Tag Archive for small business marketing

02 May 2012
business tips • internet marketing • small business • social media

Google Giving Your Business More Exposure!


Google has been working, since April 2010 on a Business Photos Program. Basically, the idea is to provide businesses with a local photographer that apparently has been approved by Google to take photos and/or virtual tours of the business. These photos/videos are then put on Google searches, Google Maps, Google Places and who knows where else?

The Google Small Business blog has a great story on it.  Apparently it’s been successful enough that Google is now expanding it to other countries and they’re looking for more photographers to sign up to the program. Here’s a link to a photographer in the Atlanta, Georgia area just to give you an idea of the kind of photographers in the program.

It’s a really great idea – imagine looking for a restaurant and being able to take a virtual tour of that restaurant before you set foot in there?  I can see this working well for Bed and Breakfasts, animal day care centers, boutiques and many other places.  Very Cool.

Check out Google’s Business Photos program – it may just be the thing your business needs!


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03 Oct 2011
internet marketing • seo • small business

What Is The Expected ROI From Your Internet Marketing?


I just finished reading an entry at a social media site from an Internet Marketer who had recently left his employer because the ROI wasn’t what the employer had expected.  The Internet marketer was using SEO (search engine optimization), social media marketing (via Twitter and Facebook) and blogging.  These three factors put the site in the top positions for multiple keyword phrases in Google.  They were averaging 2 sales per day from his efforts.

So, you may be thinking to yourself…”Well, what did the employer expect?”…

Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?  I mean, did the Internet marketer give him any ideas of what may be expected?  I have to wonder if the Internet marketer was reporting the number of visitors to the site and THEN talking about the sales.  It may be that the number of visitors wasn’t changing much and the employer may have been focusing on that number.  It can happen!

Why shouldn’t you focus on the number of website visitors?

For businesses that are local and specialized, like lawyers, dentists, specialty doctors, etc.  The numbers of visitors to these types of sites will not alter much unless the geography they are in alters.  Think about it, if your a family dentist living in Denver, Colorado – there are approximately 600,000 people living in Denver.  That’s your pool.  You’re not going to attract people from Colorado Springs or from Breckenridge or Steamboat Springs – you’re ONLY relevant to the folks in the Denver area.  And even with that said, it’s really only on the side of town that your office is in.  So, the number of visitors to your site will cap at some point (unless a new community or area is opened up in your geography and more people move in).

So, what’s the point of marketing if there’s a cap in the visitors?

It’s the sales – sales – sales!!!!  If you are marketing your website to 600,000 people and you’re getting 1% of those visiting your website and 5% of the visitors convert into customers your goal (and the goal of your Internet marketer) is to increase that 5% to more and more.  You’re still getting the same number of visitors but now you want to convert those visitors into customers.  It doesn’t help to have more people come to the website if you can’t convert them.

So focus on the number of conversions – if your Internet marketer isn’t giving you reports on your conversions – ask them to start.  It’s the true measure of the success or failure of your Internet marketing campaign .


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21 Apr 2011
small business • social media

5 Great Questions To Ask Your Social Media Consultant


Got another great article from my business coach, John Miller. We all know that the Internet is still fairly new, but even newer is social media. And, human nature being what it is, there are those out there who will try to sell you some snake oil service – hoping you won’t ask any questions and you’ll just sign their contract.

John put together 5 questions that you can ask someone who you’re thinking of hiring as a social media consultant.

1. How long have you been working in social media and the internet? Make sure that if your expert does seem green, they prove their experience in some other way.

2. Can you share an example of one small business you helped and how you did it? Case studies should be king. Make sure that the experiences that your expert has had are directly relatable to your business needs (not necessarily to your industry).

3. What is the biggest mistake you have seen small businesses make with social media? The heart of this question is to understand whether your expert pays attention to what is happening in the marketplace.

4. What do you think we should do first? Focusing on the first steps will help to determine two things about your expert: 1) Whether he or she has done their homework about your business and what you might already be doing, and 2) You want to make sure the expert is not just a professional theorist and that they are actually skilled in getting stuff done.

5. How will I know whether your/our efforts are working? How will you measure success? It is also a hidden test. If your expert focuses your metrics for success on volume (ie getting 1,000 Twitter followers), they probably have no idea what real business impact looks like. If instead they talk to you about how you can map your social media efforts back to your business goals – it is worth continuing your conversation.

Why A Social Media Consultant?

Just in case you’re asking yourself about the concept of a social media consultant vs. hiring someone to manage the social media marketing for you – let me give you my 2 cents worth – it may help.

First, the whole concept of using social media is to have an ongoing conversation with your customers. It’s meant to be casual, relaxed and personal. How personal can those articles or comments be if they’re coming from someone you hired? (The answer is, “not much”.)

Second, social media marketing helps you to gain the customers’ trust. It’s you, speaking to them, talking about new ideas, new products or services, the latest happenings in the industry, what your thoughts are on how your business can help your customer, etc. Now, who can do this better than the folks IN the business?

I know, I know – the concept of having to manage social media on top of everything else that you do in your business is just a bit much – believe me – I know! But the reality is, there’s no getting away from it. Social media has become a large factor in Internet Marketing. And Internet Marketing has become a large factor in business marketing. So, it’s not a matter of “should you get into social media” – it’s actually “how to manage the time to get into social media”.

If you have any questions about social media feel free to contact Eckweb – or if you have thoughts on how you manage social media in your business workday – by all means, share!!!!


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02 Apr 2011
internet marketing • small business

Niche – Pitch – Rich


I’ve been talking Internet marketing for 11 years now and I sometimes forget that there are many small business owners who still don’t know how to use their websites for their businesses. It’s easy to get so comfortable with what you know that you forget what others don’t know!

One of the very most basic aspects of Internet marketing is to go as niche as possible with your website pages. This has always been the most difficult thing to teach website owners. After all, most business owners think about bringing in large amounts of traffic in order to convert some into sales. But the reality is, that searchers online are searching for their specific “thing” – so they are using very specific keyword phrases.

Let’s see if I can give you a real life example:

Barnestreefarm is an evergreen tree farm in upstate New York. They get most of their business for evergreen trees (Christmas is a hot season!) but we’re working with them to change some of that.

1) Of course, when I ask about what they want to market, they tell me “evergreens”. Well, that’s a pretty broad term.

2) So, I did some keyword research to find out what are Internet users typing in as far as “evergreens”. What I found is that the majority of Internet users are typing in specific evergreen tree names and also questions about these trees. Hmmm – well, that would certainly bring in more targeted traffic than just “evergreens”.

3) We began creating specific pages for some of the most popular trees being searched for.

  • Norway Spruce
  • White Spruce
  • Blue Spruce
  • Myers Spruce
  • American Arborvitae
  • Sugar Maple

We then added information to those pages about those specific trees and of course, we cross linked and optimized those pages.

4) Guess what happened? Well, in 30 days time, the traffic to the site increased by over 200% and the conversion almost quadrupled. Pretty fricking cool!

The concept and execution are really quite simple.

a) Find the niche keyword phrases – these are phrases that have to do with your product/service and are very specific – so phrases like questions, specific names, etc.

b) Create at least one website page (more is always better) all about that niche keyword phrase. Don’t be afraid to put as much information as you can.

c) Track what pages are working and which ones are bringing in conversions. In other words, which pages are helping to make you rich!

Internet marketing is not some magical formula or some elusive scientific formula that only rocket scientists comprehend. It’s common sense coupled with technical website knowledge. Use it, your business will be better off because of it.

I promise.


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06 Mar 2011
business tips • internet marketing • seo

How Many Hours Should You Spend On SEO?


Lately I’ve been seeing this question pop up here and there, “How many hours should you spend on SEO / Internet marketing?” I think like anything having to do with SEO and Internet marketing, the answer “depends” on a variety of factors. But I thought I would share what I do for my clients’ SEO campaigns.

Activity – Analyze Website Statistics
Time Spent – anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour
Purpose – the reason for looking through the website stats is not just to see how many visitors came to the site, it’s really to see how the website is doing. What I mean is, what pages are bringing in visitors (and which ones are not?), what keyword phrases are working (and which ones aren’t?), what call to action buttons are working (and which ones are not?). Basically, I’m looking for ways to improve the site, page by page, paragraph by paragraph. That’s the real purpose of website stats analysis.

Activity – Optimization Actions
Time Spent – anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours
Purpose – This is where the nitty gritty of SEO really happens. If I discover that a particular page is not indexed in the search engines, I need to find out why. I need to correct any broken links throughout the site, or remove a duplicate description tag or increase the content on the website page or re-write the content somehow. I also need to make sure that all the tags are correctly written on the page. This is usually done during the initial SEO but if phrases change, links to and from the page change, and of course, search engine “rules” change – then all that means that the tags have to be changed as well. Optimization is a constant, never ending process of tweaking and re-tweaking website pages to get the most out of them.

Activity – New Keyword Research
Time Spent – anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes
Purpose – Finding new keyword phrases is not really that hard. Finding really good keyword phrases, well, that can be a bit difficult. The reason is that there are certain numbers you have to look up for each keyword phrase. I mean, is the phrase too competitive? Is the phrase typed in often enough to bring in traffic? Is the phrase relevant in your geography? Is the phrase the kind of phrase that “window shoppers” are typing in or is it one that “buyers” are typing in? If a page were added about this phrase, where would be the best spot to add it on the website? All these issues have to be answered before the phrases are chosen and sent out to the clients. The truth is, this one little service that we give our clients, each and every month, is the BEST way that they can get more and more traffic. But unfortunately, because it involves some work on their part (they write the content or at least pay someone to) – this is the least acted on!

Activity – Competition Research
Time Spent – anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours
Purpose – I don’t think there’s anyone in business who doesn’t have a constant eye out for their competition. Internet marketing is no different. Knowing what the competitor down the street or the competitor on the first page of Google is doing can give you an edge in not just keeping up with them but surpassing the competition. The beauty of the Internet is that you can get quite a bit of information on your competition, without ever having to leave your desk!

Activity – Submissions
Time Spent – anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours
Purpose – Although these days, it’s not necessary to submit websites to search engines, it still is helpful to submit press releases, articles and to find local directories and of course, niche directories to submit your information to. Especially now a days with social media sites such as Foursquare, Yelp, UrbanSpoon and so many others, it’s important to claim your space and be seen. Years ago you would have never imagined opening a business without getting listed in the Yellow Pages. Today, the same can be said but instead of just the Yellow Pages, there are literally hundreds of online sites to get listed on.

Activity – Keeping Up With The News
Time Spent – anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours per day (every day)
Purpose – The Internet is amazing, it’s wonderful and at the same time, it’s frustrating and difficult. There are so many new events, new technology, new techniques, new algorithims, new engines, new online sources, etc. that keeping up with all of this information and sorting out what is working and what isn’t working can be daunting and is, absolutely, never ending. I scan through at least 50 articles per day and that’s certainly not keeping up! I have several thousand backlogged that I still haven’t gotten to. So, if you think that keeping up with what’s new online is not part of your Internet Marketing time frame, you’re in for a failed marketing campaign.

So, how many hours SHOULD you spend on SEO or Internet Marketing?

The minimum time I spend on a client’s marketing is 3.5 hours per month (not including reading up on new information). Of course, the size of the website, the willingness of the client to make changes on their site, all play a part in how much I can do on the website. And it goes without saying, that the more “action” that takes place on a website, the more it changes, the more new information is added, the more traffic the site will get.

Can all this be expensive if you outsource it? Sure – there’s no doubt, time is money and you’re not just purchasing time here, you’re also purchasing knowledge. But the truth is, if you are disciplined enough and if you are willing enough to put the time and energy into marketing your own website, it can be done. Would you be just as successful? Maybe. After all, who knows your business better than you do? But, then again, the Internet marketer knows the Internet – so, it’s a bit of a balancing act!

Know what you’re getting into, what’s needed to do the job of Internet marketing and you’ll be better off, not only with the campaign but with your expectations for that campaign as well!


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14 Feb 2011
business tips • internet marketing • seo • small business

Black Hat, White Hat and Playing The Game of SEO


A friend sent me an article from the New York Times – “The Dirty Little Secrets of Search” – a great article on how black hat seo works and how even large companies get sucked in.

There are alot of details and information in the article so I’ll let you read it for yourself but the synopsis is that JCPenney hired a search engine consulting firm, SearchDex (no sense in linking to them and giving them any credit) and apparently they purchased hundreds or thousands of links on other websites all pointing back to JCPenney. These links used keyword phrases such as “casual dresses”, “samsonite luggage”, etc.

The reason it was even discovered is because it worked. For months during the holiday season, it seemed that any search for any product that JCPenney might sell, that company came up in the top positions. It didn’t matter if the search was for Area Rugs or for bedding. JCPenney kept coming up at the top.

The New York Times decided to investigate the issue and the investigation resulted in these black hat techniques. The results were sent to Google and the end result is that the rankings for JCPenney have gone down, considerably (as you’ll read in the article).

So, was it worth it for JCPenney? Did they make alot of money during the holiday season? Probably, I’m sure they did. But will it be worth all the upcoming seasons? I mean, from now on, JCPenney is on the list at Google’s spam control center. How long before they get off that list? How much harder will they have to work to get higher rankings? If they made 5 million dollars during the 2010 holiday season, how much will they lose during the 2011 year, 2012 year, 2013 year? Was it worth it?

As business owners, you must understand the game on the Internet. The search engines WANT to give their users the most relevant results, advertisers must “advertise” in that fashion. You don’t just put stuff up on a website page and expect others to see it. You have to put up “relevant”, “important”, stuff up on those website pages. Otherwise, why is your website any better than the other person’s?

Hope you enjoy the article!


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02 Jul 2010
internet marketing • small business

Customer First With Internet Marketing


If you’ve read anything I’ve written in the last 10 years or have heard me speak at any one of the gatherings I’ve been invited to, you may have heard me use the phrase “Feed the Fetish”.

What I mean, when I say that, is Feed The Customer!  On the Internet that means, feed their current desire.  Which means, find out what they’re looking for and then feed it to them!

If your small business sells red shoes and your keyword research shows that yellow shoes are in higher demand, wouldn’t you look for a yellow shoe distributor?  Wouldn’t you add yellow shoes to your inventory of products?  Your audience is looking for them.  That’s the “fetish” this month, this quarter, this year.  Whatever.  If your audience wants it, if they’re hungry for it, feed it to them!

Here’s a great article at Suite101.com about putting the customer first in your Internet marketing campaign.


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03 Apr 2010
internet marketing • seo • small business

What To Look For In Your Marketing Reports


Many website owners focus on their website traffic report as their Main Report of how the website is doing.  But the traffic report is really just the result of all that is being done on the website.  It doesn’t give you information on what needs to be done to get those great traffic reports.

As the owner of an Internet Marketing firm that focuses on small business websites, we WANT our clients to engage in the Internet marketing process.  But in order for them to do that, they must know what’s going on, they need the information in order to make the best decision.  That’s where our monthly marketing reports come to play.  So, let me share with you what we focus on.

Keywords Report

One factor many website owners forget about is the continuous change that is the Internet.  Here’s a little tip I can give you.  Go to Code Monitor and sign up.  It’s free.  Enter in a competitor’s website and just wait.  In your email you’ll receive a notice every time that competitor makes a change on his website.  If that competitor’s website is in the top 3 on a Google search result, I can pretty much guarantee that they are changing their website often.  At least once a week.

Our Keywords Report helps you to add new data to your website by giving you 3 new keyword phrases that your website can market.  The idea is to keep adding, changing and upgrading your website.

Competition Report

Knowing what your competition is doing (and what they’re not doing) is a key factor in Internet marketing.  But what do you need to know?  Well, you need to know how many pages their website is marketing, how large is their social media marketing, what kind of traffic is that website bringing them, how many incoming links do they have and what keywords are they getting traffic for?

But you also need to know who your competition is.  Don’t get caught up in the thought that the store down the street is your competition.  On the Internet, your competition are the websites that are coming up for the keyword phrases you are marketing.  So, go to Google, type in a keyword phrase your website is marketing and hopefully you’re in the top 3.  If you’re not, who are?  Those are your competitors.  Find out what they’re doing and you’ll have a better idea of how to plan your Internet marketing campaign.

Your Website Pages

A few months ago Google changed many of their ranking rules (algorithims) and basically, they’re placing more emphasis on individual pages.  So, this forced us to place more emphasis on individual pages.  Everything from the links in and out, the page speed, cache dates and much more.

In this report, we outline each individual website page along with information about the keyword phrases it’s marketing, how it’s doing as far as bringing in traffic, it’s cache date and soon we’ll be adding page speed information as well.  The point is to give the website owner the information they need to make a decision on if and what type of changes a website page may need.

Recommendations Report

There isn’t one single day that goes by that something new isn’t introduced for website owners.  It can be a new social media site, a new method of communicating with visitors, a new form of video or audio, etc.  Just check out Killer Start Ups – you’ll see how creative folks are getting!

This report is our way of letting our customers know what new technology they may find useful for their website.  We try to cover everything that is the latest in Internet marketing.  (Did you know that Facebook is growing faster than Google?)  We want our clients to know that.  It’s to their benefit to take advantage of this information.  And to be honest, if the client does well with their website marketing, then we do well.

If your SEO firm is not providing you with this kind of information, ask them if they can or just call us at Eckweb Designs, Inc. We will help you to succeed.


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18 Jul 2009
internet marketing • small business • social media

Are You Twitter Phobic?


I’ve had multiple conversations with business owners lately about Twitter.  The general “gist” of the conversations usually revolve around them asking me what is Twitter and how can they use it?  I give them some ideas and I’m sad to say that I’m just not getting through.  Maybe I’m not explaining it well, I don’t know but I get responses like – “Oh, that’s not for me.” or “I don’t get it.” or “Sounds complicated.”

Twitter, complicated?  I don’t think so!

But, I know for myself and for the small business owners who are using it that it does work so I know that I’m not just making things up!  So, I think there’s some TwitterPhobia going around.  Basically, if you don’t know what it is, you decide it’s not for you.  Ignore it.

Well, if you find yourself to be somewhat Twitter Phobic, let me try to help.  I’ll give you some tips and ideas on why you should be using Twitter for your small business marketing campaigns.  Hopefully, I’ll get through to a few of you out there!

1) Many small businesses are local.  For your local customers who use (and love) Twitter, I highly recommend that you also use Twitter.  Introduce yourself, let these local folks know why you want to follow them.  For example, if you’re a local Greek Restaurant, you’ll want to introduce yourself by saying you’ve got a special offer for Twitter followers or local customers.  Let them know you’re looking to give them the best Greek Food in the area!

There are several directories that will hook you up with local Twitterers.

http://www.chirpcity.com
http://www.nearbytweets.com
http://www.tweepz.com

2) Twitter is not only for YOU sending out messages, you can also monitor to see and read what others are saying about your company.  What if you noticed that someone tweeted that they walked into your store the other day and no one helped them?  Wouldn’t you want to tweet back to work out the problem?  What if someone tweeted that your company gave great service, wouldn’t you want to tweet them and thank them?  What if no one is talking about you? – Doesn’t that tell you something?

3) “Listen in” – on your competitors.  What if the competition on the other side of town is Twittering?  Who’s following them?  Who are they following?  Find out what they’re talking about and put yourself in the conversation.  Showcase your expertise.

4) There are literally hundreds of new Twitter tools and more being introduced every single day, I mean every single day!  Check out Mashable.com and KillterStartUps.com – you’ll find so many Twitter tools, it’ll make your head spin.  Take some time out with your staff to review and discuss these tools.  Select the ones that will benefit your business and of course, keep checking daily for new and improved tools.  You’ll find that the information you can get from Tweets can be invaluable for your business and put you ahead of the pack.

5) Let others know you’re Tweeting.  Put a “follow me on twitter” logo on your website, on your blog, on your business card, on your storefront window, on your menus, on your brochures, everywhere!!

I hope these suggestions will help you overcome your Twitter Phobia!  Believe me, it’s a new way of communicating (well, not so new maybe – to me it’s very much like texting) but for businesses, it’s a new way.  And what is business all about if not “communicating” with your clients?  Don’t all business owners want to keep up that communication?  So, check it out and let me know how you do!


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30 Jun 2009
internet marketing • seo • small business • social media

Understanding Your Internet Audience


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!


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