1. Make it original!  No matter how well-written a piece of content is, if you copied it from somewhere else on the internet you’ll fight an uphill battle to get it in the search results.
2. Start with some light keyword research.  There might be a slight variation of the keyword you were initially going after that gets more search volume.  After all there’s no sense ranking for something that nobody is searching.
3. Make sure that your target keyword phrase appears within the first 100 words of copy… the closer to the beginning of the page the better.
4. Depending on the length of the page, add a few other mentions of the keyword in the copy.  Preferably the mentions of the keyword would be as evenly spread over the copy as possible.
5. Don’t overdo it!  Search engines are savvy and can sniff out an artificially heavy piece of content with relative ease, so don’t think that adding a few more “SEO copywriting” keywords to a post about SEO copywriting will improve your chances of ranking well for SEO copywriting… quite the contrary.  If you read it back and it sounds awkward, you’ve overdone it.
6. Make your keyword the thematic subject of the page.  Search engines are also pretty good at making associations with semantically related words, so ideally you should make whatever keyword you’re targeting the subject of the page.

That ought to get you started.  Some experts are still pushing some golden ratio of keywords to total words, but I think that ultimately sacrifices quality and readability for what may or may not help your chances in the search results.  My rule of thumb is to share the piece with a few friends or colleagues and ask them what they thought it was about.  If their answer is the keyword I’m going after – mission accomplished.

So you’ve done all this great on-page SEO work. You’ve even put effort into building a nice incoming link profile with mentions from relevant and authoritative sites… time to sit back and wait for your rocket-like ascent to the top of the search results right?

Of course not.  You have to benchmark your starting point and then monitor your progress in the search results.  But that becomes pretty labor intensive with even the most modest keyword lists.  Oh, if only there were a tool for checking and tracking search engine results over several pages and keywords…

Enter RankChecker from SEO Book, one of my very favorite SEO tools.

RankChecker allows you to quickly and effectively track your rankings over the big 3 search engines, and guess what?  It’s free!  You’ll need Firefox to use the tool, but that’s free too – yipee!!  I could go on, but why not let Aaron Wall of SEO Book explain it in his own words:

Now, keep in mind that no rank tracking tool is perfect, but the price is right on this one as compared to some of the paid (sometimes very expensive) tools that are not without their issues too.  The search engines basically don’t like this kind of program throwing dozens, or perhaps hundreds of search queries at them just to record a position for your site.  I would highly recommend setting the delay to at least 2 seconds between queries just to keep everyone happy.  I watched someone run it with a zero second delay (basically pinging the search engines with 75 queries simultaneously) and get his IP address banned from Google searches for a while… don’t be that guy.

Also keep in mind that this tool only takes a snapshot of a landscape that is constantly changing.  So don’t freak out if it looks like a particular ranking takes a nose dive.  Your organic rankings are always fluctuating to some degree.  The best way to track them is with a trend line over the long term rather than a day to day panic attack.  Just create a list for whatever keywords and websites you’re tracking, save it, and then run the tool at regular intervals.  RankChecker will even let you schedule checks and saves your ranking history.

Check it out.  If you’re a do-it-yourselfer on a shoestring budget, this tool is a must-have, but it’s pretty invaluable no matter who you are.

Now that’s Elation!  My heart is exploding with joy and gratitude.  Many thanks to:

• Beaches Turks & Caicos for their over-the-top service and amenities
• Dave Douglas at Sun Charters, the best charter cruise in Turks & Caicos
• Bob Collishaw, our ROCKSTAR TRAVEL AGENT
• All of our beautiful guests

And of course, all my love to my wife Jaime.  I love you more than the turquoise waters and perfect beaches.

…now back to work!  Lots of good content on the way so stay tuned.

I understand that as an internet marketer, my expectations may be a bit higher than most… but when it comes to something as important as healthcare providers I’d say this is an example of a huge website search FAIL that affects nearly everyone rather than a select few.

The specific provider shall remain nameless.  Why?  Because ______ Healthcare Provider most likely has a team of ravenous lawyers.  Here’s my gripe: they’ve taken a process that is very important to most people – choosing the right doctor for you – and made it nearly impossible through a series of unnecessary steps.  The following is a recap of the epic battle:

1. I need a primary care doctor…
2. OK, let’s go to _______’s website.  Ah, “Medical Directory”… that was easy enough to find.
3. Wait a second, this search tool looks suspiciously similar to a step-by-step “doctor finding wizard”… you mean I can only choose one of these criteria to be the basis of my search???  OK, well then let’s choose office location.
4. Next step: they at least let me refine my search based on the type of doctor I’m looking for… but wait, I don’t see “primary care” – oh, that’s because they’re calling it “general” here… I think… Not sure if I’m going in the right direction, I tentatively click the next button  (while resisting the urge to throw something)
5. “According to your search there are two hundred and twelve options to choose from”.  What?!  Can I refine my search with another criteria?  Nope.  Can I enter some keywords that are important to me?  Don’t think so… gee, thanks for all your help doctor finding wizard.  I might as well have searched for a Starbucks.
6. OK, fine.  Well let’s at least drill down to some more detailed information since all I’ve got to make a decision from is name, gender and location.  Let’s click on one of these doctors and see what comes up…
7. GASP!  Useless database driven content!  I don’t care what school you went to, or your holiday hours!!  Isn’t there something written in your own words?  Perhaps a picture?  Anything to differentiate you from the other two hundred and eleven candidates???  All this work to get to a profile page that looks identical from one doctor to the next…  (I’m five to ten clicks  deep at this point and losing my patience)
8. Forget it – I’m just going to call this customer service number and press “0″ until I get a real person who can help me.  That ought to work…
9. “I’m sorry sir, the information you see on your screen is the same information I have available to me…  Yes sir, when people call me I walk them through the same process you’re doing online…  No sir, I don’t know a better way to find the right doctor…  Have a wonderful day sir.”
10. Hang up… mutter and grumble about the buffoons at ________ Health Insurance… start over…

So let me tie a bow on this story with a moral that relates to better online marketing:

Never ever assume that you know better than the user how they want to receive their information

The average user probably searches Google, Yahoo or Bing several times a day.  They’re probably familiar with applying filters and qualifying keywords to narrow a search.  They most likely have a twenty second attention span and find your multi-step search process a bit lengthy and boring.  And they’re probably smart enough to just tell you what they would like to see anyway.

No matter what your business is, these golden rules apply…  Give them more search options than they asked for.  Deliver richer content than they expected.  And by all means, make the process easier than they ever thought possible.

I started this process with decision making criteria like a doctor’s age, their treatment style and their approach to medicine.  The mere fact that there are so many options out there (two hundred and twelve to be exact) would indicate that no one doctor is right for everyone.  I’m the only one who knows what characteristics are most important to me.  Unfortunately after such a colossal fail, I guess I’ll have to refine my criteria down to whoever shows up in a Google search, because there’s no way I’m ever going back to _______’s website.

Here’s a simple guiding principle to consider: you are too close to your website to clearly see the barriers that are keeping your users from converting to sales, contact emails, newsletter signups, etc.  In short, you cannot see the forest for the trees.

Conversion Optimization:

Conversion optimization is the methodical practice of testing and measuring the effectiveness of your website to drive conversions.  The goal is to find out what elements of the site are working and what aren’t so that you can make enlightened changes that only improve your chances of conversion.  “But Todd, how do I test and measure?”  Glad you asked – here are some ideas:

1. You have to be able to make changes on the site!  If you don’t have a web designer, or a flexible back-end to your site… get one.
2. You need traffic analytics to get measurable data on where in your website people enter, exit and navigate.  Google Analytics is a free and robust analytics package that is easy to implement.  It’s best to let it collect data for a while before making changes so that you have a good baseline to compare to.
3. Request some feedback from a fresh perspective.  Get insights from users, friends, colleagues… anyone who sees your website from the outside can give you valuable information.  Get creative – there are a ton of places out there on the internet where people are just waiting to share an opinion.
4. There are a number of tools that can help you in the process to tweak and test your site.  I would advise against blindly trusting a tool over common sense and direct feedback, but tools can help streamline the conversion optimization process, especially if you get a large amount of traffic.
5. Take a minute to step back and consider the needs of your users… are they being met?  Think about things like someone who’s never heard of you and just landed on your site with the usual 20 second internet attention span.  Do you immediately tell them who you are, why they’re here and what you want them to do next?  Do you make them go through an unnecessarily complicated process to interact more with you?  Do you demand something from them that might scare them away (like personal information)?  Do you offer anything for free so that they can take you for a test drive?  Have you established any sort of trust with the user?

This only barely scratches the surface of conversion optimization, but I hope it has you thinking outside of the box and looking at your site in a new way.  If you want to dive deep into the topic, I’d recommend starting with Tim Ash’s brilliant and comprehensive book Landing Page Optimization.

Check it out and see for yourself at the Fiesta Project, and see the example of my favorite video below:

A Fiesta versus a Lamborghini???  Brilliant!

Here’s what I love about this marketing campaign:

• The videos are specifically targeted to the young, hip demographic…
• AND they’re delivered in a place where that demographic tends to hang out online.
• These aren’t just commercials on YouTube – while they do aim to sell more cars, the tone is more casual and playful
• They’re addicting!  You want to watch the next one and the next one and the next one.  The short video format with unique topics for each one means that if you’re into one of them you’ll probably be into them all.
• They’re sharable.  What do I mean?  Well even though I’m not in the market for a new compact car, here I am telling others about it based on the clever and entertaining approach.
• It’s working… check out the page views for some of the videos.  Not too shabby for something that’s essentially an entertaining advertisement.

So, what is it that the Fiesta Project “gets”?  They’ve leveraged a non-traditional marketing channel to put their product in front of sophisticated consumers who don’t like to feel like they’re being sold.  The pitch is presented in such a subtle way that viewers are less likely to feel pressured or inconvenienced for having watched the videos.  And finally, they’ve created a space for conversation about the product (notice the prominent social media links).

I personally think it’s a shining example of how innovators are adjusting to meet to the increasingly complex demands of the market.  What do you think?  Leave a comment below with your take.

One of my favorite parts of Colorado is near Montezuma, a small town near the Continental Divide.  The area surrounding that is full of old mining properties and Forest Service land.  My family used to camp out and go four-wheeling there often.  Between the childhood memories and the fact that it’s such a short drive from Denver, this is on the short list for easy weekend getaways.

My dog Samson and I were having a bachelor weekend – mom was in LA visiting family and friends.  In typical bachelor style, we got a later start than originally planned.  But we still managed to make it up there with plenty of day left.  I resisted the urge to drive straight for some of my previous campsites in the area.  We were looking for a new adventure and quite honestly, there’s not a bad spot for miles in every direction.

After choosing a truly idyllic location across a wide valley from a small waterfall, Samson and I took to exploring.  We saw two beavers tending to their dam and lodge – Samson was intrigued to say the least.

I made a little camp art – something for future wanderers to enjoy.

As luck would have it, just after I finished gathering up the firewood dark clouds crept over the west ridge and a big soaker came through.  The saying goes, “if you don’t like the weather in Colorado wait 5 minutes.”  We had to wait more like an hour, but nothing could lower our spirits and the fresh, crisp smell in the air was sublime.

Late rains usually mean chilly nights at this elevation, and tonight was no exception!  After dinner and a nice fire we bundled up for the night.  Sleep was a bit restless, but we were eventually roused by mountain birdsong and a fantastic sunrise.

We took our time getting around: light breakfast, break camp, one last stroll through the meadows, and we were on our way.

No matter how brief the trip, I am always revitalized by a visit to the backyard I’m so lucky to call my own.  I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit about my Elation as much as I enjoy sharing it… now back to work!

Oh, and Samson says that if you ever make it up to the Montezuma area, he would be happy to show you his favorite smells…

I’m often asked where the best places to start are.  It’s not an easy question to answer since every business is going to have unique demographics they’re marketing to as well as different products or services they’re selling.  However, there are some internet marketing practices that transcend the differences from one business to the next.  If you’re looking to start (or revive) your internet marketing campaign, here are some general objectives to focus on.

• Generate Traffic: Internet users must arrive at one of your web properties in order for you to effectively market to them.  Generating traffic is crucial to the process – if you’re doing all the right things on your site but no one’s making it to the site, you end up being the best company that nobody knows about.  If what you offer is heavily searched (for example “Restaurants”) then you need to have strong organic rankings through SEO and PPC.  If you’re product is more esoteric or emerging (like the next innovation in energy saving light bulbs) you should consider being highly visible in related areas through affiliate and banner advertising.  There are many other creative ways to generate traffic, but the point is to have a plan for how you’re going to drive that traffic.
• Generate Conversion: OK, you’ve opened the floodgates and traffic is pouring into your site… now what?  You have to clearly define not only what actions you want visitors to take, but you also need to structure the interaction in such a way that it naturally and gently leads them towards that conversion.  Look at your site from the perspective of the user.  Are you clearly stating what you’re about and what you offer?  Do you present a value proposition that sets you apart from the hundreds of other sites offering what you sell?  Is your content easily accessible and navigable?  Do you have a prominent call to action that tells the visitor precisely what you would like them to do?  Sometimes the best way to answer these questions is to ask other people.  You’re likely too close to the site to know if it’s optimized for conversion.
• Generate Buzz: So you’ve driven traffic to the site…  You’ve also optimized your conversion funnel to really squeeze out as many leads, sales, etc.  People love what you have to offer, and if you give them the opportunity they would probably tell their friends.  Social media is not the only avenue for generating buzz, but it has revolutionized the process.  Think about how you can leverage a good customer/client experience to gain even more exposure, which will generate more traffic.  Plus, keep in mind that word of mouth traffic is already engaged, because someone they trust told them to check you out.  Give your happy customers a soap box to stand on.

So, this is admittedly a simplistic look at all the complexities of internet marketing, but you would be amazed at how many companies haven’t started with these three goals (if you’re one of those companies I promise I won’t tell!).  Start looking at your marketing objectives in this big picture way and the specific tactics that will work best for you will come into focus.