Grow From Here

Twitter Roundup

After a week and a half checking out Twitter, I have to admit I am at least slightly hooked.  I am spending far too much time on Twitter.  I’ve found a lot of fascinating websites and articles (some of which I will share here), relating to business, franchising, trends, communication and search engine optimization/online marketing. 

I’ve found people to follow who have great information in my areas of interest (franchises & franchisors, business growth, search engine optimization and online content development). 
Interestingly, some of the blogs/people, I couldn’t find through Google searches.  For example, I had a hard time finding franchise blogs that I thought were really valuable via Google.

The one basic question that still remains unresolved for me is whether Twitter is where potential customers spend time, or more of a place to come in contact with potential strategic partners and others who are passionate about online marketing?  I have asked a couple of people I know who have been using Twitter for a while for their thoughts on this, and so far most people say they have actually found strategic partners and interesting information.  I would love to hear from someone who has actually sold product/services from twittering.  In fact, consider this an invitation to get in touch if you would like to do a brief interview about how you found actual customers through Twitter!  Just post a comment saying that you would be willing to do that, with your Twitter name and I will get in touch via Twitter to learn more.

Useful articles/websites from Twitter posts

Top 4 Success Saboteurs for Entrepreneurs: http://www.theperfectbizfinder.com/blog/beat-the-top-4-saboteurs/

Winners of the 2009 Franchisee Satisfaction Awards: http://jan.freedomblogging.com/2009/03/09/happiest-franchisees-6-are-oc-companies/10293/

Challenges for Women in Business: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/business/businesstruth/4934018/Women-in-Business-The-bias-against-women-entrepreneurs.html

5 Great Companies to Form in 2009: http://www.thecompanymerchant.co.uk/blog/index.php/2009/01/five-great-companies-to-form-in-2009/

Tell People What You Want Them to Do For You: http://www.doshdosh.com/tell-people-what-you-want-them-to-do-for-you/

50 Social Entrepreneur Blogs to Watch: http://evancarmichael.com/Tools/Top-50-Social-Entrepreneur-Blogs-To-Watch-In-2009.htm

and just for fun… http://www.brepettis.com/blog/2009/3/3/the-cult-of-done-manifesto.html

So Far

Time spent so far:  probably 6 hours (much of that following fascinating links posted by various tweeters)

Questions so far:  How in the world are people finding my profile to follow?  Why would someone be following >1,000 other people?  What does that mean to follow at that point?  Surely no one has time to read all the tweets from many thousands of people?  Are any of my potential customers using Twitter?

ROI: Nothing direct yet, but coming in contact with some fascinating people – more potential strategic partners than customers, it looks like to me.  Some good franchise blogs that I wasn’t able to find via Google searches with very valuable information.

Communication, Search Engine Optimization, Twitter Experiment

Why Analyze Keywords

One of the first steps in Search Engine Optimization is determining what keywords people will be searching for to find your product.  Two weeks ago I wrote a post about using the Google Keyword Selector to get the right people finding your website – people who are actually looking for your products and services.   They’re the best ones to have coming to your site because they’re the most likely to actually buy from you.

The first step in helping these customers find you is determining what the right keywords are – what are your best customers actually searching for?  The second step is writing content that:

1. Provides value
2. Uses those keywords
3. Is unique

Writing Content that Provides Value

I am going to assume that you can write content that provides value.  If writing is not your strong point, I know a number of companies that have succesfully found either professional writers or students who are passionate about language or other types of communicators who can write up the information.  One company I know hired a great communicator/online networker and has established a place as an industry leader in their field in less than a year – huge ROI.  But that’s a topic for a different post…

Check Keyword Usage

Once you have the content that provides value, the next step is to see how it stacks up in terms of keyword usage & attracting the right traffic via search engines.  Always remember that you need to write the content for users, not search engines (and in fact, too high density can get penalized or be very hard to read).  But real language keyword density that makes sense and provides value is the lodestone you are aiming for.

A great tool for determine your keyword density (=how much you use your selected keywords) is E3 KWD Check - it’s a nifty little tool that you install on your computer.  You can then load into it web pages or local documents & it will tell you the keywords used in those web pages/documents, along with how many times each is found & what the keyword density and prominence of each keyword is.  Once you have a draft of the content, run it through E3 KWD Check & see whether the keywords you selected in step one are actually reflected in your content so they bring the right customers to your site.

Is Content Unique?

The unique factor is mainly a list of Do Not’s

• Do Not use content that has been posted elsewhere on the internet
• Do Not  post the same article/blog posting to multiple different blogs
• Do Not  copy someone else’s content
• Do Not post the same content multiple times throughout your site (you won’t actually get penalized for this, but the duplicate content will be ignored).

Or, to put it another way, do post original valuable content that was developed only for/by you.  The closer your site gets to being considered an ‘expert’ by Google, the more valuable the search engines perceive your content to be.

Helping The Right People Find You

As I said in my post on Tuesday, don’t make people think! 

Make it easy for them to find you when they are looking for what you offer.

Make it easy for them to buy from you.

Make it easy for them to keep coming back.

Then keep adding value and repeat.

Communication, Search Engine Optimization, Technology, Time Savers, Tips

Search Engine Optimization (”SEO”) has become a dangerous phrase.  It can be over-used, abused and extremely deceiving.  Everyone with a business wants to drive traffic and increase sales.  Everyone knows that some people are very successful at this.  It would be lovely if there were simple steps to follow to improve search engine optimization on websites – and in fact, there are, but there are also a lot of people out there promising results that may not be what you’re looking for (even if they deliver on their promise).

The SEO Dance

Search Engine Optimization is a little like a dance.  You need to know the steps (what to do, how to do it), and then you need to add your own personal flair (value, personality, content).  But there are a lot of people out there promising a magic bullet, and it’s important to know what you’re looking for.  As I said in my posting about the most important question to ask about your website, the most important thing to think about relating to search engine optimization is what you’re trying to achieve (this question is becoming my mantra).  Are you trying to

• Grow your business & increase sales?
• Make money?
• Build a reputation and a brand?
• Get the most traffic possible? 

Once you know what you’re trying to achieve, then you can go out & find a company that does a good job optimizing websites for your purpose.  If you get the purpose wrong, the results are unlikely to make you happy. 

Traffic Cowboys Story

Chris at XModus Ecommerce solution, has some great posts about what can go wrong with SEO, and what to watch out for.  His recent post about traffic cowboys is a great introduction to what can go wrong.  He tells the stories of the behind the scenes ways that some companies can drive traffic to a website – but it may not be traffic that will lead to sales.  Read his post to learn about the difference between driving traffic and driving shoppers – it’s a salutary warning to anyone talking with companies that offer search engine optimization.  He also has a great post about the potential conflict of interest for some SEO consultants.

A Simple Strategy

I recently designed a simple strategy for getting eyeballs for someone who has a new product, knows all the marketing tips & tricks, but wasn’t sure what to start.  The steps were almost too simple.

1. Know what you are selling and why people will care (that last part is critical – what’s the emotional hook & what matters to them)
2. Do a channel audit (were can you easily get the word out?  what resources do you already have?)
3. Know what your potential clients will be search for (what words do they use, where do they look, where do they hang out?)
4. Test your assumptions in 1,2 & 3
5. Set up your website/blog/twitter for the people and marketing you have identified in 1-4
6. Develop great content (value, value, value and unique)
7. Create standard blurbs that express your value proposition (clearly expressing the benefits and using the keywords people are searching on)
8. Make sure you can track your results (visitors, traffic, conversions)
9. Use your channels & post your marketing copy
10. Watch the results and adjust as needed

Of course there is lots that can be done beyond this, but remember that you either need to know the answers to 1, 2 and 3 before you talk with an SEO consultant, or you need to find a consultant who will help you determine the answers to those.  All the techniques in the world aren’t very useful if you don’t know why people will care about your offering, or if you can’t express it in a way that resonates for them, or if you’re marketing it in places where your prospects don’t spend time.

Best Practices, Communication, Search Engine Optimization