What is a Blog?

Blogging is really not that hard.  A blog is simply a type of website that is easy to use for the non technical person.  It makes it easy to get your message out to the world without hiring a website designer to create it.  Blog software is free and available on the Internet.  Here are a few recommended blog sites:

• WordPress
• Blogger
• Movable Type
• Many More

How to Blog

Blogging is a process of finding a topic then creating the post.  I find my topics by listening to the questions that customers ask.  If a few of my customers are asking the same question then there must be more people out there with the same question.

A blog post is born…

Can I measure my Social Media results?

I get asked that question all the time.  I found a great article that addresses this very issue at the Blog on Hubspot.  Here is a link: How to Measure Your Social Media Lead Generation Efforts

This article talks about Lead Generation being below Brand Awareness in the Marketing Funnel.  The funnel takes you through Engagement, Opportunity, then Conversion.

Read the article then tell me what you think – will you start to measure your Social Media so you can get an idea of its effectiveness?

How To Keyword: Find the Right Keywords

Finding Keywords is a very common question from my clients.  There really is an easy method if you are willing to learn it – Google Adwords Keyword Tool. 

Process to find Search Words

1. Go to the tool and enter in your main topic for the post.
2. See if that keyword has low competition and has high local search volume.
3. If it does that is a good keyword – if not look at the related keywords in the provided list and find one that meets the criteria.
4. Also choose 2-3 related keywords to use as supporting keywords in your post.
5. The Main keyword goes at the front of the Title, in the H2 tag (first sentance) and in the first sentance of the post bolded.  It is also good to end with that keyword.
6. The supporting Keywords are used in the Sub Headers for the post as well as body text.

Example: Finding the right Keywords and Search Words

Keyword Research - use this post as a basic example. The keyword I looked up was Keyword Research - It was Medium competition with 110,000 Local Monthly Searches.  From the related keywords I chose How To Keyword - Low competition and 1,000,000 Local Monthly Searches, and Search Words - Low Competition with 368,000 Local Monthly Searches.

By using this method your posts will be optimized and your Keyword Reseach is not hard.  For a video demonstration of this process join Ask Dotty.

Google ~ Social Network?

Google recently released an experimental +1 (Plus One) for a select few in the United States.  This is clearly to rival the Facebook Like button.  Google is looking for ways to break into the Social Network arena – Buzz was a flop – what will the future hold for the +1

By clicking the +1 icon next to a listing (you must be signed into your Google Account) you are publicly voting for that website.  When your friends (connected to you through your Google Account) are searching for something and you have already voted for that website it will show in their search results.  It is like saying, “I trust and recommend this site – why don’t you take a look also.”

Since this is in a testing phase I am sure there will be features and benefits added before it is widely released.  For now if you want to be on the cutting edge then ask for your friends to +1   your website in the Google listings.  Time will tell what advantages this will provide.  Whatever they are I am sure it will be better for our marketing efforts to participate.

Get your Facebook Questions answered

Did you know that Facebook has made some changes to the FanPage layout and functionality?  If you are curious how these changes effect your FanPage then come to the Free webinar.

When: Feb 23rd from 2:30 – 3:30 PM (Pacific Time)

Where: My FanPage!

There is an Event on my FanPage where you can ask your question before the event. There will also be an opportunity to ask a question on the Live Webinar as well. Get your question in early to be sure there will be enough time.

You can also ask your question in the comment stream below!

How to Blog

Business owners hear that they need to Blog ~ but have no clue How to Blog! They think it is:

• Hard
• Technically Challenging
• Complicated
• Time Consuming
• “I am not a writer” is heard often
• ________________ Insert any other complaint

Business Blogging: Blog with Purpose

There are many reasons to Blog.  Each of these reasons has a purpose and goal behind them. Here are a few:

• Get your information out to the public ~ this is the main reason for people that are considered writers
• Show your Authority and your Business Expertise ~ Great reason for Business Owners
• Improve your website Search Engine Placement and Page Rank
• Attract the right kind of new clients
• Get traffic to your site from a larger variety of sources
• Improve inbound links

How to Blog with a Purpose

As a business owner you do not have time to waste.  Each and every thing you do Online needs to lead you closer to your goal ~ closer to achieving your plan.  Here are a few ideas to keep you focused and moving forward with purpose.

• Create 3-5 categories and make sure everything you write will fit into one of these categories.  If it does not then do not write it.
• There needs to be at least 10 blog posts in each category before creating any new categories. This will keep your Business Blogging efforts more focused.
• Before creating your Categories perform some basic keyword research to be sure they are words that are actually being searched, not just what you think people are searching.
• Listen to your readers/customers and provide useful content FOR THEM
• Make your posts more than just sales pitches ~ they need to be useful tips that people can actually implement.  This sets you as the authority and they will buy your services/products when they are ready.

Business Blogging is all about your potential and current clients.  If you make it about them you will have great success.  You can get  step-by-step training on how to blog.

Alexa.com will rank your website and also give you tips on what you need to do to improve your site’s ranking.

Now go to Alexa.com and see what it tells you about your website.  Don’t forget to come back here and leave a comment with your ranking and any relevant suggestions it tells you.  Your suggestions might help all of us!

Why a Fanpage?

I get this question almost daily ~ so here is the answer…

If you would like these Online Marketing Tip of the Week emailed right to your Inbox for convenience then register with the form in the sidebar.

This video was done with the Portland Oregon ~ Vancouver Washington area in mind. There are websites for any large metropolitan area – you will just need to do a search for local directories in your area to apply this strategy.

To get more information on Local Search…

Pay Per Click Copy Writing can be tricky

Pay Per Click Roulette

The biggest complaint I get about Google Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is the quality of the clicks. A campaign that gets a great deal of clicks but does not convert those clicks to sales is simply quite expensive. Small businesses are less likely to take a chance on PPC simply because they have no faith in the click converting into a sale.

Online Sales Cycle

If you think of PPC as a sales cycle, and learn to grab the shopper at the right moment during their product/services research then PPC can be very rewarding.

Let’s analyze how people usually become buyers of online products and services. One of my potential customers is starting their online research for purchasing a website. They probably do not know what to ask a web designer, or even what they are searching for. They may type something like “Web Design” They will get several of the huge nation-wide companies that market to large businesses. By reading the sites they learn that they want a local web designer that they can meet in person. Or they may decide they need a website that is smaller in scale than what they are reading about. So they now search for “Web Design Vancouver Wa” This is a key phrase that will get them a list of designers local to them (assuming they live in Vancouver WA). This could be web designers that are all over the board in what they actually do. They are now reading sites by the larger design firms all the way down to the college student that creates sites on the side for extra cash. After spending some time researching Web Design they have a better idea of what they are looking for in a website and in a designer. While conducting this research they have been clicking on PPC advertising – but not actually buying. They have not been in the buying mode but in the research mode – this means that all the sites they have visited had PPC campaigns that is costing them money but not converting sales. Now they have a better idea of what they want they type in “Small business website design in Vancouver WA” or “E- commerce website designer in Vancouver WA” or even “5 page informational website Vancouver WA”. All of these are considered buying keyword phrases, and if you were a website designer in Vancouver Wa and had PPC campaigns with these buying keyword phrases then you would likely have a new customer (assuming you are a good web designer with a website that will convert sales)

This process works for any product – the more generic the keywords the more virtual tire kickers you will attract. The more specific your keywords are to the product or service you offer then the more qualified that click traffic will be.

Of course if you do not have a quality website that clearly states what you do and what your product/service will do for someone then a quality PPC campaign just wont matter. If your site is state of the art and full of benefit oriented information then you are ready to embark into the world of PPC armed with the knowledge of choosing buying keyword phrases that your potential customers will be searching with at the end of the cycle – when they are ready to make the purchase.

To get more education on Online Marketing…