1 Day Left to Get FREE Business & Marketing Services!

April 29, 2009

The “Done for You” Giveaway of the Century ends tomorrow, April 30, and I don’t want you to miss your opportunity for search engine optimization home page makeover and all the other cool things that nearly 30 providers are GIVING AWAY—including audio & video production, ready-to-give workshops, websites, article writing and tons more!
 
If you haven’t already registered for your done-for-you services and products, don’t wait another minute! Thousands of people have already done so; now it’s your turn.
 
Check it out: http://www.DoneForYouGiveaway.com.

Optimizing Web Content – The Long-Tail Search

April 28, 2009

We are going to chat a bit today about one of my favorite topics – the long-tail search. You see, when people arrive at your web site, they are there for primarily one of three reasons:

1. Research information
2. Browse your services or products
3. Buy your services or products

In order to accommodate their needs, you must have information, and consequently pages, written just for them.  Let me give you an example:

Let’s take a jewelry business that handcrafts women’s sterling silver bracelets.  The high level pages of the web site should give information about the jewelry overall.  The keywords used for these are simple, short keywords.  With this company, the keywords for the high level pages are jewelry, bracelets, women’s bracelets.  Makes sense, right?  After all, these pages are to help people understand how beautiful the jewelry is, how it fits their particular style, how it’s made from sterling silver, and how it is the ideal bracelet for you, the ideal prospect.

Then come the long-tail keywords.  Long-tail keywords or key phrases are three to four words that specifically identify or describe what the person wishes to find in a search engine. With our jewelry store, they would include phrases like women’s sterling silver bracelets, or sterling silver beaded bracelets, or even silver turquoise woman’s bracelet. 

People who use long-tail searches are typically buyers.  They are looking for something very specific to fulfill a need and do not want to waste time on web pages that do not meet that desire.  So, if you optimize your web page for a very specific phrase, then that phrase better be the focus of the page.  You would not, for example, want to optimize a page for sterling silver red beaded bracelets and then only have turquoise bracelets on the page.

I find that the best way for me to lay out my keywords and key phrases is to use a web site map.  Having a layout of the design of the site gives me the opportunity to determine the best use of the keywords and key phrases, allowing for creation of compelling and unique content, while not overusing any particular keyword or phrase.  It’s much like you would lay out a brick and mortar store – you want to think about your customer, what they see when they walk in the door, where they would go next, and how you want to lay out each section to best accommodate their purchasing habits.  Make your web site each for your shoppers to use – whether they are researching, browsing or buying, you want to give great content to each of them, and make it easy to find.

Free Business & Marketing Services! Wow…Check This Out!

April 14, 2009

My colleagues Linda Claire Puig and Kim Clausen have put together an outrageous event in which they and nearly 30 other service providers—including me!—are giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars of done-for-you services and products! (I’m giving away 10 SEO Home Page Makeovers.)

It’s called the “Done for You” Giveaway of the Century, and there’s never been anything like it! This is NOT a giveaway of information downloads but instead ACTUAL WORK. The giveaway goes April 15-30, but you’ll want to get over there now to pre-register so that you don’t miss it.

www.DoneForYouGiveaway.com

Here’s JUST SOME of the stuff that’s being given away!

• Quickbooks set-up
• Audio production
• Ready-to-deliver workshops & teleseminars
• Video production
• Ghostwriting
• Custom ezine templates
• Ready-to-give speeches
• Blog set-up
• Editing
• Shopping cart service & strategic assistance
• Home page rewrites
• Articles
• Expert-maker interviews
• Ready-to-present e-courses
• Practice management
• Newsletter service
• Teleseminar promotion
• And lots more!

Go sign up now!  www.DoneForYouGiveaway.com

My Secret Weapon

April 10, 2009

So I’m going to let you in on my secret weapon. Like you, I have too many things on my plate, and juggling them all can be problematic. So, I highly recommend…

outsourcing!

I know what you are thinking – come on, Laura. I already outsource. But do you really?  How many times have you thought to yourself “it will be faster if I do this myself”? Come on, be truthful.  We all do it.  I’m still guilty of it! 

Having a background in technical support outsourcing management, one would think I would have an easier time outsourcing than most. Perhaps I do, but I’ve learned some lessons along the way.  Lessons like:

1. Just because I employ someone who does not work in my facility, and has other clients, does not mean that my work is less of a priority.
2. Everyone should do what they are passionate about doing, and then sometimes things they are not. I am always cautious of hiring freelancers or virtual assistants who are willing to do whatever I need them to. It is better for me, and them, if they have a true calling, a specific niche, and a solid idea of the type of work they prefer to do.  Everyone will be happier.
3. Outsource what you don’t like to do only if it makes sense for your business.  If you hate to do bookkeeping, but you are providing that as a service, you should reconsider your business model, not just outsource it completely.  The Reason – you are still ultimately responsible and should do some quality control.  If you hate it, you won’t provide the best service, even if your outsourced person loves it.  Just sent the work directly to that person, leaving your time free to do other things you enjoy.
4. Don’t expect your virtual assistants or freelancers to understand your business without spending time with them.  The more time you spend integrating them in your business and helping them understand your customers, products, services, goals and business strategy, the better they can serve you.
5. Most importantly – work with people you really like!

I am fortunate to have a wonderful virtual assistant, who I consider to be my secret weapon.  She knows social networking very well, has a fantastic work ethic, and is honestly one of my favorite people.  Who is she?  If you are reading this, then check out the admin section and you will see her name and can get her info from there.

Can’t figure it out – check out Marta Costa at VA-4-Hire.  And, you are welcome!

5 Tasks to Perfect Your Web Content

April 7, 2009

The experts seem to write effortlessly. Why does it seem so difficult for you to simply generate new content for your web site?  You know you can write – people tell you how much they enjoy your information on a regular basis.  Your web site looks good.  It should, after all the money you spent on it.

So why do you struggle getting all your amazing information out on the Internet?

You need the processes the experts use.  There are no secrets – just 5 steps you can take right now to improve your web content.

1. Devise a plan on what to write – make an editorial calendar that includes the various topics you want to cover and the audience you want to reach.
2. Research what your target market wants to know – if there are already hundreds and thousands of articles, blogs or web pages on your chosen topic, you will need to alter it to make it interesting for your target.  Some items are worth repeating – but freshen them up with your own slant or new data.
3. Repurpose good writing – if you write an article or newsletter that everyone loves, repurpose that information into blog posts.  CAUTION:  Do not simply cut and paste.  Give it a new slant, get a testimonial or quote on the subject, and find some additional information on the topic.
4. Make your content easy to scan – people need to cram as much into as little time as possible. When you are writing about your passion, it is easy to get carried away. Remember that most people will do a cursory scan of your content first, so make it easy for them to want to read the material.
5. Write powerful headlines – you only have a few moments to capture someone’s attention, so make your headlines really work for you. Keep then succinct, but catchy. Write to your target to let them know this content is for them, and you have the answers to their pain.

You Need a Web Content Strategy

April 3, 2009

I am constantly amazed at the number of conversations I have with people regarding a strategy for their Internet marketing and web presence. When I read the experts, they all say the same thing – have a strategy, maintain a focus, write clear and interesting copy, and make sure you know what your target market needs. So why does it seem to be so difficult to achieve?

I believe that in general we do not think about the strategy early enough in the process.  You really want to begin devising a strategy when you are building, or updating, your web site.  The earlier you map out your goals, the better off you will be. I cannot tell you how many times a customer would have been better served to have retained the services of both the web designer and a web content writer early in the process, thereby ensuring that the web site was conducive to search engine optimization through copy and meta tags. Often I run into web designers who either do not employ SEO tactics, or believe that they can do everything needed on the back-end.  If you utilize an overall strategy, you will have better success in the search engines, and you will have compelling copy that speaks to your target market.

Building a strategy is not always easy. It requires you to think about where you want to be in the future, and know a significant amount about your target market.  By determining what you want to be when you grow up, you’ll have a solid foundation to build your business, and a better mix of online and offline marketing tactics.

So what is the first step? Write down exactly what you are doing and who you are selling to – and be very detailed.  If you are selling gutters, for example, list exactly what type of gutters and who benefits from them the most.  Remember that while the ultimate goal is to sell gutters, you cannot sell them without understanding what your target market wants.  Understanding your target market goes into everything you do – your web design, the information on the web, whether or not you will blog, write articles, what information you will impart to show your expertise, where you will “hang out” online to build relationships, and what the mix of online and offline marketing dollars will need to be in order to be successful.

A written strategy will provide you with a baseline from which to launch all your online marketing efforts. You must also track these efforts to determine their success. The Internet provides an inexpensive way to reach potential customers, but you will be much more successful if you work diligently from a strategy, execute diligently, and track and report regularly.

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