I recently saw the question, “Is my website in Google?” As an Internet Marketing Consultant, I automatically have to reply back and ask you a question:
Have you used search engine optimization on your web pages?
That also makes me wonder if you are using good keywords; Good keywords that people are searching for in search engines.
Here is an example. Let’s say you have a website called XYZ. This company advertises on television and thinks everyone is going to search for this phrase. This is true for their current viewers. But what about the millions of people who don’t know the name XYZ? Would they find your website? The answer? “No, users won’t find your website!!”
OK. I’m on a roll. Here is another example. Your name is Joe Smith. Your website is joesmith.com. If you do the basics for internet marketing, you will probably be found in search engines. But Joe is a plumber in Hollywood, FL. Wouldn’t it be wiser to get people who are searching for a plumber who don’t even know your name?
If the only way you find your site in Google is by your name or brand name, you are missing the mark.
Here is the bottom line. If the only way you find your site in Google is by your name or brand name, you are missing the mark. You can optimize your website to gain A LOT more traffic which can also gain sales or leads.
If this is your weak spot, please stop right now. If you need more information on internet marketing, SEO, or you are still wondering, “Is my website in Google?” Please. Do yourself a favor and contact us today.
Do you realize the importance for a clear call to action? After landing on your web page, users should know exactly what they are supposed to do. If there is no call to action, the user might exit. That equals disaster! Adding a clear call to action to your landing page can have a dramatic impact on conversions. If you are utilizing search engine optimization (SEO), the user has opportunities to land on every web page you have created; your home page is not the only page that needs a call to action! What can you do to enhance your call to action?
- Make sure you provide one (and only one!) call to action on your landing page. If you provide several options, people will get confused. Buyers are looking for easy and simple directions.
- Writing your call to action needs to be easy to understand. Eliminate unnecessary or confusing, words or phrases. Here are some examples: “buy it now”, “fill out this form”, “sign up”, “go to this site”.
- Is your call to action prominent? Does it stand out from the page by color and size? Don’t use too large of graphics if it takes away from the call to action or the user will get distracted.
- Writing your call to action needs to be persuasive. Writing needs to ask a question, use facts and figures or a powerful strong statement. Compare these examples and tell me which one grabs your attention!
- Find out how to increase traffic with SEO!
- Click here and read this article.
Writing and looking for a higher conversion will usually need A/B testing. Although there is expensive software to accomplish this, Google offers their Google Website Optimizer free! You will be able to test your call to action and other factors such as graphics, colors, writing content and find out what works best on your website. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again!
Sometimes I look at companies and wonder why they don’t put more importance on their customers’ life value. In the last 25 years, customer service has greatly declined. Today, it’s all about monetizing your product. I know revenue is important, but it shouldn’t be the anchor to your business.
When a company gains a customer’s business, the person is put on a mailing list in hopes of gaining more business in the future. That’s typical marketing. Now let’s take that one step further. Why is it important and what is the lifetime value of keeping a customer’s business?
Let me give you my own example of horrible customer service. I’ve been doing business with a bank for years. I had a problem and literally had to call a dozen times in a two week period. In those phone calls, I also got disconnected! Hopefully the reps didn’t hang up on purpose, but I really don’t know. After I took the initiative to make these phone calls, it got resolved from my persistence. How loyal do you think I will be to them? I have already started doing business with one of their competitors and that company has done a great job and given me several bonuses for becoming a new client with them. Will the bank with the issue realize their loss at keeping me a lifelong customer? Probably not.
Let’s look at the dollar value of a customer. To a business, if I spend $50/ month, in a year I am worth $600. $6000 every decade. Without doing any advertising, the value of keeping my business is maximized from our relationship. There are several possible results if the relationship is strengthened:
1. New customers from a customer’s recommendation
2. Greater monetary value from lifelong customers
3. Lower cost of customer acquisition spent in marketing
So how do you maintain customers’ lifetime loyalty to a business? The answer is simple. Clients need to see your integrity and credibility. How it that attainable? Listen to your clients and show them they are important by your actions. This is the business purpose for social media!
Social media’s business objective is to build credibility and relationships.
Many businesses haven’t figured out the objective for social media. (Websites such as Facebook or Twitter.) When a customer complains, calls, writes, or emails, TAKE NOTICE. I remember in the ’80’s the phrase, “the customer is always right!” That may not be 100% accurate, but it sure is close. In today’s economy, society has decided it’s about revenue and nothing else matters.
Let’s go back to my example that I mentioned above. How could this bank have come out ahead?
1. They could have called me back when we got disconnected.
2. They could have resolved the issue in 24 hours.
3. They could have given me a “gift” to apologize for the issue.
Any type of positive interaction would have turned the relationship around. But nothing happened. And now I am blogging about it! If I wanted, I could use names to hurt their brand and reputation. Internet marketing is known for the negative feedback that gets posted and appears in search engine results. That is where search engine optimization will help. But I will leave that for another post! 🙂
When a business fails to understand the importance of the lifetime value of a customer, it breaks down its effectiveness in marketing and advertising. When a business doesn’t use social media to build customer relationships, it misses the mark and will never compound revenue from dedicated clients.
Will your business or organization fall apart because you failed to understand the value of your lifelong customers? Your business foundation is not about monetizing your product but about maximizing your client’s relationship and loyalty.
If you are new to social networking, you might be asking this question – Is social networking good or bad? From a marketing perspective, I can only see good come from it. And here are my reasons from both sides – the users side and business/company side.
It all began on a cold and stormy night. No, the story doesn’t begin like that! (Just kidding!) For Bethany Thomas and her husband Dmitri Zagidulin, social networking helped them out and did save their honeymoon! To summarize the story, this newlywed couple got stuck in Frankfurt (headed for St. Petersburg, Russia) due to incorrect information an Expedia agent gave to them concerning their visas. Bethany decides to blog about their unhappy circumstance and gets support from their followers on Twitter and friends on Facebook. It ends out, everyone bombards Expedia asking them to help out this couple. Expedia finally dishes out good customer service and gives Bethany Thomas and Dmitri Zagidulina reimbursement for their expenses AND credit for future travel! To read the entire story, go to USA Today.
I look at this story and see a win-win situation. The newlywed couple gets help and Expedia turns their reputation around by giving them good customer service. In the end, all this hype about this couple will give Expedia some great brand recognition and most likely, new customers who now see Expedia as a good company.
This is a great example of the power of social media, from both sides! Imagine if Expedia had refused to help this couple. Expedia‘s sales would decline! But instead, they made the right decision and now they are going to benefit from the power of social media.
If you have not yet taken the time to invest in social media, now is the time. It’s not too late to listen to what people are saying about your service/products to help your business out! You might realize your company needs to make some changes or create a product that your supporters are commenting and tweeting about to each other. Social networking is good and it works… if you are willing to listen to what is being said!
Most people who hear the name Tim Tebow think of the Florida Gators and know he is a Florida Quarterback football player. But if you listen to him speak, you also know Tim Tebow’s religion is important to him. And although I am not a sports fanatic, through Christian internet marketing, I know about Tim Tebow’s Christian faith. This is Christian internet marketing and it works!
How can I connect Tim Tebow and Christian internet marketing? Take a look and google his name or go to Youtube and search for Tim Tebow videos. What do you find and how many views do you see? Tim Tebow’s religion, Christianity, is making a difference! Take a look at these two videos. Is this good Christian internet marketing? Articles and videos on the web are giving him credibility, more fans and I am sure people are wondering about his faith, boldly mentioned in videos. Check it out…
Note that there are professionally done videos AND tapings created by regular fans. In this second video even though it’s an amateur video taping, it’s his fans marketing him! That’s internet marketing at it’s finest.
Tim Tebow’s religion is reflected through his speeches. He mentions his love for his Savior, Jesus Christ and many times mentions Bible verses such as John 3:16 or Philippians 4:13.
I guarantee you. Every football sports fan has had Christian internet marketing from Florida Quarterback, Tim Tebow. Go brother! Shine your light for Jesus! Love it! ♥
Do you feel lost when it comes to the topic of SEO? Are you looking for a SEO 101 guide? Then you have come to the right spot. This blog was created for people just like you who are interested on this subject but tend to need to know the very basics of SEO.
Let’s start with some simple FAQ’s:
What does SEO mean? – SEO stands for search engine optimization. This term means a web page that’s been modified so that search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, or a host of other ones, will pick what they think is the best website to match a users’ search words.
What is the purpose of SEO? – To market your website on the first page of search engine results, but also:
1. The user will click on your website.
2. The user likes your website and returns!
3. The user supports your site (this could be multiple ways, but ultimately it’s financially supportive)
4. The user shares his/her enthusiasm about your service or product to others. Many times this happens on social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter.
Why does SEO cost so much? – That’s a very good question. As anything, you must compare and contrast what is being offered and make sure to get good optimization. Cost can vary, but SEO can cost a lot because: SEO gurus need to research the terms people are using in your field and research which keywords have the least amount of competition online. For better SEO results, ongoing maintenance is needed since search engines are always looking for new web pages and people tend to change what they are searching for.
How do I start SEO? – My question back to you would be, do you already own a website or are you just in the thinking stages of creating a site? This has a great deal of importance of what to do next. Email me with the detail.
Can I do SEO myself? – If you are beginning to comprehend search engine optimization, you also need to know that Google has over 200 variables that determines what results they choose. This means that are a lot of small (and big) issues which need to be looked at if you really want to do well in search engines. Why waste time trying when after six months you give up and choose a professional who knows the ins and outs. I’m not trying to be mean, but it’s like comparing your need for surgery. I’d never suggest you have your spouse or neighbor try repairing your broken arm or worse yet, giving you gall bladder surgery. Get my point?
So what do I do next? – After reading this post, if you want to read more of my posts, click on Basic SEO category written for the beginner. If you read these and are still thirsty for more, click on our SEO RSS and get notified when I add new posts! Also, learning the terms will help as you read. Click on the SEO glossary and get familiar with the terms that we have put together.
Any by all means, if you have a question or comment, email us or create a comment and we’ll help guide you with any SEO 101 information! No question is ever a dumb question. Just smart people learning to be smarter. 🙂
Are you looking for Christian Internet Marketing that specializes in South Florida search engine optimization? We are a born again Christian Internet Marketing couple that love to interact with other Bible-believing Christian clients. We attend Calvary Chapel, a non-denominational church, and do internet marketing for a living.
One reason I have such a passion for search engine optimization is that I know there is a need for Christian internet marketing. What do I mean? Non-profit organizations that are sharing the gospel could reach millions of people searching for their need for the Lord Jesus Christ. And our sad findings are that not many are using search engine optimization as part of their Christian internet marketing goals!
Did you know there are people searching for answers to their loneliness, questions about life or questions about apologetics? As you probably well know, there is a lot of junk that can be found and a lot of information that is not true or out right wicked. So why not be on the winning team and be a part of what Christ commanded his disciples to do? As scripture states in Matthew 28:16
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
And I will close this post with something for you to chew on. Even if you weren’t looking for Christian internet marketing, what are you doing for the Lord?
If you aren’t a Christian and are reading this post, if you’d like more information about who created you and who loves you enough to die for you, please email me or read more at http://www.thatyoumightknow.com
Have you noticed how many people use WordPress blogs? They can be tailored to look like a regular website and it doesn’t always look like a blog! And the best part about it is that they’re free! But you ask the big question, “Is WordPress good for SEO?”
The answer is, “Yes, it is!”
Here are five reasons why WordPress is good for SEO. From a search engine optimization perspective, you can get the same results instead of building a website that can cost as much as $5,000 – $10,000!
- WordPress is free – You still need to get a domain but you don’t need to pay a web developer thousands of dollars to create a site for you. This week I heard about a site that was made that cost $100K and it was not optimized well for search engines! 😮
- Meta Tags and XML Sitemap – WordPress has plugins and widgets that will simplify the SEO process of creating meta tags and XML sitemaps for search engines.
- Pings Google – When you create new content, Google likes this. I remember once literally seconds after I published a new post that it was already indexed in Google. (That is pretty amazing!)
- Permalinks can be keyword enabled – Each post that you write can be constructed with your keyword phrases for strategic, SEO operations.
- Social Media, Backlinking, Pingback, Trackbacks – Links and badges can be added to further build backlinks and added traffic. Pingbacks and Trackbacks help with creating links between sites.
Here are two WordPress websites:
If you are able to work in Microsoft Word, you’ll be able to handle the backend of WordPress. Anyone can learn how to add content to their blog. It’s easy and with a little direction, you will be on your own, writing and maintaining your blog with the template you prefer. (And there are literally thousands to choose from!)
I hope this helps you make a great decision for search engine optimization and a great decision for your pocket book!
Do you want to know how to “google” your website? Search engines like Google use specific methods to create the results you get when you search for a phrase. “So, how can I get my own website in the search results?”, you ask. Here’s how!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a skill and term used to help develop each web page into search results. It is a complicated process. There are over 200 factors that Google takes into consideration. And, these can also change!
Google wants to find websites that give good results to the user. Adding the good keywords to your web page is a start. Google also wants results to appear in order of popularity. Hence, a website that has many people linking (hyperlinks) to it will have greater importance then a website that has been made and is sitting dormant. A person also needs to introduce their site to Google. This is done by going to Google Webmaster Tools and creating an account. There are many other factors that will help your site become number one.
On a side note, please remember that for the most part, people will not be searching for your name to find your website. (Unless you have a name that is branded such as Nike!) People search for products or if they know exactly what they want, they might include the search with more detailed words or phrases for the product.
That being said, how do you get your website into Google? Let me respond and ask you this question. Do you already have a website or are you in the beginning stages and still want to create a website? That does make a difference how you should proceed. Email us! We will give you some free SEO consultation. You decide if you want to proceed on your own or if you’d like a South Florida SEO marketing expert to get your website into the first page of Google results!