Welcome to the September issue of Biz Talk! This publication is a free, subscription-based resource from Five Sparrows, LLC, which specializes in new web site development, web site re-designs, and complete online marketing services for small businesses.

We welcome your questions, comments, or inquiries at editor@fivesparrows.com. Enjoy!

Toxic Web Links – Keep Them Off Your Site!

Most small businesses know that a good link building strategy is essential to a web site’s success in the search engines. If you want your site to show up on the first few pages of search results, you really need other credible web sites to “vote” for you by linking to your web site. Up until recently, it was common for web sites to exchange reciprocal links in order to help each other build inbound links to their web sites. But while this used to be a useful strategy, the rules have recently changed and now you must learn how to play the new link-building game!

Be Picky About Reciprocal Links
Reciprocal links can sometimes be helpful, but only in very specific instances. In order to be useful, the incoming link (from the other web site) should be on a page that has a higher page rank than the page on your web site containing the link that goes back to them. Plus, the text of the link on the other web site should match one or more of the keywords on your site. If you can get reciprocal links that meet these criteria, then they may be helpful to you in the search engines. Also remember to steer clear of inbound links from link farms, free-for-all sites, and paid links since these are almost always penalized by the search engines.

It’s Not a Democracy
The idea of a reciprocal link counting as a “vote” for your web site may be appealing, but there’s also a downside. Each link on your site that goes out to another web site essentially deducts a vote from your site as well. Reciprocal links can be a no-gain situation for you, and could end up hurting your site overall in the eyes of the search engines.

Voting Against Yourself
One of the new link-building rules that may surprise you is that one-way outbound links on your site may be a bad idea from a search engine’s point of view. For instance, if you have a “Helpful Links” or “Resources” page on your site that contains one-way outbound links to other sites, you are probably losing lots of ground in the search engines. To avoid these “negative votes” for your site, be sure your outbound links are coded with the NOFOLLOW attribute so the search engines know these outbound links should not be deducted from your web site’s score.

Link Content is Key
In order for your links to really be powerful, there must be a relationship between what you say about your web site, and what other people on the web say about your web site. How does a search engine determine this? It’s all in the link text. The text of each inbound link to your site must match the keywords used on your web site, or else the search engines may simply ignore that inbound link.

For example, if you want to rank for the keyword “travel” but the inbound links to your site contain just the name of your company, then there’s no way the search engines will know that these inbound links have anything to do with travel.

Send Your Site to De-Tox
Ranking well in the search engines can be a moving target, so it’s important to do everything you can to protect your site. Always try to build inbound links that contain your relevant keywords in the link text, and get rid of the reciprocal links on your site that are not working for you. Also be careful when coding your one-way outbound links so that you aren’t unintentionally “deducting votes” from your own web site. These simple steps can help you build effective inbound links, while avoiding those that may have recently become bad news for your web site’s search engine rankings.

Tips for Writing Ads That Sell

It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway – small businesses don’t have the luxury of spending money on ineffective advertising. Everything that you do to promote your business must be well-thought-out and considered carefully to make sure the marketing budget is being spent wisely. So before you write your next ad campaign, here are some tips for creating ads that are attention-grabbing, effective, and deliver the right message.

1. Consider Your Audience. Who are you trying to reach with your ad? Often, you cannot reach every single type of customer with the same ad, so you need to segment your market a bit first. Decide which group of people you want to target, then write directly for those people.
   
   
2. Find Something Unique. Make sure that you include something in your message that is unique – whether it is a product benefit, a special offer, or the subject matter of the ad, include something unique to help people remember the ad.
   
   
3. Be Clear and Concise. Decide on one single point to your ad, and don’t try to include every product, service, or benefit that your company offers. Stick to the point, and deliver your message in the simplest terms possible.
   
   
4. Motivate Your Readers. Use a strong call to action in your ad, and include a sense of urgency if possible. Highlight the benefits of taking action now, and make sure it’s easy for customers to follow through and contact you.
   
   
5. Use a Great Headline. Nothing grabs a reader’s attention like a great headline, so don’t be boring and predictable. Instead, write a short, interesting headline that asks a question, provides “tips” or “secrets”, or cleverly conveys the essence of your ad. It takes a little practice, but a good headline is one of the most important things you can do to write a successful ad!

Your web site can be a powerful marketing tool for your business, and sometimes it’s the simple, inexpensive improvements that make the biggest difference in your web site’s performance. Below are some low-cost and no-cost strategies that can help increase traffic to your web site, improve your conversion rates, and boost your bottom line. Don’t you just love it when you can improve your web site AND stay within your budget?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Aretha is right, of course. Your customers want to know that they can trust you to not mis-use their personal information or share it with third parties, which is why it is imperative to add a “We Value Your Privacy” statement on your web site. Use this simple, four-word sentence on all of your web forms and on your Contact page to reassure visitors that you won’t share, sell, or disclose their personal information or email address to anyone else. Make sure you link this sentence to your actual privacy policy and clearly state how you protect your customers’ privacy and keep their personal information secure.

It’s All About the Customer
Take a look at the content of your web site’s home page. Does it focus on how your company helps customers solve their problems? Or does it say “Our company this, our company that….” instead? Yes, customers want to know something about your company, but what they really want to know is how your company is going to improve their lives! Considering that you have about 7 seconds to convince a web visitor that your site is worth their visit, make sure that your home page focuses on them instead of you.

You Gotta Ask
If you want a web site visitor to take some sort of action on your web site (make a purchase, contact you, sign up for your newsletter, etc.), then you have to ask them to do it! Few things are more frustrating to visitors than not knowing what to do next. Consider using links that give instructions like “Learn More”, “Sign Up Today”, or “Make a Purchase”. Also be sure to tell your visitors how it benefits them to take action now, such as “you can start saving money today” or “sale ends September 30”.

Optimize Your Web Site
Of course, the single most important thing you can do to improve your web site is to optimize it for the search engines. You may have the best web site ever developed, but if customers cannot find it on the web, then is it really doing you much good? Make sure you research and carefully select the right keywords for your market, then optimize each web page for the right keyword density and usage. Also be sure to test and measure your site’s search engine positions at least monthly so you can make adjustments if necessary. Remember, you are competing with millions of other web sites out there, so optimizing your web site is not really a luxury anymore, it is a necessity.

Make a Big Announcement
One of the best ways to bring traffic to your web site is to send out a press release that links back to your site. Make sure your press release follows accepted journalistic conventions, then submit it using a wire service and/or the web-based press release outlets. If your press release gets picked up, it could mean multiple inbound links to your site, an increase in web site traffic, an article or mention in an industry publication, or even a call from a reporter for an interview! Don’t forget to also submit to the major Blog outlets too, since these provide great PR and inbound links as well.

It’s the Little Things…
By using any or all of these strategies, you can improve your web site’s performance without spending a lot of marketing dollars. It’s often the tweaking and improving that you do over time that brings the best results, so don’t overlook simple improvements like the ones mentioned above. If you are persistent, your site can become a powerful marketing tool that generates traffic, brings in new leads, and increases sales for your business.

Now Available! Free E-Book "Simple Strategies for Web Site Success"

We are pleased to announce that Five Sparrows has a new e-book titled "Simple Strategies for Web Site Success" now available as a free download from the Five Sparrows web site. This new e-book is packed full of web site advice and tips for building a great web site, promoting your web site for the best possible results, and even gives you information on some of the newer web technologies and what you should know about them. Download your copy today and find out how simple it can be to make your web site successful! You can download your free copy here (pdf file, 150K)

Biz Talk is a Free Publication of Five Sparrows, LLC

Five Sparrows offers a complete line of web site and marketing services designed especially for small businesses, including web site development and re-design, online shopping, search engine optimization, e-newsletters, email marketing, search engine reporting & monitoring, and more.

Because Five Sparrows specializes in working with small businesses, we understand their specific needs and challenges.  We offer a full range of products and services at a fraction of the cost of what traditional marketing and web site firms charge, all designed to help small businesses get a big-company presence on a small company budget.

Contact us today at editor@fivesparrows.com, or call us at 810.923.1874 to see how we can help your business!

Five Sparrows values your privacy and will never share, sell, or rent your information to anyone, and you may unsubscribe from this publication at any time.

Copyright 2007 Five Sparrows, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
3889 Hartland Hills, Hartland, MI 48353
www.fivesparrows.com