Okay, maybe I’m in the minority but I’m sick of hearing about Michael Jackson’s death and life and accomplishments and legacy, etc.  It’s as if Jesus Christ himself had just died for heaven’s sake!

But, having vented those sentiments, I have to acknowledge that apparently there are many more people out there who ARE interested in hearing all about this.  How do I know?  The traffic on social media programs like Twitter tell me so.

I know we like to blame the media for promoting certain pieces of news but with the real time social media tools like Twitter influencing news stories (and everything else it seems) we can’t blame the media anymore.  They’re just responding to what they’re seeing and reading.  And what they’re reading is that millions of people are lamenting the death of Michael Jackson.  So, the media is just responding to what the audience wants.

This just goes to show that no matter how YOU may feel about a topic or service or product, as a business owner YOU need to LISTEN to what your audience wants.  If you think that the majority of your audience are searching for divorce services, but in reality the majority is searching for mediation services, then why don’t you offer (and advertise) mediation services?

Use the great tools at Twitter and Google to find out what your audience is looking for.  Begin tailoring your website to those needs and you’ll see traffic coming to your site with very little effort on your part!

Tags: internet marketing, marketing, Michael Jackson, small business marketing, social media, target audience, twitter

Many businesses are busy with the process of selling their products or services but something that they sometimes forget to do (and this is so true of small businesses) is that they forget to find out what their audience needs.

No point in building a rack or pages on your website to sell red shoes if your audience is looking for yellow shoes instead!  That can be a costly mistake.  (Hence, that’s how all those shoes end up at the discount stores!)

Anyway – how can you know what your audience is looking for?  And now?

Well, Twitter is a “now” type of tool.  I mean, you see what people are typing in now.  So, it’s a great tool to find out what others are searching for.

Here’s how…

Twitscoop.com is a great tool to find out what people are searching for.  Here’s how you use it.

1) Type in a phrase (in quotes) about your services, in the form of a need or want.  For example, let’s say you sell Name Tags – here are some sample searches you can do…

a) “searching for” + “name tags” – no results

b) “searching for” + “nametags” – no results

c) “looking for” + “name tags” – got 2 results, one mentions celebrities and name tags (hmm – that’s an idea, create name tags using celebrity images)

d) “great” + “name badges” – got an advertisement from namebadgeworld.com – hmm – interesting and free way to market!  Also got links to other sites selling very different looking types of name badges.  Great ideas!

Get the idea?  This short survey on Twitscoop.com which took about 5 minutes, showed me that there is a need out there for unusual and different name tags.  People are admiring name tags and badges that are not the “same old same old”.  That tells me (if I’m selling name tags) that I need to get creative and begin making different name tags, ones that stand out and showcase today’s meetings and the desires of the people in those meetings.

This concept will not only show you what your audience wants or needs but it will bring you AND your audience together.  What a concept!

Tags: internet marketing idea, small business marketing, social media, target audience, trends, twitter

Most of you know we cater to small businesses and as a result, we’re always on the lookout for creative Internet marketing ideas.  I found one today SmallBusinessSEM.com and thought I’d share it with you.

The idea was taken from AvanteGardens.com – basically what they did was to add a marker on a Google Map for each location where they’ve handled the flowers for weddings, special events, etc.  When you click on a marker it shows you the name of the facility and it also shows you a photo of the flowers.  Very clever marketing!

Not only are they letting you know who has used them (building trust and value to their brand) but they’re also showcasing their products!

It’s a great idea but how can YOU use it?

Let me know!

Tags: creative marketing, google maps, internet marketing, small business marketing

I speak to many small business owners every week and one thing that strikes me is how many of them rely on others to promote them.  When I talk to these business owners about writing blogs or tweeting on Twitter or any type of self promotion the usual answer I get back is “Well, I don’t have time for that.”

What?

I know when I first started Eckweb I attended every single networking group within a 20 mile radius for 3 years.  I wrote as many blogs and articles as I could, I searched for every available type of self promotion that I could find.  I mean, it took time, yes but it also helped me to find the words that I needed to give my presentation.  It gave me the opportunity to see how others saw the SEO services industry.  This insight was my education on how to speak to my potential audience.

So, it’s no wonder that when I speak to small business owners about adding content to their websites – they don’t know how.  They don’t know what to say.  They can speak the language of their industry, but they can’t speak the language their customers are speaking.  In my humble opinion, you can’t sell if you don’t know what you’re selling and if you don’t know what your customers are looking for.

So, the next time you’re given the opportunity to take advantage of some self promotion, go for it!  It will pay off in the long run!!

Tags: internet marketing, seo services, small business marketing

I know, I know, everyone is talking about social media, twitter this and facebook that! What’s it all about? Why is everyone so interested in the minutiae of our lives? Well, I don’t know the answer to that but I DO know that participating in social media is very much like participating in business and social networking groups. At first, you meet a lot of people, you shake hands, you engage in small talk and you get to know a little about each other. But after several meetings you become more engaged and more familiar and more trusting of each other. After several months, hopefully, you’ve gained that person’s trust enough to earn business referrals from them. Or maybe even business from themselves.

These online social media programs are the same thing – at least for businesses they are. The problem is that sometimes the business folks are mixed in with the social folks. So, the "conversation" that you see on the screen ranges from "Deciding on tuna or chicken sandwich for lunch." to "Found some great ideas on small business marketing – click here." So, yes, at this point we do have to weed out what we need from what we don’t need (or care about). But the reality is that the benefits are there.

Nothing tells the truth better than numbers, so here are some stats from 4 websites that we’re marketing. All four websites are participating in social media programs. All four have blogs that they keep up and all four contribute regularly (at least 2 articles per month) to their blog and social media campaigns.

Website 1 – contributes an average of 20 articles per month

28.33 % came from direct traffic
28.79% came from referring sites
42.88% came from search engines

The referring sites are…
stumbleupon.com
promotionworld.com
ladieswholaunch.com
twitter.com

Website 2 – contributes an average of 5 articles per month

10.54% from direct traffic
31.05% from referring sites
58.40% from search engines

The referring sites are…
knolstuff.com
blog
linkedin.com

Website 3 – contributes an average of 2 articles per month

7.51% from direct traffic
4.93% from referring sites
87.56% from search engines

The referring sites are…
knolstuff.com
blog
ezinearticles.com
goodsearch.com
geckoe.com

Website 4 – contributes an average of 2 articles per month

28.74% from direct traffic
2.01% from referring sites
69.25% from search engines

The referring sites are…
blog
knolstuff.com
goodsearch.com

What’s interesting to note is the direct traffic stats. 2 f the 4 websites above DO NOT participate in any other marketing besides Internet marketing, not even pay per click campaigns. So, the "direct traffic" visitors are probably coming from referrals from clients and/or referrals from visitors to the social media campaigns. It’s hard to tell but it’s interesting to note that factor.

So, you see, there’s no doubt that there is traffic being brought in to websites via social media. So, is it worth it for you to take 30 minutes each day to write a short article about what you already know? And then submit that article to multiple sites? If you really don’t have the time, consider using a social media marketing program like we have at Eckweb Designs. It does the work for you.

Tags: eckweb, internet marketing, small business marketing, social media, social media marketing

If you’re a small business and you’re trying to market your website, you may find it difficult to compete with the larger companies. You know, the companies that have triple the number of employees that you have, the companies that have 10 more websites than you have, the companies with deeper pockets than you have.

So, how can you, as a small business, compete on the Internet? Easy – Long Tail Marketing!

Long Tail Marketing is the concept of targeting keyword phrases that are less competitive. True, these keyword phrases are also less popular. But the chances of your website getting on the first page of the search engines with the long tail keyword phrase is much greater. And let’s face it, if you’re not on the first page, you’re not going to get visitors from that keyword phrase.

I’ve been struggling for months to get a client of ours on the first page of Google for the phrase name tags. I can get him there at least once a day but I can’t seem to keep him there! It’s frustrating to say the least! So, I know the potential for the visitors to his site for that keyword phrase is high but at the same time, while I’m working on that highly competitive phrase I still need to get visitors to his website. And long tail marketing is an excellent SEO strategy.

Let me give you some stats based on the last 30 days…

The numbers don’t lie. All these websites are getting MORE visitors from their long tail keyword phrases. It makes sense, their positions in the search engines for these long tail phrases are higher so the chances of getting visitors are higher.

You may be asking yourself, so why doesn’t every small business website follow the long tail marketing method? Well, there’s a catch. In order to get the larger number of visitors to your website, you need more pages. If a highly competitive keyword phrase on page 1 of Google can bring in 1000 visitors to your website, and a less competitive keyword phrase on page 1 of Google can bring in 50 visitors, then you need 20 pages, each one marketing one of these "less competitive (aka long tail) keyword phrases" in order to bring in the same number as the highly competitive keyword phrase.

And let’s face it, not many small business owners have the time to write so many pages. And not many small business owners have the money to pay copywriters for the service. But, as an SEO webmaster working specifically with small business owners I’m here to tell you that long tail marketing is your best, most effective strategy for website marketing. As your SEO firm to provide you with long tail keyword phrases, each month they should give you a few. And write – add new pages to your website. Write articles and post them on your blog, on Facebook. Let everyone on your Twitter account know about that article. It WILL bring in business and the side benefit is that the conversion rates are usually higher on the long tail keyword phrases. So, not only do they bring in visitors, but targeted visitors who are ready to buy.

Tags: internet marketing, long tail marketing, search engine optimization, seo, small business marketing

So many website owners spend the majority of their time and dollars marketing their business websites that they forget their names are also part of their business!

Here are some examples:

Mickey Arledge sells name tags, awards and trophies and much more through several websites. He’s been in business for many years and there are thousands of people who know his name. So, why shouldn’t he own the domain mickeyarledge.com?

Joseph M. Maus has been a personal injury attorney for many years. His website does a great job of showcasing the services that he provides. But I’m sure that many people remember him by his name. So, why shouldn’t he own the domain josephmmaus.com?

Neil Leavitt provides family law services in South Florida and has been doing so for 30 years. Literally thousands of individuals and families know him by name. So, why shouldn’t he own the domain attorneyneilleavitt.com?

Ben Cranor is the heart and soul of Cranor Roofing and has been giving the area of Atlanta quality roofing services for a long time. His reputation and networking have earned him excellent status in the community, so why shouldn’t he own the domain bencranor.com?

What can these individuals (and you) do with a “name” domain? Do what Cathy Stucker did, she turned it into her own online business card. So many of us have too many qualities and qualifications to put on a business card, it simply won’t fit! BUT, you CAN put several domain names on your business card – one of them being your own personal online business card! Imagine going to your next networking group, you hand out anywhere between 10 and 50 business cards. Later that day, those business cards get piled on a desk and sorted through. Your business card has 2 domains on it. One for your business and one for you. It stands out from the rest. When the recipient of your business card looks up your domain names they will be exposed to your business and to you! They will be reminded of how gracious you were at the meeting (I hope you were gracious!).

And here’s a little tip – if you have a name that’s easily mis-spelled (I can’t tell you how many people write Esther C Cane instead of Esther C Kane) – buy the mis-spelled domain name as well and simply re-direct it to the correct spelling. That way you won’t lose out on the traffic from the folks who either don’t know how to spell your name or simply can’t spell your name.

The point is, when you sell your business, you’re not just selling products and services, you’re also selling the customer service that you provide and that comes from you and your employees. So, go ahead, put yourself out there!

Tags: eckweb, internet marketing, small business marketing

Tags: copywriting, internet copywriting, internet marketing, search engine optimization, seo, small business marketing, writing for websites

Tags: economy, internet marketing, search engine optimization, seo, small business marketing