Business Blogging

The new Business Blogger often starts by writing very detailed sales pitches.  Think “long winded elevator speech” and you are getting close to the most common mistake.

Business blogs gain preferential treatment by the search engines.  If the content of your article is not focused and well crafted, then the preferential treatment will be the cold shoulder.

Starting at the beginning, ask the question why do search engines care if your blog article (or website) is listed?  The more users who use the search engine, the more advertiser revenue they will collect.  If Google sent their users to web sites that did not meet the searchers’ needs, then the searcher would stop using Google.

Business card data or quick elevator speeches usually fail to gain positive search engine listings because they are too broad in topic scope.  Your business certainly does a lot, but don’t try to write about everything you do in a single article.

Single Topic Focus

The more specific the better.  For exampling, writing about printing is too broad.  Writing on tri-fold brochure printing is much better.

Time Sensitive

Since blogs are news type communication mediums, take advantage of it.  Write articles that have a sense of now.  For example, writing about your staff is not time sensitive; writing about the person you just hired is time sensitive.

Informative

Your readers are giving you their time.  Respect it. Give the reader value for their visit.  Sales pitches are not informative, no matter how sweet the offer.  The information value is very low.  Make offers on static web pages, write about benefits on your blog site.  For example, write about the benefits of using a content management system for your company web site, rather than the new deal your company has on web site design.

Ed Bejarana BusinessBloging.net a division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

Zenith Exhibits, Inc. specializes in face-to-face and internet based marketing.  Exhibiting on the trade show floor or in the worlds largest trade show, the itnernet, we are you marketing solutions provider.

Is it better to send an email on Monday or Wednesday? What about Tuesday or Friday? If you wonder about each day’s pros and cons, a post at the 60 Second Marketer has some practical advice. Here’s a sample of their wisdom:

Sending a message on Monday has the advantage of arriving before a recipient’s inbox fills up with business-related email; however, it’s also when people are most focused on the task at hand, and they might not have the time for non-essential browsing. The 60 Second solution: “Send emails late Monday morning, after consumers have cleaned the weekend spam from their inboxes.”

If subscribers are scrambling to catch up with work as the weekend draws near, you might get lost in the shuffle on Wednesday and Thursday; this is prime time, however, for catching their interest as they make weekend plans.

Believe it or not, a case can be made for Saturday and Sunday delivery. Beware, though, of subscribers who might consider this too intrusive. According to 60 Second Marketer, Saturday has better response rates than Sunday, which you should avoid.

“The most important point to keep in mind for an email campaign is a proper and thorough evaluation of a test group,” 60 Second concludes. “By making a practice of consistently testing your email campaigns, you’ll be sure to get the most bang for your marketing buck.”

The Po!nt: It’s your party, and you’ll mail when you want to. Just make sure you test, test, test.

Source: The 60 Second Marketer Blog. Read the full post here.

-published by MarketingProfs.com Vol. 2, No. 25 March 2, 2009

We have all rolled our eyes at least once when we heard someone say our cell phone would be the next internet platform of choice.  Sometimes the best measure of the future is the actions of the mega companies.

Google has started following suit with Apple’s software add-on pay-per-app business strategy. I interpret this act as a strong indicator of Googles feelings regarding the future of cell phone internet useage.

What does this mean for you? As more applications become available for cell phone users, the more people will use their cell phones for commerce.  If your web-site and/or blog site are not built for optimal cell phone viewing then you just may be selling your self short.

While it is impossible to tell the future, I doubt anyone would argue that mobile phones are being used more and more by people to browse the internet.  Screen size limitations, flash exclusion, and tiny keyboards are just a few things to consider when updating your web properties.

Test your web page. Take a look at how your current web site looks on a cell phone then ask your self the following questions:

1. Is the text readable?
2. Is navigation easy?
3. Can visitors easily dial your phone number?

Most new cell phones have the ability to dial phone numbers right off your website, but only if the cell phone can read the numbers?  If your phone number is an image on your web page, then it becomes more difficult for visitors to click-and-call!

Ed Bejarana BusinessBlogging.net a division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

Source Article:  Google Opens the Door for Paid Android Apps, February 13, 2009 By David Needle

You know you're on the up-and-up, and that your email messages contain legitimate offers for actual products or services. Unfortunately, though, you're often sharing inbox space with fraudulent messages that claim to come from popular retailers and banks. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, we offered tips to help you determine your authentic corporate voice. Now that you've collected some cool insights, here's our second set of tips, to help you in your final phase of daring to go viral. Read the rest of this entry »

Writing for search engine visibility is more of an experiment than an exercise in following clearly laid out instructions. While there are hundreds of books and several thousand industry recognized “experts” who can describe search engine optimization (SEO) in great detail, the truth still remains that search engine visibility depends on the content.

Search engine companies make their money from advertisers purchasing ad space and keyword combinations. Using a bidding process not unlike the traditional auction system, advertisers state how much they are willing to pay every time someone clicks on a link to their website. This process is known as “Pay Per Click” advertising and companies worldwide invest billions for premium placements.

However, to keep the searchers coming to their website, the search engine must give you (the searcher) what you are looking for and do so in as few searches as possible. Because advertisers have a tendency to exaggerate what they do, ALL search engines provide a mechanism to evaluate your website for themselves.

When performing a search, our goal is to improve your listing in the organic search results.  These listings are left of the paid lists and below the sponsored links (sometimes listed).  The order of website listings is a closely guarded secret and every search engine does it slightly different.  High valued sites are measured by content, the stronger and more relevant the better.  The essential goal of the search engine is to make sure you are what you write.

Armed with the above knowledge, you are better able to write your articles to maximize your viability in the organic search results. If content is king, then the better (or more interesting) your article (or page for that matter) are, the higher your Organic Search listing will be.

How then do you know what to write about?

We discussed the Keyword selection process in a previous page and in our examples we used babysitting as a search phrase. Bringing back our sample image, we see that there were over 6,400 searches last month for the keyword phrase “babysitting tips”. Here is another view of that keyword list, scrolled a bit further down under the section titled similar keywords:

We see a whole new view of possible topics, but we also see other words google associates with babysitting tips. This is important knowledge, because now, in addition to knowing how many people are searching for these new keywords, we also know how important google is going to consider our text to be if we includes these new words in our “babysitting tips” article or page.

For example, here is one way we could start our article:

My babysitting tip for this week is use a nanny cam and stipulate right up front in your home child care contract that you will use hidden cameras to ensure your child is being cared for appropriately.

By itself the above sentence is ok, but it will NOT get you listed on Google. We have, however, established the tone for Google to measure the rest of our article against. Because “babysitting tip”, “nanny” and “home child care” are associated words in Google’s index, having them together in the first sentence in a smooth clearly written manner will give us good footing for establishing our keyword dominance. The key concept here is “smooth clearly written manner”. No obvious stuffing or contrived use of keywords allowed.

The next 400 to 800 words MUST support the first sentence, and ONLY the first sentence. Don’t introduce more keyword topics further down in your article. Keeping your topic “singularly focused” is critical! I can not stress this enough, but when content is king the content must stand alone without the aid of “other” interesting points.

How do you know when you are done?

Done is an unobjectionable statement. If you reference our article structure page where you can get an idea of how many words your article could contain. However, done is up to you and your READERS! Here is where the experiment concept comes into play.

You’ve got to try different things to know what does or doesn’t work. Write your babysitting article (if you are a baby sitter) and then track the article on Google. If it appears on google under your target keywords, then chances are VERY high that people will read what you wrote. In our example, there were more than a million searches for nanny in July, if just one half of one percent of those people searching for “nanny” click over to your article you will have 5,000 readers. In the world of blogging, 5,000 readers is HUGE!

If Google doesn’t list your article for your targeted keyword, then try again. Keep trying until you DO get listed for your keyword.

Now, in the blog world, your article will life on the first page of google for only a short period of time and that is determined by the number of new articles written on that particular topic. The good news is google with FOREVER more index your article for that keyword phrase, but unless you keep writing on the topic, newer articles written as well or better than your will take the top spots. Here-in lies our next lesson:

Borrow styles from proven success

Before you start writing babysitting tips, do a search on google and read the landing pages for the top three organic search listings. If the top three are advertisements for things, then write and experiment, if the top three listings are blog articles, then try to improve on the writing style. Get the idea yet?

Your business depends on web traffic. While you can’t plagiarize material, you can copy or emulate writing styles. Find what works and do it better.

Every blog article needs to be single- topic focused, but there is no reason why that single topic isn’t based on VERY popular search phrases.

My favorite tool is Google’s Keyword Tool. Not only does Google give you the number of searches for the previous month, but they also give you an annual monthly average. The general rule is, the bigger the number the more popular the topic. Take a look at the search on “baby sitting” that I did in July.

Let’s assume you were wanting to promote your baby sitting service and you felt it would be good to share some stories about some of your past experiences. Which version of “baby sitter” would you use: “baby sitter” or “babysitter”? Does it matter? Should you use both? Are there other keyword options you should consider?

Answers: Yes, Maybe and You bet!

You see that “babysitting” as a single word was searched for almost five times as much as “baby sitting”. To gain maximum traffic, you would want to write your article with babysitting as one word.

Why not use both and get ALL the traffic?

While this approach would be a natural conclusion, the search volume for the words together out-weigh the two word version by so much that Google is likely to distinguish the two as separate search topics. Using one consistent version will give you maximum keyword density for the main topic of the article.

Why should I consider other keyword options if I’m worried about keyword density?

You see that Google sub categorizes articles based on additional search phrasing. Generally speaking, the more focused you are on a specific topic, the higher relevancy score Google is likely to give your content. Going back to our babysitting example, if the focus of our article is on our specific service, then we see that there are 6,600 searches on average per month. In this case we will gain a high relevancy value on “babysitting” and an even higher relevancy on “babysitting service”. Had you selected “baby sitting” as two words, you would have had far fewer sub-categorization opportunities.

Competition

You’ll notice that Google also highlights the amount of competition for the various search phrases. While the graphic bar doesn’t give us specifics, we need only perform the search to find out the true numbers:

Knowing who has the number-one position and how many other sites on the net is important information. You see in our example that there are over 900 thousand search results. You also see that the top result is an advertisement for a babysitting business. Here is where the creative writing process takes root.

Look deep into your own searches and ask yourself this very important question:

Am I more likely to click on a link that promotes a business or discusses a topic of interest?

There is NO wrong answer here. You can answer it either way, but when you write your article, you need to take an informative approach to answering your question for the desired search phrase.

For example:  If you prefer to land on a promotion-based site, then your writing should reflect a specific element of your service that differentiates you over your competition. Maybe you are CPR certified; maybe you have a degree in child psychology; or maybe you are very inexpensive. Using a “features & benefits” based approach allows you to stand out from the crowd.

Or, if you prefer the discussion-based search result, then your article should reflect your personal views and beliefs about babysitting (per our example).

No matter which direction you choose, your article must be singularly topic focused and interesting for the reader. DO NOT start with a price based sales pitch: “Professional baby sitting service for only $8 an hour.” Bad start and NOBODY will read your article!

The Google Keyword Tool interface is VERY easy to use and is almost self explanatory. But just in case, here is a link to Google’s help center for AdWords.

Social marketing is an over simplified version of word-of-mouth advertising. The concept is you build a network of on-line friends, then deliver small bits of useful information with a goal of stimulating commerce. By itself, social marketing is a poor advertising vehicle. Online relationships don’t transcend the trust boundaries associated with giving personal referrals. It is not until a personal relationship (online or otherwise) is established that quality word-of-mouth marketing takes place.

Online social friends (we call them stranger networks) almost always have conflicting motivations for establishing a virtual bond. Business people seek direct and word-of-mouth marketing opportunities, usually without reciprocation. Stories of internet predators scare most online social marketing participants to a posture of take over give. Therefore establishing strong personal relationships is slow and difficult.

As a compliment to a well structured internet marketing plan, social marketing can be a very effective tool. As a link building tool, social marketing sites are no-cost options to gain a large number of web links with relatively little effort. Usually a two stage process, social marketing requires an initiator, to stimulate action and a catalysis to complete the link to the final destination.

When a trusting relationship does not exist, stranger networks will give a very small amount of time to investigate possibilities. Direct sales presentations (like those we build into our company websites) are not good trust building mediums. Therefore, the initiator acts as a bridge between the Personality Based Marketing vehicle and the Stranger Network.

Strategy

1. Start at the End
2. The ultimate goal is to drive traffic to your company website. The communication path we take must take into consideration the ultimate destination. Otherwise the bread crumbs you layout for the internet searcher to follow will feel like bait leading them to a trap. Hence the concept of bait and switch.
3. Research Keywords
4. Your website already has a good set of keyword, use Google’s keyword tool to help you find associated keywords.
5. Build Blogging Relationship
6. Where you publish your blog articles is important. Find a site (or start your own site) that embraces strong business ethics and doesn’t inundate visitors with sales ads.
7. Tell The World
8. Especially ALL your friends. E-Mail campaigns still work, but adding social networking options can help bring pre-qualified traffic. The social networking sites on the right site of this screen are the sites we use to announce publication of new articles.

Watch For Traps

Social networking sites are designed to be VERY enticing. The natural tenancy is to be drawn into the community and before you know it, you have wasted massive amounts of time.

Building a large network of friends requires effort and you will need to participate somewhat in the online community, just be aware of the lure. Your mission is to grow your business. Connecting with past friends, co-workers from past jobs, and even family is GREAT. Facebook especially is great for keeping up with your network, but social networking is a means to an end, more business!

Hidden Gems

Yahoo Answers

Being helpful gets you noticed. Always has. Yahoo Answers allows you to search for questions people want answered for which YOU have knowledge. Answer the question, avoid the direct sales pitch. If you happen to have a blog article that helps support the answer you give, then GREAT! Two birds with one stone. Yahoo Answer users then score the answers and when your received most favorable, you receive points. Build up enough points and your posts start to earn top billing. Translation: MORE WEB LINKS.

Portland Business Community

The online business community is a FREE blog site for business owners in the Portland Metro Area. Because of the increased participation by like minded people (all seeking to improve business opportunities in Portland) the over all value of the site is increase and thus all the associated sites (i.e. member company websites) are considered more important.

Twitter

The ultimate in headline reporter, Twitter’s 140 character limit keeps publication content size down, allowing only the essentials. Announcing your articles and links is a snap and you can do it from your cell phone.

Pulling It Together

In the beginning, Social Networking will seem to be moving very slow. Building ‘friends’ networks requires a concerted effort. Don’t be shy, find groups of people you MAY have something in common with, and send them a friends request. Start with friends and family, they will be a good source for profile activity at first. Next move on to co-workers, people in your social groups, college alumni, and then total strangers. If you don’t ask, they will never say yes.

Most social networking site frown on adding too many friends all at once. It may take a few weeks to a month or more to build a large social network. Take your time and be sure your maintain quality content over quantity.

There will come a point when your social networking effort will feel whelming, especially if your strategy includes several social networking sites. It is important to have Google Analytics (or some other web traffic analyzer tool) collecting data on site visitors. Success is based on traffic originating from the social networking site. Without traffic, you can not have conversions.

Facebook encourages you to post pictures. Pictures are GREAT conversation starters. The goal is to make every visitor to your social networking profile page feel like you are doing something more than looking for traffic. Remember bait and switch! If your Facebook site ONLY has links and sales presentations then visitors will feel spooked. Keep your presentation real and you will have an easier time building lasting relationships. It is OK to build actual friendships online. These friends will be MORE likely to refer other people to your profile and your BUSINESS.

Getting Started

We suggest you start with Facebook. Doing so will give you ideas about social groups you can identify with.

1. Join groups
2. Watch the discussion for a while
3. Invite friends at a moderate pace
4. Learn the lingo (See Personality Based Marketing for more info)

Next join one of your local online social networking sites, we suggest Portland Business Community. These sites will give you the full flavor for online social networking.

1. Join the group
2. Read the posts and add comments where appropriate
3. Publish your own article (Make sure EVERY article contains at least ONE like to your company website, but no more than THREE.
4. Publish link info on Facebook that takes readers to your blog article

Digg, del.icio.us and Technorati now become your best friends. Put links to your blog article on ALL THREE sites. These sites act as publishing clearing houses for the blog world. Each site will index your article and having multiple links to your article will increase the search engine importance.

Now is a goood time to create a Twitter account. Twitter will act as your own personal news wire. Because it only allows postings of 140 characters or less, your postings will be VERY small. For Twitter to be effective, you need to “follow” other people in order for them to “follow” you. Like Facebook, with Twitter you need to befriend strangers.

1. Find national news sites (FoxNEWS, CNN, MSNBC, etc.)
2. Follow those following the national news sites
3. Wait for people to start following you. You will receive an eMail once someone opts to follow you.
4. Publish links to your articles AND other interesting bits of information. Avoid direct selling as this action is a turn off.

There's a school of thought that asserts going "viral" is a random occurrence. There is no formula, algorithm or logic that dictates what does and doesn't become a mainstream hit on the Internet. Those people are correct. But there are ways to hedge the bets in your favor—without selling 3/4 of your soul on market research, and the last 1/4 presenting the concept to a skeptical executive team. Read the rest of this entry »