Tag: web marketing tips

Ok- so you spent a lot of money and time developing the PERFECT website that visually epitomizes everything you and your business is about. You had some help with the messaging and implemented search engine optimized techniques. You were trained how to use your WordPress or Joomla site, you added one blog post and ta-da: now the site is done. So now what? This is where many people get lazy and just stop. They think that because the SEO I implemented on their site got them on page one of Google rankings that they no longer have to worry about doing anything to their site, or marketing it, for that matter: "It will just bring new clients to me on its own, right?" MAYBE, BUT NOT GUARANTEED.

One of my favorite quotes I saw from a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) company rings so true:

Launching a website without an ongoing marketing plan is like spending the money and time on a tv commercial and never buying air time to show it.

So what can you do? The beauty of content management sites (CMS) like WordPress and Joomla are not only are they easy to navigate and update (once trained) but there are thousands of tips on how to make changes and how to get a better client base by installing pre-programmed widgets (like newsletter sign up forms) all over the internet. I personally give my clients techniques on how to write search engine optimized posts and content, as well as how to drive content back to your site through the use of eNewsletters and social media. But despite how easy and how CHEAP it is to do your own marketing, the excuses still take hold: "I don't have time."

My retort: "So you have time to complain about the economy, have time to worry about money, but don't have time to put 1/2 an hour a week into free marketing ideas?" Crazy. I am all about taking the bulls by the horns and that is what it takes. Now it doesn't mean you have to dedicate your life to marketing all the time, but 1/2 an hour to 2 hours a week can really do wonders.

If you don't know where to start, just start with some goals. Make a list of how many new clients you want per month and how much time and money you have to spend to acquire those clients. The work backwards. If you want 5 new clients a month, then you need to get about 20 hot leads, which means you need to get the word out to about 75+ people (these are totally rough numbers just to give you an idea). Anyways, if you get lost or confused, you can always hire a marketing consultant. But if not, you can start with that and then make a plan of action.

If you are worried about money but have time on your hands, the first thing you can do is start researching eNewsletter options, such as Constant Contact, MailChimp, Vertical Response, as well as thousands of others. It is a great way to get people who are already interested in you to take action.

The next thing you can do is start setting up your social networks as well as your free business listings in Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Relevant links back to you always help the validity of your site as well as help people who are interested be able to connect with you.

So now you have a content management site through WordPress and you are able to make your own changes. A friend calls and asks "I couldn't find you on Google." Before sounding the alarms, realize you can make some changes. Before they hang up, ask them a few questions:

• What search engine were you using: Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc?
• What were the exact keywords the you typed in?
• Did you look past the first page of search results for my site and if so, what page was I on?

Once you have that info in hand, reflect on it. "Are these the type of keywords that other clients could be using to search for my site? Are these keywords more relevant than other keywords for optimal search results?" If the answers is yes, then login to your WordPress backend.

Once you have logged in, you can make changes a few places and do a few things:

• Settings>All in One SEO. If you have this pulgin, this overrides your homepage keywords. You will want to add, change those keywords or possibly the title there.
• Pages- go to your homepage into edit mode. Be sure there is some relevant text on the homepage content page itself using those exact keywords. Use them in the content of the page AND then down in the All in One SEO below (if you do not have that plugin, I highly recommend getting it and installing it).
• Blog post- make a new blog post with those keywords in the title, the body content, and the All in One SEO pack. Add a relevant picture and make sure the ALT tag has those keywords (but only if it's relevant).

Other things you can do are set up free business places on Google, Yahoo and Bing, where those keywords are on the description and the category. External links that come from valid areas will help a bunch too. You can also do this by adding a Facebook FanPage, adding yourself to Yelp, or a million other places. When you do, be sure to add those relevant keywords as part of your descriptions.

It can take some time to be seen this way so while you wait for the search robots to revisit your site, you may want to take out some online ads where those particular keywords come into play (but that's another blog post unto itself . Again, this is all part of a larger online marketing plan. Once you have the site, you can't just leave it be- you need to work on it to get it out there. If you don't have a plan or need help, consult a designer or marketing consultant to help you.