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The Number One Search Engine Optimization Strategy

September 26, 2011 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

There are so many search engine optimization experts, firms, gurus, contractors out there espousing all kinds of tactics to help your website get ranked organically in the search engines. The list of SEO services/tactics could involve: social bookmarks, forum posts and linking, blog comments, high PR back links, social media linking, EDU/GOV back links, link wheels, articles, blogging, directory submissions, and the list goes on and on…Some work, some don’t- most depend on effective implementation, which is lacking in the SEO services world.

The Key is Content

SEO is really only about relevant content- that is really what the search engines care about. Having tons of back links factors in some (as well as link diversity), but what really drives rank is contextual back links. These are back links containing your keywords and are placed in relevant content about the keyword subject. Contextual back links are important on your website and off your website. Other respected websites and blogs posting relevant content with your keywords linking back to the web page you are trying to get ranked is very important too.

Step 1 – Develop SEO Content on Your Website, Blog & Social Properties  

Before any back linking from other websites and blogs are going to help you at all in your search engine optimization strategy, you need to have solid relevant content on all your targeted web pages and properties. Create this content first and keep it refreshed. Ensure you cross link key words throughout your sites so the search engines know what content you are offering.

Step 2 – Develop Contextual Back Links

Having your relevant content published by another website or blog containing your important keyword back links is crucial to ranking well in the organic search results. Personally, I do not like Article Directory sites. Why? The back links are of low quality, often found at the bottom of the article in the Article Resource area. What you need in your SEO strategy are contextual back links that are in the Body of relevant content featured on a blog or website, preferably one that is your industry/niche and one that is respected.

Consistency is Important

Consistently having your contextual keywords back linking to your key relevant content pages day in and day out is what gives you rank, and most importantly, helps to preserve your rank. There must be fresh content containing your keyword back links out on the internet on a daily basis. Sound like a tall task? It is- particularly if you are trying to rank for numerous and competitive keywords. This is why search engine optimization companies and SEO services have flourished in recent years as the work is intensive, exacting and time consuming.

The problem is, most SEO firms do not provide the quality contextual back links I have been writing about in this post. Rather, they offer sub-par linking strategies that are typically very poorly implemented, with lots of mistakes, and if they get you some ranking, it doesn’t last. Carefully examine how the SEO company goes about its SEO strategy, and if it is all about relevant content, both on and off your website, or about massive back linking and hoping for the best. SEO can be a game changing strategy for many companies, particularly in a tough recession driven market, but it needs to be done right and always have Content as the key strategy.

Posted in Business Internet Strategies, Business Marketing Strategies. Comment

Recession Tactic 101 – Do Not Reduce Your Pricing!

September 19, 2011 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Well, it is great to get back to blogging after a long absence. I have been waiting on our new website and blog to be done before getting back into regular blogging. And now they are done! Let me know what you think about the new look and content.

This recession has a lot of companies questioning their tactics and pricing. Question your marketing and tactics but not your pricing. All too often I see companies who are experiencing less business reduce their prices. This is often a fatal mistake. The answer is not price reduction!

In particular, I have seen construction industry companies slashing pricing, thinking that is what is needed to get business in this recession. All too often they find this makes it worse with no end in sight. If you have a good price for the value you offer for your product or service, either leave it alone, or even increase it. Yep, I said price increase in a Recession! (and I am not crazy)

Pricing is often just a part of a very complex picture of a company’s success. There are so many other factors to consider in relation to and outside of pricing. Things like efficiency, cash flow, profitability, employees, management, etc all have to be considered, and the business needs to be comprehensively analyzed as a whole (sum of its parts) to come up with a viable recession strategy. Just cutting pricing and thinking that will help you turn things around in a recession will fail 99% of the time.

So what is the Answer in this Recession?

Two part answer:

1) Do a full Business Analysis and get an accurate picture of the health of your business and how the sum of the working parts of the business are working well, or not well together. With the analysis complete, you know where you are as a business- it a point to work from. Make improvements where you can based upon the results of the analysis, and most importantly, track the results of your changes and improvements over time. Tracking and tweaking along the way is critical! Also, fully establish that your pricing is in alignment with the value you provide– if it isn’t, fix that upfront– yes, increase pricing if necessary!

2) Improve Your Marketing: The answer in a recession isn’t price reduction but better marketing to a target of your best customers. You need to define who are your best customers, and how to market to them. The smart and successful companies in a recession expand their marketing budgets, not reduce them.

Pricing

Think of ways to package and combine products and services (and add ons) that offer substantial value to your customers, yet are highly profitable to you as a company. Then market behind those key product and service bundles/packages. Pricing strategy and marketing are one and them same– take each into careful consideration and devise a strategy that encourages maximum marketing ROI for “x” price component.

Marketing

Two words: Internet Marketing. Two More Words: Inbound Marketing. You won’t find a lower cost marketing method (if done right) for a higher ROI anywhere. The bottom line with any marketing campaign is to have your phone ring and boost sales. Why have mostly outbound marketing? It is expensive and often not very effective (low ROI). Inbound marketing is superior. Here are the keys to good Internet Marketing:

• Do Your Research: This is a critical first step.
• Develop an Online Marketing Plan
• Website Overhaul: Your website needs to be a sales director, not a brochure! Good Website Design and Marketing are one and the same.
• SEO: onsite Search Engine Optimization and offsite SEO Strategy.
• PPC: Pay per Click is only effective and affordable if combined with a strong SEO strategy. Good SEO significantly reduces PPC costs and makes PPC much more effective.
• Video: Having video on your website and a YouTube Channel set up is critical. Get your videos professionally done– try to resist doing it yourself. Have a good SEO and Social Media strategy behind the videos.
• Offline / Traditional Marketing: Only use in conjunction and in support of your Online Marketing strategy, not the other way around. Online marketing reduces your traditional marketing costs and makes it more successful when done correctly.
• Track, Track, Track and Tweak, Tweak and Tweak: Online marketing is awesome with all the software you can use to track the success of your campaign. The software will guide you in changes to make to increase both conversions and ROI.

Final Thoughts

The danger with a “lowering the price strategy” is you cheapen your brand and value, only making the hemorrhaging of cash and profits greater in the long run. Even worse, you may start a pricing war which often ends in disaster. Get the health of your overall business right, ensure your pricing matches the value you offer, develop out of the box pricing packages/bundles, and most importantly, spend your money and time on Internet Marketing, not traditional marketing. Does this sound like a tall order? It can be if not done right. Consider hiring an experienced business consultant to help with the business analysis, business recommendations, business changes, pricing strategy, and marketing strategy. If the business consultant is worth his or her salt, it is money well spent and vey easily recouped. Find a consultant that is results based!

Posted in Business Internet Strategies, Business Marketing Strategies, Business Recession Tactics. Comment

The Trend for 2011- Inbound Marketing

January 19, 2011 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

It is great to be back blogging again. We were so busy in December and now in January that I just didn’t have much of a chance to blog. This is a good problem to have in business, yet to blog more is on my new year resolution list for 2011. So I hope you will tune back in more often!

The number one success key for businesses in 2011 will definitely be mastering the art and science of inbound marketing. Inbound marketing = internet marketing, specifically Search Engine Optimization marketing and Pay Per Click marketing.

Why is Inbound Marketing so Powerful?

Customers have fundamentally changed as the result of this three year recession we are experiencing. Customers want a good deal for the very best service, and they will take the time to really research and seek out the provider. This is where the internet becomes so powerful. The number one place customers go to research for products and services is no longer the yellow pages, it is the internet. They find a website in the general search engine results or in a sponsored ads, and determine through that web platform whether the service or product is for them. Your website becomes 1) a resource and 2) a qualifier. You know what type of customer you want, and what your products and services do and don’t offer, so be sure to include that in your website’s navigation, content and sales experience.

You Speak with Prospects that are Qualified

When a prospect finds you on the internet, whether as a result of good SEO or PPC, then you know they are actively seeking information and perhaps a service or product. This is the key: they are ACTIVE. Inbound marketing when done properly captures actively searching, wanting and needing prospects. No longer do you have to cold call a prospect, get them to understand your product/service need, answer objections and try to close the sale. Or worse yet, send a direct mail piece that is quickly ignored and needing thousands to bring a measly return.

Your website becomes your champion of qualifying. If written well with a certain sales and qualifying process in mind, your website will determine if the visitor is just an information gatherer (i.e. looking for research) or someone who is actively seeking to purchase. Then once the prospect contacts you via online chat, a website feedback form or the phone, you can quickly help the prospect to make an educated decision about your product or service offerings. Better yet, the prospect may purchase your offering through the website prior to contacting you. This is the basis of Online Marketing, and why it is so highly effective for very little cost per customer acquisition.  

How to get Found on the Internet

Getting found on the internet is the lynchpin for inbound marketing to really work well. There are a multitude of ways to be found on the internet, but I find that two main ways are most effective to start (you can build in the others down the line): SEO and PPC. SEO and PPC should be part of any company’s Business Plan. In a series of future blogs I will explain the ins and outs of SEO and PPC, and how to effectively implement these strategies for big success with inbound marketing. We as a company use the internet as a primary tool for our customers to find us. It is a powerful sales platform, and once mastered, can bring sustained success and high profits for little outlay. Stay tuned…

Posted in Business Internet Strategies, Business Marketing Strategies. 1 Comment

Perform a Smaller Service For a Customer to Earn the Bigger Order

August 12, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

I like to offer different levels of products and services as some customers will not start with a company unless they have tried you out in a lower risk, nicely priced service or product. I strive to do an excellent job on the initial, lower end, service or product, and bam, what do you know, the customer comes right back and orders a more profitable service or product offering. To me it is about earning the client’s business, giving the client the easy choices to make when considering what I have to offer them. All businesses should adopt this philosophy, understanding that initially winning the customer over may start at a lower level product or service offering threshold.

I am Not Talking About Giving Services and Products Away for Free  

While this can be a good strategy, and one I use quite a bit (i.e. a free business plan review, a free consultation, free e-books, etc), it isn’t the same. This strategy just lowers the economic level the customer enters into a relationship with you. It isn’t a big money maker but a service or product that brings you some income and provides a huge opportunity to earn more quality business.

Offer Different Levels of Services and Products

I offer four levels of business plans so clients with a young and growing company can start with a solid entry plan, and then I can upgrade the plan for future needs as warranted (and as the initial business plan pays off for them). I also offer an entry level business plan so a client can comfortably try my services with very little risk, see the great value and payoff for them, and then become very open to speaking with me about my monthly and onsite consulting services. I also separate out certain sections of the business plan, like the Marketing Plan or Strategic Plan or the Executive Summary, if a client has the business plan and wants to strengthen it up, update it, or have a good implementation plan in place. I also offer other ancillary packages such as an Investor Overview or a Loan Package, which accompany a Funding Business Plan. These are value add services at lower levels that can earn the client’s bigger commitments in the future.

Earn the Bigger Business

Once I have thoroughly satisfied the customer at the lower level service, then the customer is very willing to talk about more of a commitment like the Business Coaching or Business Consulting services I offer, along with the more complex business planning. A lot of the introduction to my SEO and Web Development Services come through business at the lower service level and earning it later.

It Makes Business Sense

You get a small commitment from the customer initially which helps you maintain cash flow with the opportunity to make a more profitable sale in the future. It really is a win-win if designed, presented and sold properly. It works particularly well in this Recession when customer dollars are tight, and they need to make really good decisions with little room for error.

Consider Services or Products You Don’t Normally Offer

I wrote some business articles for an experienced and accomplished business owner which earned me small bucks, but they are great bucks! Why? Because it has led me to great SEO and Content work for his websites. It was a fantastic way for me to introduce myself and what I can offer. The owner jumped on the opportunity when he received the quality articles. I write quality content for myself everyday, why not for others to potentially earn that better business in the future?

Design, Package and Present it Well

The assortment of services and products I offer have a definite design, plan, strategy and process behind them. I know how to effortlessly present customers options, close them quickly with value and confidence, implement the lower service or product well and fast, then be right back with them in short time speaking about our other, higher level, yet more value and payoff based, services and products. It helps the customer and later the customer helps me, and in turn, I am so excited to help them succeed with the repeat business. It drives my passion! My passion to help customers and earn quality business down the road. Think about it…

Today’s Video is on “How to EARN a Customer’s Referral”

Posted in Business Marketing Strategies. Comment

Engage Your Prospects and Convert Them Into Customers

August 4, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Due to the recession, Customers have fundamentally changed. They are more scrutinizing, want more support, and desire customized solutions for their needs. So for a business to be successful and grow, a company, despite all the economic odds, must see the vital importance of engaging prospects very early on in the budding relationship to gain their trust and later earn their business. You also need to stay engaged with your new and existing customers; otherwise, they will go down the street to someone who will. Here are some ways to engage your prospects and customers alike.

Online Chat

I recently added Online Chat to our website and have seen great success using it. I find we are engaging prospects which otherwise we may have missed. We are showing a genuine interest in our website visitors, providing them free advice, giving them many different ways to connect and contact us. It shows our willingness to earn business and be mindful of a new customer’s needs.

You Call Prospective Customers At Their Convenience

This is the reverse of the 1 800 number. We ask web visitors on our Contact Us page to simply email us their number and best time to call them. The prospective customer can tell you when and how to contact them. Amazon.com has been doing this for a while. It can cut costs, mitigates frustration if you can’t take their call, and yet, it really shows your commitment to a customer’s needs and schedule.

Make Your Website Customer Centric and Friendly

I see so many websites which are so uninviting, provide little information and make little or no attempt to woo the web visitor. A website really needs to be all about the customer. Offer great content and free information to sincerely help the prospect. If it is good advice, the prospect is much closer to becoming a customer. Be sure to have customer testimonials.

Offer a Newsletter

When a prospect first enters your “realm”, your business, your sales process, give them access to a Newsletter. If the prospect fails to convert, then at least you are still in front of them, striving to earn their business, while providing them great info to use. A Newsletter needs to cater to the prospect, not be an obvious sales piece for your company. I like Newsletters sent twice per month. 4 times per month can be too much, depending on the Newsletter and recipients, and once per month is not enough. Be sure to ask the recipients to pass the newsletter on to friends, associates and fellow businesses.

Offer Surveys

Whether online or offline, offer surveys for prospects and customers alike to complete. It gives you important feedback on what you are doing right and wrong. It gives you another avenue of engagement.

Offer Free E-Books

Free E-Books are an excellent way to mine prospect contact information and provide that prospect or customer with your experienced advice and expertise. These also have a viral nature, often being passed along via email.

Offer the RSS Feed to Your Blog

Blogging is an excellent way to provide prospects and customers great information, tips and advice on a daily basis. Be sure to offer your RSS Feed so the prospect and customer can get your daily blog straight to their email inbox or updated in their RSS favorites. This is a fantastic tool to earn business, capture a prospect’s email address and solidify your relationship with your customers.

Avoid Auto Responders

I am all about technology and automating processes. But many prospects will be turned off by an email communication that is sent to everyone. They are not special. Find ways to personalize with in your auto response systems to show a prospect you think he or she is special. It is worth the added step.

Give Prospects Ways to Connect With You

The Social Network world is an awesome platform for prospects and customers to really connect with you on a personal level and on a level which they may prefer. Be open to integrating your business, yourself, your key executives and managers and employees, into the social networking world.

Write a Hand Written Thank You Note

Business people rarely do this anymore in the technology age. By sending a thank you to a prospect for considering your business or to an existing customer for their continued business shows that you care. It separates you from the pack and really engages the prospect and customer on that emotional level, which is key.

Show Them You Care

At the end of the day, if a prospect knows you have the necessary skills, products and services to help them, it is the “x” factor that closes the deal. Showing them you truly care about them will seal the deal. Caring taps that sub-conscious area, providing an emotional connection. Don’t just engage, really connect with your prospects. The same goes for your customers. Caring strengthens loyalty. Never forget your customers. Help them. Care about them. They will stay loyal and refer you great customers year in and year out.

Find New Ways to Engage to Prosper – Get Back to Basics

Think of ways you can better engage your prospects and existing customers. It is well worth the effort, particularly in this coming age of the new customer who values it. Or are just going back to the way business used to be? We used to earn it! We earned customers by nurturing a great relationship. It isn’t necessarily a new type of customer, it is just that customers are running the show and markets now, not the businesses.  

Today’s Video is on Giving Prospects Value First

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Use Press Releases to Generate Interest and Business

July 21, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Press Releases are really an overlooked avenue for businesses to generate interest in their products and services, and ultimately to generate more business. Here are some quick tips to get you along the way toward becoming a Press Release expert.

Start With Your Local and Regional News Agencies

Starting out with the smaller edition news mediums will help you get your feet wet, and they are often quite open to local entrepreneurs. Once you have met with success on the local level, you can use that knowledge to approach wider circulation news outfits.

Do Some Research

Research the kinds of papers and reporters that cover your type of story and target only those. Refrain from a general mail or email blast to all types of papers and reporters- you will be met with poor results.

Be Personal

Personalize each contact with the press so that they feel you care about them and really want to be shown in their paper or magazine. Follow the reporters so they see you have an interest in their articles and papers.  

Make it Timely News

Tie the story to a new release, new product, an event, a company milestone, etc. Make it juicy and newsworthy. Have an angle!

Be Unique

Find ways where you can stand out against all the other press releases coming in. Send the product in the mail to the reporter for evaluation (also ask permission before sending so it is expected and so doesn’t violate reporter rules). Follow up politely, and if you are unique enough, the reporter should actually remember you! 

Have Great Copy

Write out your Press Release yourself and refine it a bunch of times and then send it over to a copywriter to make it sing. It is worth the extra bucks. Know what a PR format is, and how to lay it out properly.

Invite the Reporter to Your Business

If you find the reporter has interest in your Press Release, ask him or her to visit your business for a tour. You may end up as an article instead, verses a standard press release.

Use Online PR Sites

Supplement your print PR with online PR. There are a ton of reasonable PR sites and services. Do this after you finish your print PR campaign so they don’t see the duplication. This also has great SEO results for your website.

Get Blogged About

Target bloggers in your niche with your PR. Great blogging about your product or service spreads fast. Amplify this several fold by using the social networks as well.

Use Video to Promote Yourself

YouTube it! Having a professional video about what you are promoting is a great medium to send to reporters, especially if you are looking to get covered on TV or be a radio guest host. This also has great SEO and traffic benefits for your website.

Offer Snippets and Reprints of Your PR on Your Website and Brochures

“As seen in…” has a powerful effect on your website, flyers, brochures, videos and more! It lends instant credibility with a cold prospect. Get your PR jump started today! It won’t cost much and the return can be incredible if done right.

Video Resource: How To Write a Press Release

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Is Social Media Here to Stay?

July 15, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

I am battling a case of the flu so my blogging has been suffering a bit. Sorry about that.

There is so much on social media nowadays and so many social media outlets. It can get confusing. The bottom line to ask yourself as a business owner or marketer is whether social media is worth it. Well, watch this short video and you may make up your mind in a hurry!

Video Resource: The Social Media Revolution

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Expand Your Social Network Reach By Giving Away a Free Service or Product

July 13, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Giving away a product or service has long been a tried and true strategy to land more clients and customers. But have you considered combining this strategy with your Social Networking strategy?

Let’s say you are on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. How many connections, friends and followers do you have? Could be thousands, right? Definitely hundreds if you have been doing any social networking at all.  

How about growing your Social Network audience exponentially, maybe ten fold? Interested? I am!

Here is a simple strategy how:

§  Send an email to your followers, friends and connections saying you are giving away a free product or service. As an example, could be a free 30 minute consultation. Just make sure it is a valuable give away.

§  In the email, tell them there is a Catch. There is always a catch, right? Might as well be honest and upfront! Well, the catch in this strategy is two fold:

o    Catch 1: You are giving away this valuable free service or product because if they are pleased with the result, you hope they will share your information with their friends, connections and followers. Basically a “friendly” referral.

o    Catch 2: If they are satisfied with the free offer, you will ask them for a Testimonial on your website.

§  Follow up with your Free “consults” once per month, asking them to refer you to the new friends and connections they may have made in the last 30 days. Give them a free E-book or some valuable information for their business as a “thank you.”

§  Make sure you put all your free “consults” on your RSS Feed and Newsletter list to stay in touch with them and continually give them free and valuable business tools.

That is it! A very simple strategy to grow your business exponentially through the social networks. Basically it is business networking on steroids!

Now many of the free “consults” will not do any business with you, and many may not refer you the right customers or any good number of customers. No matter. This is a numbers strategy, as the exponential growth in your social networks will increase your online presence and certainly bring in fresh prospects and customers. Once you have perfected this system, you can start concentrating on quality and run less of a numbers game. Remember, one quality referrer can bring you lots of quality customers. Think of the possibilities! (you could be giving away business with this strategy because you have too many clients!)

Form your give it way for free social networking strategy today!

Video Resource: Is Social Networking Worthwhile?

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Marketing (Not Your Product or Service) Is What Will Make Your Business Successful

July 8, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Ok, you probably think I have lost my marbles. But really think about it. Most business owners think it is their great products and services that bring them customers. Rather, it is the Marketing that brings the customers in the door and converts sales, not the product or service itself.

Business Success Comes From Marketing (Not the Product or Service)

So what am I saying here? Sure your product and service need to be solid but don’t be fooled in thinking that if you develop the worlds best product or service that you will be successful. The success of a business comes from the Marketing Plan behind it. It isn’t the product or service creating the sales, it is the marketing behind it.

Spend Time Every Day On How You Will Market

My experienced recommendation is spending time every day figuring out how you are going to market to profitable groups. Hold on, maybe you don’t even know who are your most profitable target markets and segments and niches! Take the time first to determine who they are, and with that established, spend time on a daily basis figuring out ways to market to them.

Test market your “theories” and see if it pays. If a marketing angle doesn’t pay, scrap it and move on to the next. Every day track your marketing efforts and try to come up with a fresh marketing idea to try out. Every day! That is, every single day! It is just that important.

Don’t be Blinded by Product and Service Innovation and Development

Sure product and service development and innovation is important to stay competitive, but I find way too many businesses concentrating on that solely and not on marketing. The truly awesome product or service, and doubtful most businesses have that unique one, won’t sell itself. It is the marketing behind it that create the sales and a sustainable business.

Brainstorm Marketing Ideas for a Week

Go to work today on brainstorming Marketing methods. In fact, spend a full week on brainstorming. Come up with a list and work through it, testing each as you go. Add to that list every day. Make this a priority in your business day, and you will be successful.

Need some marketing ideas? Check out my articles on Business Growth…

Need help on your Marketing Plan and Strategy? Please consider our Marketing Plan Business Success Package…

Resource: Here is a Video On Marketing to Get You Started (be sure to watch part 2 and 3 too)

– Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9tjgsJk6pE&NR=1

– Part Three: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blTOv3oXdbk&NR=1

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Do You Know Who Are Your Best Customers?

July 6, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Have you created a profile of your best customer? If not, do it today. Why? So you can key on that type of customer in your marketing efforts and advertising. All of your marketing should be highly targeted, otherwise, you are throwing money away and paying for market research.

What is the best way to find your best customer? Word out mouth referrals. It is the most cost effective, and if you target your best customers for the referrals, often they will refer similar type of clients.

Should you pay for referrals? Yes and No. I like to extend a hand written thank you to referring customers, and those that refer often I like to include a gift certificate. For non-customer trype referrals, then a referral fee is appropriate.

Design a Customer Profile

Include all the variants and determinants you can think of, including the list below. The more unique attributes you can identify the better.

ü  Name

ü  Age

ü  Education

ü  Psychographics

ü  Salary / Revenues

ü  Type of Company / Industry / Occupation

ü  Market / Location

ü  Cost of Customer Acquisition

ü  Range of Services Performed / Products Sold

ü  How the customer found you or how you found the customer

ü  Why the customer bought from you

ü  Potential for re-sales

ü  Purchase history

ü  Credit worthiness

ü  Buying patterns

ü  Interests

Apply the customer profile to your referral network and all your marketing efforts. This targeted marketing segmentation will increase your profits and profitability tremendously. Do it today!

Resource: Here is a video on Creating a Customer Profile

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