Here at Eckweb we work with very small businesses, for the most part.  We have a few larger clients but that’s only because they started out with us as very small businesses and have grown.  (We’re so proud of that!)

Anyway, the one conversation we have with everyone circles around getting traffic to the website.  How do we do it?  What is needed?  How much will it cost?  All valid questions from business owners.  Our answers are always the same.  We answer with…

1) “Find out what your target audience wants, and then give it to them.”

2) “Make yourself an expert in your field.”

3) “Constantly put new information out there – whether it’s your website, your blog, your social media accounts, whatever – just be active.”

There’s Really No Internet Marketing Secret

The bottom line is, and the absolute truth is, there is no one trick or magical program that will bring your website a ton of traffic.  In fact, your traffic comes mostly from small numbers, not big ones.  Here’s what I mean…

I reviewed 5 websites, all different types of business and across the country and the numbers just may surprise you.

Site 1 – Total number of keywords that brought in 5 or less visitors = 687
Total number of keywords that brought in 6 or more visitors = 26

Site 2 – Total number of keywords that brought in 5 or less visitors = 329
Total number of keywords that brought in 6 or more visitors = 17

Site 3 – Total number of keywords that brought in 5 or less visitors = 455
Total number of keywords that brought in 6 or more visitors = 21

Site 4 – Total number of keywords that brought in 5 or less visitors = 209
Total number of keywords that brought in 6 or more visitors = 9

Site 5 – Total number of keywords that brought in 5 or less visitors = 379
Total number of keywords that brought in 6 or more visitors = 13

What Does This Tell You?

Basically, the majority of people that come to website are coming in with very specific keyword phrases.  This is absolutely normal, common.  More people will ALWAYS come to a website using their own specific niche phrases.  For you, the business owner, this means that you MUST have that information on your website in order to get the search engines to even bring up your website when the viewer types in their phrase.

So, don’t focus so much on getting traffic for a main keyword phrase – instead – focus on the niche phrases.  You’ll get more targeted traffic that way.

A very common question asked by small business owners, “Which is better, SEO or PPC?”.

The answer can be a little complicated but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s see if I can help you make the best decision for your business.

First, let’s make sure we’re both on the same page as far as understanding the difference between SEO and PPC.

1) SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – is the process of working on the website content and coding in order to help it come up in the search engines for specific searches.  These results are on the left hand side of your Google search.

2) PPC (Pay Per Click) – is the process of bidding on keyword phrases and creating advertisements for these keyword phrases (which point to your website of course).  These results are on the right hand side of your Google search.  Sometimes you’ll also see PPC ads at the very top of the left hand side as well.

Now, what can each of these give your small business?  Knowing their differences will help you make the decision as to which one is better for your bottom line.  We’ll go through these with some FAQ.

1) How Long Before I See Results?

SEO will always take longer than PPC.  You can create a PPC advertisement and within 15-20 minutes, that ad will be showing up (depending on your settings of course).  But we can work on the SEO for a website and we may not see the results of that work for several weeks or months.  It depends on the amount of competition for the keyword phrase that is being marketed.

2) What Can I Expect To Spend?

SEO marketing is usually fixed to a certain extent.  Eckweb’s monthly marketing is $210.00 per month and that includes adding 1 new page to the website (clients provide the content and graphics).  So, it’s much easier to budget what will be spent with SEO marketing.

PPC marketing is fluid.  You may begin your marketing campaign bidding $2.00 per click on a specific keyword phrase but your competitors will begin upping that bid to gain ground so by the end of 2-3 months you may end up paying $5.00 per click.  That’s just the nature of PPC marketing.  The only way to avoid this is to keep changing keyword phrases (to go after keyword phrases that can bring you traffic for only $2.00 per click).

3) How Much Time Will I Be Spending On This Campaign?

SEO marketing inherently involves adding content to your website, on hopefully, a regular basis.  Daily, weekly, monthly, whatever – it’s up to the business owner.  Of course, the writing can be outsourced to someone else in the company or to a professional SEO Copywriter.  So, the amount of time spent on this aspect will depend on how the business owner wants to manage it.

Most business owners do not participate in the actual coding and website development process – so this is not an issue as far as time spent.

PPC marketing, if managed by an Internet Marketing firm will take very little time away from the business owner.  Once the parameters are set up in the PPC account – it’s just a matter of making the decision to spend more dollars or change keyword phrases every now and then.  Of course, if the business owner is managing his/her own PPC campaign then the amount of time spent can vary greatly, depending on how much knowledge he/she has and how much time is needed on the research.

Both marketing programs will require time to be spent reviewing the analysis of the campaigns.  It’s extremely important to keep checking if the campaigns are working or not.  And to make changes to the aspects of the campaigns that are not working.

The Bottom Line, Which Is Better, SEO or PPC?

The conclusion is that IF you have a limited budget, you will want to go with SEO marketing.  IF you absolutely need traffic to the website immediately, then you will want to go with PPC marketing but be prepared to pay.

I do hope this information was helpful.  If not, or if you have other questions about Internet Marketing, contact me at Eckweb.  I’m here to help.

I talk alot about writing new content for websites, blogs and how important it is.  I mean really, Internet users type in words in search engines (or is it on search engines?) anyway, all these engines can do then is look for those words on pages.

But, I will concede, as I think anyone who does any writing will, it’s not always easy to write.  I found this on my Pinterest account and thought it was worth sharing. I hope you think so too.

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

For most website owners, the understanding they have of SEO (search engine optimization) is limited.  They know that their websites need it, they know that it can bring in business, but do they REALLY know what’s going on at the SEO company?

It reminds me of my own experiences when I bring my car to the mechanic.  I mean, he TELLS me what is wrong and what he needs to do but he might as well be speaking Klingon, I don’t really understand and frankly, I just want the car fixed.  I have to trust him (and we all know that doesn’t always work out well!).

Anyway, I just read a great article explaining what the process of SEO looks like and I thought I would break it down for you.

First off, the article is written by Krista LaRiviere who is cofounder of a successful SEO software company – so her expertise is valid.  So, let’s get to the article.

1) Krista outlines the model of SEO like the old food pyramid we’re so familiar with.

She then assigns a percentage of the importance of each level.  They are…
(from bottom to top)

Technical Page Optimization
This accounts for 10% of the SEO model.  I can’t tell you how many times I argue with clients (well, I suppose I should call them discussions) about making changes to their website in order to comply with this rule.  Sometimes graphics are too large, sometimes there’s just too many graphics or flash or other animated features.  Sometimes there just isn’t enough text.  Believe me, I understand that it’s important to have an aesthetically pleasing website, but the reality is, the most beautiful looking websites in the world don’t necessarily bring in traffic.  Business websites are meant to bring in traffic, otherwise, what’s the point?

Keyword and Competition Research
This accounts for 25% of the SEO model.  Where it’s true that the website pages themselves have to be constructed with clean, up to date coding, it’s even more important that the words being used on the website pages are the right ones.  Does this happen right away?  I mean, when  website is first optimized are all the keywords chosen correct?  Are they the best?  I’m going to be honest with you – NO!  Why?  Because website traffic is dependent on a large variety of factors.  A keyword phrase may do well from January to April but perhaps it doesn’t do too well during the Autumn, perhaps there are other factors coming into play in the industry.  It’s difficult to tell.  Research is based on what has happened, so we can only go with that information.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that keyword research is constant.

External Marketing TO The Website
This accounts for 55% of the SEO Model.  Basically, this means creating articles to put on OTHER places like blogs, press releases, article directories, etc.  Of course, embeded within these articles would be links TO your website.

Some of the best types of articles to write are How To articles, Reviews and Case Studies.  The reason is that these types of articles showcase your expertise in your field.

Publish – Socialize – Share
This accounts for 5% of the SEO model.

Websites these days MUST be interactive.  The days of going to a website and just reading it are long, long gone.  Visitors expect to be able to link to you via Twitter, Google+, Facebook, whatever!  They expect to see you in those places and they expect others to be talking about you.

Make your website shareable.  Put the kind of information on your website that others will want to share.

Measure and Improve
This accounts for 5% of the SEO model.

No website EVER is launched being 100% complete, in fact, no website is EVER 100% complete.  If anyone tells you that it is, they’re just tired and don’t want to talk to you anymore.  The truth is, websites are in constant motion.  They’re constantly requiring work.  The reasons are easy to understand…

a) technology changes rapidly (so that means coding and search engine algorithms change)

b) needs of your audience changes – whether it’s due to seasonal changes or other factors, what your target audience needed in January is not necessarily the same as in August of the same year.  Keep up with what they need and you will always have enough traffic to your site.

c) factors in your own industry change – lawyers need to keep up with new laws, plumbers need to keep up with new tools and technology, doctors need to explain the new medications and treatments available.  Let’s face it, there’s always something new happening in your industry and you need to show that your audience that you’re on top of it.

Well, I hope the article and my synopsis helps you to understand the basics of the SEO process and hopefully I haven’t lost you (like those mechanics do with me!).  But, if you have any questions, you know where to find me.

You knew it was just a matter of time before the search engines truly used Social Authority as part of their algorithm to rank websites.  So, the days of ignoring social media are in the past.  If you haven’t yet integrated Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ into your website marketing – you can’t wait any longer.

I just finished reading this great article – 3 Steps to Using Social Media to Improve Your SEO in Search Engine Journal.  It’s a quick and easy read so I encourage you to do it.  But basically, it emphasizes the need to get out there and make some noise (in social media that is).

The 3 main steps the article outlines are…

1)  Increase Your Social Shares

This just means to increase your posts, tweets, etc.  In other words, get out there and start talking.  (Typing and texting actually).  But the point is to engage in social media.  Spring time is here, do you have specials to announce?  Are there new employees or clients that you can boast about?  Is there something new happening in your industry that may be of interest to your clients?  Are you pondering a question that your clients may be interested in (and maybe help?).  Anything that is related and may be of interest to your customers, is worth talking about.  And if you can talk about it to someone in front of you, there’s no reason why you can’t talk about it on a social media platform.

2) Grow Your Audience To Build Authority

A great quote from the article, “In this digital age, it’s important to remember that everything you say and do contributes to the overall perception people have about you.”  What you say online gives your readers a visual picture of who you are and what you stand for.  It’s part of your branding.

I borrowed this graphic from the article but it explains how it’s all connected.

Portraying the image that want others to see (and hopefully it’s your true image) – you’ll attract others of authority who will want to listen to what you have to say.  You’ll build a following.  That’s the point.

3) Engage With Authority Users

I know, this is the clincher, the factoid that usually closes the deal.  You actually have to USE social media.  What I mean is you can’t just open a Twitter account, write one tweet and then walk away.  Just like websites, social media is meant to be used and changed on a constant basis.  When someone walks into your store, or you go to a networking group to meet others, do you say the same exact speech?  Do you wear the same exact clothes?  No.  You’re not a robot.  You’re human (hopefully) and your social media accounts should reflect that.  So, that means ENGAGE!  Talk with your readers.  Listen to their comments and respond.  As much as you can.

I remember years ago when I was doing the whole business networking thing between chambers of commerce and business groups, the one thing they all kept repeating was that what we did today will come back to us eventually.  In other words, all the marketing and efforts we put out today may not yield in a new client or new business today but it will eventually.  And they were all correct.  It’s been 6 years or more since I’ve attended any of those types of groups and I’m still getting referrals and business from folks I met back then.

The same is true for social media.  Just because you post a note on your Facebook Wall today, doesn’t mean your business is going to grow instantly by next month!  So, be patient, be persistent and be social!!

Okay, I know, it’s been a LONG time since I’ve written.  What can I say?  Life gets in the way of work sometimes.

So, to make up for my long absence I’m going to share with you a valuable tool (method really) on how to market your website.  It’s a bit anal, so please bear with me.

Step One: Choose Your Keyword

You’ve all heard me say it a billion times, it’s all about the keywords.  Internet marketing is, after all, keyword driven.  People type in keywords and the search engine machines do their best to choose the right websites to show the people.  So, the game then is to pick the keyword phrase(s) that people are typing in.

That being said, there are many tools out there that claim to do this an frankly, in my 12 years of doing SEO I haven’t really found any tool that does what it says it does.  So, take all these tools with a grain of salt.

AND, with THAT being said, I will say that the tool that I tend to use the most is Google Keywords Tool.  It’s not exactly the keyword phrases that people are typing in, but believe it or not, it’s closer than the other tools out there.  Be sure to sign in with your Google Account – you’ll get more data this way.

Here’s How To Use The Google Keywords Tool

a) Once you’ve signed in, type in a keyword phrase that you would like to be found for.

b) Open an excel sheet and begin typing in the keyword phrases that you find on the Google Keywords Tool that match your needs.  Type them in a column.

c) In the column next to the keyword type in the number of global monthly searches.

d) Once you’ve completed your list go to Google and type in each keyword phrase from your list and use quotes (i.e., “keyword phrase”).

e) In another column type in the number of search results.

f) Once you’re done with that list, you want to separate them in the following way…

*** All keyword phrases with 1 million or more search results in one group

*** All keyword phrases with 100,000 to 999,999 search results in one group

*** All keyword phrases with under 100,000 search results in one group

Choosing The Best Phrases

Now comes the hard part, you’ve got your list of keyword phrases and basically the amount of requests and the amount of competition for each phrase.

Obviously you want to try to use the phrase with the highest number of global searches because that means it’s the most popular.  Yet, you also want to use the phrase with the lowest amount of search results (which is the competition).  So, use your judgement as to what phrases to use.

Now, from the list of phrases that have 1 million or more search results, choose ONE PHRASE.

From the list of phrases that have 100,000 to 1 million search results, choose 2-3 phrases that will support the ONE PHRASE that you already chose in the million + category.

From the list of phrases that have less than 100,000 search results choose 2-3 phrases for each of the phrases that you chose in the 100,000 to 1 million category.

The idea here is to write a website page about the MAIN keyword phrase (this is your ONE PHRASE) that you pulled from the million + list.

Then, to write 2-3 pages using associated keyword phrases to support that ONE PHRASE.  This would be the pages written for the keyword phrases you chose in the 100,000 to 1 million list.

Then, to write 2-3 pages using associated keyword phrases (from the under 100,000 list) to support the keyword phrases you chose from the 100,000 to 1 million list.

Confusing?  Yeah, I know, but if you read what I wrote and go through an example, it’ll be clear to you, I promise.

In Summary

So, the idea here, if you haven’t already figured it out, is to build a section on your website, not just a page, to market a highly competitive keyword phrase.  And these days, there are many more highly competitive keyword phrases than not.  So, it’s a strategy that works.

The downside?  It means more writing.  More pages on a website are not a problem, the glitch is in the writing.  From my perspective, getting clients to write down information is a losing battle.  Out of 50 clients, only 2 do this – the others – it’s just a monthly battle that I don’t win.

The upside?  More business!!!!!!  I don’t know how else to say it, but it’s more business for you.  More sales, more exposure, more everything.  It works, it absolutely works.

Well, I hope this valuable method makes up for my long absence.  I will work hard to keep myself more active in my writings.

The Freshness Factor (no, I’m not talking about fabric softener).

For years and years and years I’ve been touting the benefits of adding new (fresh) content to websites and blogs.  I have to suspect that some of my clients think I’m just fishing for more work (as if I have the time to do that!) but anyway, the truth is that new content on a website is how the search engines know that the site is alive and working.  Otherwise, you might as well hang the “closed” sign up.

Well, The Daily SEO Blog had a great article about this very topic and you can certainly explore it and see the details but I’ll try to break it down for you.  The article lists how fresh content influences rankings on the search engines.

1) The Inception Date – this is the date when Google first becomes aware of the particular website page.  We can’t influence how this changes, the inception date is firm.

2) Page Changes – how much content changes on website pages?  This means adding text, removing text, graphics, etc.  The amount of change on your webpage definitely plays a role in website rankings.

3) Rate of Change – how often do changes occur?  Daily, weekly, monthly?  Never?  Ugh – there’s no industry on the planet that doesn’t have SOMETHING new happening.  Is there?

4) New Website Pages – “Websites that add new pages at a higher rate may earn a higher freshness score than sites that add content less frequently.”  I couldn’t put it in any better terms.

5) Importance of Content - You may think that you can get away with just adding a few lines to your website pages here and there and consider your job of adding freshness all done.  Well, the search engines DO have a sense of what is important content and what isn’t.  Semantic phrasing plays a part in this but the bottom line is that the better the new content is, the better your chances of getting more traffic.

6) Incoming Links – always a factor when marketing websites, incoming links are important.  The words of the link, where the link is coming from and how often new links are added.  So, this means that the more relevant and helpful your content is, the more other people will link to it and the more incoming links you’ll have.

7) Quality of Incoming Links – if you get a link to your website from another website page that is “fresh” you’ll gain more points than if you get a link from another website page that is “stale”.  Not too much you, as the website owner, can do about this unless you specifically solicit certain websites to link to you.

Alerting Sites of Incoming Links – as time goes by, your website will change keyword phrases, etc.  It’s important to alert the other websites that are linking to you of these changes.  Is it THE most important thing in this list?  In my honest opinion NO, but it should be kept in mind that it’s an issue that eventually should be managed.

9) Old Data = Less Time Spent On Page – so, if your website has information that’s outdated, when a visitor lands on that page, the amount of time they spend on that page is not going to be very much.  The search engines can see this decline over time.  This can hurt you.

10) Don’t Throw Out The Baby with the Bathwater – what I mean is don’t dump your old pages.  If the information on them is still relevant, there’s no need to remove them from your site.  They will continue to come up for certain queries.

Yesterday I received in my email box an article from a client. His company offers executive recruiting services and he’s very much on top of his company’s marketing campaign. Which is great! Anyway, he sent me an article about Google + and their new project.

Basically, Google is now adding information from your Google + account onto your search result pages.  This will only work if you’re signed in to your Google account while you’re doing your searches.  The article read, “The change is live now, though not everyone will see it until it fully launches over the next few days.”  So, this morning I opened my computer and guess what I saw???

How Does This Google+ Thing Affect Your SEO Campaign?

The answer to this depends on who you speak to.  I mean really, we can all try to predict what every political candidate will do based on what they say but the truth is, no one knows what they will actually do until they’re in office.  So, no one really knows what’s going to happen to SEO with the implementation of Google+ integrated into their search results.  But, it doesn’t mean you should do nothing.  After all, not voting shouldn’t be an option.

Okay, so, to the what, how and why.

1) Google+ is a social network.  It’s Google’s version of Facebook and Twitter.  The idea of integrating Google+ into search results is twofold, in most opinions.  For one thing, it’ll help Google to boost their Google+ program.  Second, they are following the study by Nielson that 90% of people trust their friends when it comes to referrals or recommendations.  So, it makes sense that if you’re searching for a tire shop and your friends have recommended a tire shop on their Google+ then guess what, that particular tire shop (or shops) will show up on your search results.  (Of course, only if you’re signed in to your Google account).

2) So, I’ve been talking about search engine rankings for a few years now, saying how irrelevant they have become and that the only true measure of a successful Internet marketing campaign is the traffic and of course, the conversions through a website.  But this new Google+ feature, pretty much ends any argument that rankings have any importance anymore.  So, don’t focus on where you find yourself on a search result.  It’s all about the traffic and the sales that come through from that traffic.

3) eConsultancy did a great article, basically an interview of several SEO superstars (we can call them that, can’t we?)  You’ll see that there are varying views on the implications of Google’s new move on search results.  What I concluded from it is that Google+ is important, but the effects are yet unknown.

4) I can’t help to think though that social networks like Facebook and Twitter are mostly used just for that, “social” and not really for business.  Although certainly there is no reason for businesses to avoid them.  They really have to embrace them these days.  But, again, do I mix my friends with my business partners on my social networks?  Not really.  I would rather not.  After all, my life is not all business.  I mean, do I really want my business partners to know that I am a complete Gleek and that I love westerns and sci fi movies?  (Well, now they know).  So, what’s the answer?  I really don’t know at this point.

What Should You Do With Google+ And Your Business

My personal recommendation, as someone who has been doing SEO for 12 years now (OMG, can’t believe it’s been that long) is the same as I’ve had for facebook and twitter.  Integrate them, if you can, into your business marketing model.  I don’t know if Google+ per say will be a huge effect because the bottom line is that by 2014 the majority of Internet users will be on mobile units.  That means tablets and smart phones.  So, how many of those are signed in to Google?  That’s the real impact, I think.  If 80% of your potential customers will be coming to your site via their smart phone and they’re not signed in to a Google account then Google+ means nothing to you.  (Well, 20% is nothing to sneeze at either, but you know what I mean).

I think the real “take away” here is that social media is not going away, ever.  If you own a business and you’re marketing on the Internet then you HAVE to integrate social media into your marketing campaign.  The reality of this statement though is that you cannot really outsource social media.  I mean you can, there are companies that will do it for you, but they don’t know your business like you do.  You don’t want ghost writers writing about your company.  So, take the time to do it yourself or have someone within the company do it.  Or share the responsibility amongst several people in the company.  It’s that important, it really is.

I was reading this article from Forbes.com – written by Duncan Heath – and a quote from it struck me.

“Mobile internet usage is set to overtake desktop Internet usage by 2014, and what’s more, the way people use their mobile devices to browse is very different.  This represents a colossal threat and concurrent opportunity for Internet marketers, and it is only those that can truly appreciate how the Internet will be consumed via these various new mobile devices that will prosper.”

So, as long as you believe that we will still be around after 2012, then as a business owner (and website owner) you should know what needs to be done to your website to keep it up front and center in the Mobile Internet world.  Here are some tips that the article pointed out.

1) Since typing out search queries on a mobile unit is more time consuming than on a traditional keyboard, the thought is that users will be typing in less words.  So, that means shorter keyword phrases.  Which, as we all know, are more competitive.  This means that in order to compete for shorter keyword phrases the site will have to have more information and more incoming links from social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook.  Yeah, I know, more, more, more.

2) BUT – (there’s always a “but”) – voice search is also gaining ground so it may just be that users of Mobile Internet will opt more for voice search instead of typing their queries.  The idea here is that people use longer phrases with voice SO, this means that it may actually work to the benefit of the website owner to market for longer keyword phrases to match what the user is saying.  If an analytics program could capture those voice searches, that would be an excellent way to find those phrases to market for.  We’ll have to see.

3) It may also be easier for Mobile Internet users to search via a program like Google Goggles which allows them search via images.  This means that it’s important that all the images on a website, everything from bullet images to larger images must be optimized for the keyword phrases on the pages they are on.  In truth, if your website has been optimized this should have already been done.

4) If you’ve been waiting to get into the social media marketing venue, you can’t afford to wait anymore.  91% of Mobile Internet usage is on social media programs (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)  If your customers are there, you need to be too.  In addition, you must begin to learn how to engage with your customers.  The days of just “advertising” your product / service are gone.  Forget Mad Men, those days are not coming back.  Marketing today is much more interactive, it has to be.

5) Mobile Internet users are more likely to use or buy from you much sooner than a Desktop Internet user.  How does this information impact what you say on your website?  Will you offer some kind of “special” to mobile users?  Maybe you’ll create an app just so they can keep in touch with you?  I’m really not sure. If you have any creative ideas, let me know.

So, don’t wait for the train to leave the station.  Get your tickets now and start thinking about how you and your business can benefit from the Mobile Internet.

Well, it was just a matter of time I suppose.  “Earlier this year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the .XXX top-level domain. The new .XXX top-level domain is expected to be big business for domain registrars and of course the entire adult entertainment industry.” (Original Article)

Basically, to business owners this means that someone can purchase your domain name with .xxx after it.  It may not turn out to be harmful at all  (to your business I mean) but if you’ve worked hard to brand your business name, do you really want it associated with an “adult entertainment” industry?

If you are concerned about this and want to “block” others from purchasing your domain name.xxx then purchase it yourself.   GoDaddy has a page set up just for that.

I know, it’s at least $100.00/year – it sucks.  What can I tell you?  The price of doing business just went up a bit!  But if it’s worth it for you to keep your name out of that XXX industry, then do it.  You won’t be sorry.  Cause, if someone does purchase it, it’ll cost you much more than $100.00 to get it back.