If you break them down into manageable baby steps, you increase your chances of actually completing these projects using manageable, baby-step goals!

Using the power of incremental progress can help you improve your performance, reach your goals, and even have an impact on your overall business results. The more successful you become at mastering baby-step goals, the more productive you will become in all areas of your business.

So if you’re not a fan of New Year’s resolutions, try using the baby-step goal approach and watch your progress take off in the New Year.

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