NewslettersPosted by Elliot Zissman Fri, February 12, 2010 13:25:30For many companies, online marketing is seen as an important
part of their overall marketing plan, but getting to the top of Google may not
be a key focus.
They may operate in a field where people simply do not “google”
them. These types of businesses include consultants or service providers that
sell into larger companies where building relationships is the way in to getting
that initial contract. The principles of these businesses take part in
face-to-face networking to build contacts.
The effectiveness of this face-to-face networking can’t be
replaced entirely, but can be added to with an Online Networking Strategy.
This strategy to follow is in three parts:
Content – what are you going to say? It could be regular
case studies, opinion pieces or news stories. The content should be relevant to
your industry, unique to you and of interest to your potential customers. It’s
best not to focus entirely on internal news stories, but write in a way that is
“non-selly” and thought provoking.
Distribution of content – how are you going to get your
content out there? Certainly put it on a company blog, but use press releases,
third party websites, twitter and email your contacts directly .
Increasing your network – give people the opportunity to
subscribe for regular updates (via the blog or a footer on all emails), engage
with people on twitter, use SEO or other advertising as part of the campaign
and of course, when you meet people, ask them if they’d like to be kept
informed of your latest articles.
Not only will you be increasing your network of potential
customers by becoming a thought-leader in your industry, but you’ll be contacting
them regularly to remind them of you; and when they do require your services,
you’ll be utmost in the mind.
White Box Marketing can help businesses design and implement
an online networking strategy in a simple and cost effective way.
For more information, do get in touch.
NewslettersPosted by Elliot Zissman Mon, November 23, 2009 14:38:35All
SEO experts say never buy links. But some SEO companies are doing just that without any issues for their clients.
It is
certainly true that taking a whole load of links from a business actively
selling them is a real no-no, but are there grey areas where you can bend the
rules a little?
These are some of the options available:
Buy links on a page
If a website, typically a blogging site that specialises in
your field, is writing a post containing your target keywords, ask them to
embed a link to your website a couple of times on the page. You can even offer
to write a blog post as an "expert guest blogger". There’ll be plenty of
bloggers out there looking for some extra cash.
Rent links on a
website
Many blogs have a list of "helpful sites" that are not so
subtle adverts for third parties.
Approach the webmaster and you may get a price for a monthly inclusion
on their list, which will typically appear on every page of the blog.
Affiliate marketing
Setting up an affiliate marketing campaign is a great way to
drive traffic, get links and pay for advertising only after you make a sale or
generate a lead. You offer people the opportunity to earn money from their site
by promoting yours, using tracking software to show the affiliate when a sale
is made or lead generated. This doesn't work through third party affiliate
management software - it must be done by directly contacting potential partners.
There
are other ways as well. So, it does seem that, for those who are struggling to
get to the top, a little bit of cash can
certainly help.
I'm
not saying that I advocate this approach by the way. It goes against Google's
terms of business and buying links can get you barred. But a number of your competitors may well be
doing it, keeping it under the radar but boosting their rankings.
Please get in touch if you'd like to discuss this further.
Until next time...
NewslettersPosted by Elliot Zissman Thu, October 08, 2009 14:15:10I talked in a previous blog post about keeping up with Google’s ever expanding search options, and today, in a
slightly overdue newsletter I’m focussing on Google Images.
Not only do potential customers visit Google Images directly when searching, but often the image options comes up on the main search results page, so it’s worth looking into.
The main thing to do is label the images correctly – using the meta data tools available.
Here are my top 5 tips:
1) Alt-tags: although designed for the blind to help read the image, they are used by Google to understand what the image is about. Be sure to use your page’s target keywords in this tag.
2) Name the image: make the file name of the image the same as the alt-tag and keyword, not "123dsa.jpg", but "keyword.jpg".
3) Describe the image in the text around it, again using the keywords you are targeting.
4) Link to the image using your keywords in the anchor text.
5) Include your image folder in your site map; you’ll need to sign up to Google Webmaster for this.
And here is a bonus tip:
Make sure the image is on an already well optimised page, with the correct titles, headers and content.
Remember, it’s best to have a target keyword for each page of your website and including a well optimised image on this page will certainly help things along.
If you’d like more help and advice on optimising your website, please do get in touch.
Until next time...
NewslettersPosted by Elliot Zissman Tue, September 01, 2009 13:51:51August 2009
A survey has just been released by an
organisation called SEOmoz. They asked hundreds of search engine optimisation
experts from across the world which factors they thought led to higher search
engine rankings. Given the combined experience of all these people, it’s the
closest we can get to fully understanding how Google ranks your website.
Below are the results showing which has
the most influence on Google – and then my thoughts on why they’re wrong...
24% of the Algorithm relates to the “Trust/Authority
of the Host Domain” – in other words, for a particular web page to rank highly,
it should be on a well ranked website. So a page on the BBC website will rank
higher than a similar page on a small website.
22% relates to the “Link Popularity of the
Specific Page” – getting links into each page is a great idea. Don’t just get
people to link to the home page but link as deep as possible.
20% Anchor Text of External Links to the
Page – so, having a link to your site that says “for more on search engine
optimisation, click here” or “for more on search engine optimisation,
visit www.whiteboxseo.co.uk” is not as good as “white box
marketing – visit this site for help on search engine optimisation”
15% On-Page Keyword Usage – this will
surprise people – the actual words on the site count for only 15% of the
weight. I disagree with this – see below for why!
19% Other factors, such as the traffic
levels to your website, the click through from the search engine results page
(so having a nice description of your site is worth having), whether your site is
bookmarked with social networking sites, where the site is hosted and
registered, and more.
Why do I think this is wrong? Because the content on your site has got to
be the most important factor. Quite
simply if you don’t have decent content, you’re not going to get the
links.
A good optimiser will tell you that if you
make your website interesting, keep it fresh and ensure everything on there is
unique to you, then you’ll find getting good quality links a lot easier.
Hope that’s a helpful tip!
Do let me know if you’d like more
information.
Until next time,
Elliot.
NewslettersPosted by Elliot Zissman Fri, July 31, 2009 10:31:32July 2009
A lot of high end brands have a tendancy to ignore the full power of the web, as they believe that the Interent is for the mass market and marketing luxury online is not an effective method. Many are worried about how the internet will hurt their image, saying that trying out new marketing ideas might be too risky. They prefer to spend money on expensive print advertising, whose effectiveness can be extremely tricky to measure.
I would say that not being online can hurt more. If you don't have an effective website and a clear strategy to communicate with your customers online, this doesn't mean that no-one will talk about you online. Quite the contrary... the conversation is happening and it's just a question of whether or not you want to be a part of it.
Sure, some brands have a certain amount of exclusivity, but although it runs contra to most web marketing advice (to be as open as possible), it is possible to re-create this exclusivity online. It needs to be done properly however, investing an appropriate amount of time and money.
Who does it well and what can we learn?
1: Mercedes - in the US, they have launched an invite-only social network called GenerationBenz.com. This is a place to give feedback and comment on their latest cars, and by being invite-only, there is the feeling of belonging to an exclusive club. I can't comment too much more on it... they wouldn't let me in!
2: Gucci - adopting a more open approach, they set up a facebook page, facebook.com/GUCCI. They update regularly and have over 400,000 fans. Compare that to Prada's page: http://www.facebook.com/s.php?ref=search&init=quick&q=prada - they haven't set up an easy to remember address, have about 250,000 fans, but haven't updated it since they set it up in March 2008. When they put their new catelogue online, 25 people "liked it"; When Gucci put their images online from the Jackie Bag campaign, over 1000 people "liked it". (I don't know how much a Jackie Bag costs, but my guess is that if just a small proportion of those that liked the pictures bought the bag, it would pay for the campaign management!)
3: Hermes - invested in a great website, featuring games, music video and other interactive tools, to draw the users in and spend time engaging with their brand.
4: Louis Vuitton - again in the US, they have set up a Twitter account and with just over 100 updates have already got over 21000 followers - since the middle of May.
These are four very different ways that luxury brands are using the interent to engage with consumers or potential consumers. By talking to them and listening to comments, they are building brand loyalty and even if those following aren't in a position to afford the product right now, they will aspire to one in the future.
And the costs involved? Substantially less than sponsoring James Bond...
NewslettersPosted by Elliot Zissman Tue, June 30, 2009 09:46:34June 2009
Bing.com is the new search engine from Microsoft. You may have seen it advertised and being supported by a marketing budget of $100m, if you not, you will do soon. It has already captured at least 5% of the UK search market with some reports suggesting it has overtaken Yahoo! and heading towards double figures. The main difference between Google and Bing is the way it presents results, using categories on the left hand side. Do have a play with it and let me know what you think.
From the perpective of marketing your website and your business, does it make a difference? The answer is: probably not.
While you're not going to get the same results on Bing and Google every time, that's because of subtle differences in their algorithms, rather than fundamental shifts in how to optimise your website for search engines. They both like to see good, unique content, and links from relevant, quality websites.
The people who work at Bing have said that if you can't "endorse the quality of the content at another site, you shouldn't be linking to them" and "don't seek links from sites whose content isn't worthy of your endorsement".
Now, obviously you can't stop rubbish websites linking to you, but you should make sure that you target relevant pages on the web for in-bound links. But the first comment suggests that Bing looks more towards who you link to than Google does, so that is worth noting.
But as I said, the fundamentals of website marketing don't appear to have changed:
* Make sure your website is well built and easy to use
* Put some interesting on it and keep that content fresh, updated and relevant
* Be part of your industry community - get relevant pages to link to you and feel free to return the favour.
* The rise of social media means that communicating with potential customers is not one-way traffic: encourage dialogue not monologue
* Measure and analyse your traffic to see what's working and what isn't.
Before I sign off for another month, a small plug: we've finally re-launched our website. The newsletters are now online under the "blog" and the site more clearly explains how we can help write an internet marketing strategy and ensure your website is an effective business tool: www.whiteboxseo.co.uk. Comments welcome!
NewslettersPosted by Elliot Zissman Thu, June 25, 2009 12:30:51May 2009Back in the day, it used to be so simple – you could order a coffee in a café without having to request a double-shot hazelnut latte, and you could type in a query into the search box on Google and get some results.
But those were simpler times…
Now, you get options.
Just below the search box, Google has recently put a little link that says “show options” and from there you can ask videos, forums, reviews, sort by time and see the results in any different format you like.
Sometimes, you get shown options without even asking. Search for “Plumber London” and you get a map with local business results; type in “Barack Obama” and you’ll get news results; type in “Miele washing machine” and you’ll get shopping results.
All very clever, but what does this mean for the person marketing your website? Getting to number 7 or 8 on the natural results may not guarantee you first page listings any more as the natural results are pushed further down the page.
Well, I think it’s probably good news. While SEO is fundamentally about writing words and getting links, true internet marketing is more than that. It’s about understanding your customers and providing content and tools they’ll find of use; having a news section, a video section, a review section can bring your website to life and help get traffic from people who look at the Google options available. Participating in forms, social networking and blogs will also directly benefit you. In short, it’s becoming a more creative task.
And looking into the crystal ball, what will be coming next?
Well, Google Profiles will let you search for people online – so make sure you get your name registered before someone else does
And I’d say it won’t be long before Google News gets an upgrade to “Google Now” or something similar. Basically, people don’t want search engine results that might be days or weeks old; why can’t Google can’t get round and index the whole one billion pages of the internet even quicker? People are starting to use the search facility of Twitter to get real time updates in web-land. Just look at http://search.twitter.com/search?q=mps+expenses for example…
I’ve no doubt that before long we’ll be seeing another few options appear, so keep posted for more marketing ideas in future newsletters. Oh, and make mine a cappuccino – double strength, skinny milk, in a tall glass with shot of vanilla.
NewslettersPosted by Elliot Zissman Thu, June 25, 2009 12:27:25April 2009How to make even the most dull businesses seem exciting.
Many of you may find Aleksandr Orlov (Founder of Compare the Meerkat) a ridiculous way to advertise a price comparison website for car insurance.
But by creating a character that people find amusing and using social networking tools to engage the customer, the campaign is having a fantastic effect. Some numbers for you: on Facebook, he has 370,000 fans (about 4 times more than "Ant and Dec"); on Twitter, he has 12,400 followers. He launched his new advert on Wednesday and already thousands have seen it on You Tube.
And yes, his website does allow you to compare Meerkats but is gives the appearance of being sponsored by a leading insurance comparison company.
Is the campaign working for them? Well, it's certainly rattling the competition: a Google search for "meerkat" brings up a sponsored link: "Confused About Meerkats? Visit Confused.com".
Why it’s vital to know what people search for online
When deciding what to put on your website, the first port of call should be Google's Keyword Tool. Plug in some keywords and it will tell you how many people are searching for that phrase.
This is really useful information for three reasons:
1) You can make sure that your website talks your customers' language. No using acronyms or abbreviations that are only used in your industry because if people aren't searching for them, your site won't get the traffic.
2) You can make a guess about market size. If 2,000 people a month are searching for one product you sell and 40,000 people a month are searching for one you are thinking of selling, it's a good tool for research purposes.
3) Look at trends. Products, brands and industries come in and out of fashion. The number of people searching online is a great indicator of what's hot and what's not. So use the tools available and keep your website (and business) fresh and updated. Google.com/Trends is also good for this.
One final thing
I understand that Google is to make a change to its ranking algorythm very shortly. This is because criminals are targeting certain keyword terms with some dodgy practices to get top ranking, encouraging people to click their websites and download malicious software. If you think of website has a strange address, be careful before clicking it.
