Welcome to the April 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!

Google's "Everflux" is Causing a Stir

Most small businesses know how important it is for their web sites to be found in the search engines, especially Google, since it is responsible for around 60% of all search traffic on the web. One of the reasons Google is so popular is because it provides really good results when searchers look for information, products, and services on the web. So when something changes with Google and how it ranks web sites, people definitely pay attention!

If you follow your own web site statistics, you may have noticed some changes lately in your Google positions. Evidently, the Google index (where the web data is stored) is being refreshed on a daily basis now instead of every few weeks, which is causing web site rankings to fluctuate. This constant refreshing is being referred to as “Google Everflux,” and it’s beginning to cause quite a stir. This is good news for searchers, since it means Google can provide “fresher” search results that reflect the latest information available. However, it may not be such great news for small businesses struggling to get or keep good rankings in Google.

The basic principles for getting ranked in Google remain the same; you must build quality inbound links to your site and provide valuable content on your pages that gets updated regularly. But now that Google is constantly refreshing its index, you will most likely need to watch your rankings a little more closely and be prepared to take action when necessary. Some other tips that may be helpful to your rankings include:

• Social Bookmarking – Google has started paying attention to links that come from social bookmarking sites (such as Digg, Reddit, Technorati, etc.), so consider using these sites as a source of quality inbound links.
  
  
• New Inbound Links – Keep adding new inbound links to your site, since older links that are pointing to your site may be dropped as newer content is added to Google each day.
  
  
• Quality Content – Add new content to your site regularly, and make sure it is useful and valuable to your readers. Content such as informative articles and blog posts can help build credibility and establish you as an expert in your industry, which also helps your Google rankings.
  
  
• Keyword Research – Research the right keywords for your business, don’t just guess. Find the search terms that people actually search with, not just the terms that you think they would use in a search. And don't forget to check out what your competitors are using for keywords, too.
  
  
• Don’t panic. It looks like Google Everflux will be with us for awhile, so a little bouncing around is to be expected. When monitoring your stats, watch for trends that develop over time, and make your adjustments according to what shows up in the data.

Show Them the Way

To be an effective marketing tool, your web site should lead your customers and potential customers to take some sort of action. Whether it’s signing up for your newsletter, visiting your online store, calling your toll-free number, or simply remembering your company or your brand, it’s the customer’s action that ultimately results in new leads and increased sales for your business.

Sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often small business web sites lack a clear call to action. When creating content for your site, think about what your potential customers are trying to accomplish. What types of questions are they asking? What specific information do they want to find out? What are the potential objections they may have? What do you want your customers to do as a result of visiting your web site?

Although sites can differ in their purpose, they all should have a clear path to a most desired action. For instance, if you have an e-commerce site, you want your visitors to purchase something from your online store. If your site is informational, you probably want visitors to join your mailing list to receive updates or news.

To lead customers to take some action, try these tips:

1. Clearly state a call to action on each page of your site. If you want to sell something, don’t ask visitors to call you for more information, directly ask for the sale instead.
   
   
2. Make sure it is obvious how to get in touch with your business. Always use a Contact Us page that gives complete contact information including phone and fax numbers, email address, snail mail address, map to your location, etc.
   
   
3. Highlight the benefit that your product or service offers. Customers typically buy because it will make their lives better in some way.
   
   
4. Don’t talk about yourself or your company; instead talk directly to your visitors, about meeting their needs. For example, “Our products and services can help you increase your bottom line…” talks about you and your products. Instead, try something like “You’ll save hours of monotonous work and reduce your overall costs with our products and services.”
   
   
5. Present your key concepts using bulleted lists and break up page content with headings and sub-headings. It makes the page easier to “skim,” improves overall readability, and helps direct the reader to your call to action.

By showing your visitors a clear call to action, you can lead them to the information they are looking for, answer their questions, resolve their objections, and move them toward taking the action that you want them to take.

Statistically Speaking

Home pages. Landing pages. Sub pages. Content pages. These are the types of pages found on most small business web sites. But if you’re trying to turn your web site visitors into loyal customers, then you definitely need to know about your exit pages. And where can you find your exit pages, entry pages, and all other types of pages? They can be found in your web site statistics, which you should be reviewing regularly!

Exit Pages
First, let’s talk about exit pages and what they can tell you. Exit pages are exactly that – the pages on your web site where visitors leave and move on to another site (or move on to something else altogether). So why should you know on which pages your visitors exit your site? Because if a large percentage of your traffic is exiting from the same page, this could indicate a problem with that page. The problem could be as simple as a broken link or page not found error, but it could also be that the page content is sending a message that you don’t intend.

The content on that exit page may be losing your visitors’ interest, or may not have the information they are looking for. The goal should be to make each page’s content as valuable as possible, and always include links and menus so visitors are prompted to stay on your site and click around some more.

Entry Pages
The opposite of exit pages of course are entry pages. It’s common to think that your visitors enter your site through the home page, but often that’s not the case. Search engines routinely bring visitors to the internal pages of your site, depending on what information has been indexed. Also, the inbound links found on other web sites may point to internal pages on your site, and your online ads may direct visitors to specific landing pages within your site. In any case, just make sure that you provide enough information and structure on your internal pages so that visitors entering the site from any page can tell where they are and can find links to your other pages. It's also a good idea to include a specific call to action on each page to lead visitors toward taking your most desired action.

In Good Health
Your web statistics are a source of extremely valuable information, but are often overlooked or ignored. Web stats are fundamental in diagnosing the general health of your web site and determining the best way to keep it healthy. Review your web stats weekly (or at least monthly) and pay attention to what they show you. You can then make adjustments based on actual user experiences, which will evolve over time into an improved user experience on your web site. And the better the user experience, the more likely you are to turn your visitors into the loyal customers that drive your bottom line.

Biz Talk is a Free Publication of Five Sparrows, LLC

Five Sparrows is a Michigan web site development firm and search engine optimization provider offering a complete line of web site marketing strategies and services designed especially for small businesses.

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.

Our services include web site development and re-design, online shopping, search engine optimization, e-newsletters, email marketing, search engine reporting & monitoring, and more.

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

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