SEOMOZ just had a HUGE study of the future of SEO and here are the findings:

SEO strategies on the decline:

• exact match domain names
• effectiveness of paid links
• anchor text in external links

WebBizIdeas.com summary:  basically building crappy links in article directories & paid links are coming to an end

SEO strategies on the increase:

• content readability / usability / design
• usage dat (CTR, bounce reate, etc…) (big increase)
• social signals at domain level (will increase the largest)
• analysis of perceived value to users (will increase the largest)
• social signals at a page level (will increase the largest)

WebBizIdeas summary: If people actually want to find, read, and use your website it is going to rank #1.

Here is SEOMOZ Full Report:

You may want to have the Facebook like / recommend button on every page of your website. The standard code works great unless some of your pages are secure, using the https:// protocol. Ecommerce websites are the most common example.

This is an easy fix for domains, such as Facebook that support SSL. To avoid browsers SSL warnings that create high anxiety for your website visitors, don’t specify the transport protocol.

In plain English: instead of using http:// or https:// in the code that Facebook gives you, use // instead.

I was consulting with a client on the best way to launch a new website.  They want to be #1 in the search engines for keywords that drive sales but also build an educational / informative resource center.  Many businesses have similar goals, they understand they need to educate their customers before the purchase.

I wanted to share with our readers how our company launches our own websites.  We need to educate our customers and at the same time want to be #1 for the services we sell.  I hope by seeing how our company would launch a new site you may see ideas on how you can launch your new website or micro-sites.

Case Study:  WebBizDesigns.com

We have helped many companies plan out their website by wireframing / prototyping for years.  We made the decision ion 2009 to create a website that sold just these services.  We decided the most effective & cost effective strategy would be a backwards marketing strategy; i.e. educate first, then sell

Even though our end goal is to sell website architecture / web prototyping services, in 2010 we threw up a quick blog on webbizdesigns.com.  We wrote 15 informational blog posts about website architecture, web prototyping, and other services we would eventually sell.

What have been the results?

We are on the 1st – 3rd page of Google for many highly searched keywords such as “Website architecture, web prototyping, web application architecture, website planning,” and rank for 1,500 others!

All of this from writing very targeted content organized in a way the search engines would love.  In 2011 all of this content is going to be just a simple “blog” link on WebBizDesigns.com.  But when we make the switch, we will be #1 for the exact keywords that will drive new business.

How does this benefit you?

You can do the same with a blog, resource center, or Question & Answer Software.  For example, if were going to build a website that sold nutrition books, videos, meal plans, etc… you could create a Question & Answer website, similar to answers.com or Yahoo Answers, that simple answered questions people had about nutrition.

You can create this resource center on the domain name that you plan to use to sell nutrition books, videos, meal plans, etc… in the future.  What will happen is your URL will rank for 1,000′s of keyword phrases / questions.  If you hire an internet marketing company for SEO Services, results will be greater.

Then, we can flip the switch.  This informational, educational, and content oriented site becomes just a small link on your website called “Have Questions?”  But, when you do you will be #1 for all the keywords that will drive new business for your company.

It is what I recommended for the client, it is what our company does, and it is what you can do.  I call it it backwards marketing or backwards SEO or backwards internet marketing.

]]> http://blog.webbizideas.com/2010/12/08/backwards-seo-internet-marketing/feed/ 0 http://blog.webbizideas.com/2010/12/08/backwards-seo-internet-marketing/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/webbizideas/BLOG/~3/4PSfd_8961c/ http://blog.webbizideas.com/2010/09/02/upcoming-social-media-workshops/#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:07:15 +0000 Scott Scanlon http://blog.webbizideas.com/?p=352

Social Media Training and Workshops - Twin Cities and St Cloud, MN

If your in the Twin Cities or St Cloud area we have some great up and coming workshops.

Click the links below for more information and to register for these events.

Twin Cities Workshops

• Learn How to Market Your Business on Facebook (Workshop)
  Wednesday, September 29, 2010 from 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM (CT)
  St Louis Park, MN | WebBizIdeas Training Room
• Twitter Level I (workshop)
  Thursday, September 30, 2010 from 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM (CT)
  St Louis Park, MN | WebBizIdeas Training Room
• LinkedIn Level I (workshop)
  Wednesday, October 06, 2010 from 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM (CT)
  St Louis Park, MN | WebBizIdeas Training Room
• Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies (workshop)
  Friday, October 08, 2010 from 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM (CT)
  St Louis Park, MN | WebBizIdeas Training Room

St Cloud, MN Workshops

• Learn How to Market Your Business on Facebook (Workshop with Lunch Included)
  Tuesday, September 21, 2010 from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM (CT)
  Saint Cloud, MN | Mi Famiglia

When you think of public utilities, you think of things such as water, electricity, and telecommunications, right? Well, what if search were added to that list? How would you feel about that? We talk about that today plus I reference an interview from Kevin Ryan on WebProNews.

There’s no question of Facebook’s position at the top of the social networking space, and one thing that makes the site so powerful is that when it comes to social networking, a user’s friends must be users too. But among some teens, Facebook may be losing its stickiness. See study here >

The untapped potential of local online advertising just got tapped. Online ad network Chitika today revealed their newest property, LAX Local Advertising Exchange, which takes the fast-growing power of local advertising and applies it to the proven power of the ad exchange. One of Chitika’s cornerstone partners, online local pioneer Yellowbook, is among the first to take advantage of the opportunities presented by LAX. PR Release and Lax.Chitika.com.

The next time you’re standing in the coffee aisle at the grocery store and pick up one particular brand of joe over another, ask yourself why. The answer might be rooted in behavioral economics 101. view more.

Each year a trillion dollars is spent on communicating to and persuading the human brain, yet few understand how the brain really works—what’s attractive to it, how it decides what it likes and doesn’t like, and how it chooses to buy or not buy the infinite variety of products and services presented to it every day. Neuromarketing research is revealing a myriad of fascinating insights that help improve the effectiveness of every aspect of clients’ brands, products, packaging, in-store marketing, advertising, and entertainment content. view more.

We put together a few more articles on social media…

When tracking your success of any social media marketing one key element is to set your goals first. For each organization or company there will be separated goals and reasons for engaging within social media. This channel has matured to the point where there are a couple of core success points for engaging. Some items that are important to measure for success are direct sales from social media, prospects and leads, mentions and conversation, and sentiment.

How Do I Measure and Track The Success of My Social Media Marketing Strategy?

What are some of the best social media tools out on the market? What tools should you be using to distribute your messages and communication to your target market?

What social media tools can be used to distribute messages to consumers and clients?

People are already talking about your products or e-commerce website. These conversations used to happen over dinner, at work, or over a cup of coffee. While this is still happening something has replaced the water cooler—social media. It’s also been said that social media is the new Monday. Many people would make sure that they see the just released movie so they can talk about it with co-workers on Monday—now social media plays this role. With one key difference it’s always on and it’s happening instantaneously.

eCommerce Social Media Marketing Strategy

Case studies are great and I wanted to put together a round up of some of the best case studies I have seen in marketing and social media. So here we go…

• Here is one from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA.org). 5,000 grasshoppers with chocolate.
• TechChrunch put together 6 great new business case studies. From The Creme Brulee Man, Luxury Hotels, Korean Kitchen, a Dentist, and Levis there is tons to be learned here.
• 5 case studies form Mashable that they call suprising. Equine, Steel buildings, and other businesses.
• Peter Kim put together a super list of social media example. This is a list worth checking out.
• Another website called theParallaxView put together a Hot list. It’s a little tougher to dive into but has tons of great examples.

As with all case studies the key is to find one element or a couple of elements you can take an implement within your marketing plan.

While on LinkedIn recently I saw a question about increasing sales on an ecommerce website. I wanted to share my response as I think it is one of the keys to figuring out how to sell more online.

Here is the question:

We have a website that sells art prints, sculpture and photography, but have only sold one piece. Any ideas? We already had a company help with keywords, still only one sale…

Now most of the responses fell into the technical realm. From traffic, process, stats, SEO, to order processing. I believe you have to take a step back and look at things such as positioning and niche target market.

Here is my response:

All these comments are good but most are on the technical side, I’ve found most Ecom issues have to do with positioning and reaching the target market–not traffic.

First step would be to find one niche that you can dominate in. Create unique positioning for that product line and focus on reaching the core influencers within that niche.

Let’s say you pick sculpture… take a look as a consumer of these items and see what they see. Search with the SE’s, real time search engines (like SocialMention.com), and social media.

Once you have a deep understanding of this then focus like a laser on reaching this core audience in a unique and engaging way. Might be via social media, might be with forums, targeted ad buys, or increased search engine optimization. The key is focus and positioning.

Position your product line in a completely different and engaging way compared to the competition. Introduce personality and uniqueness.