SoloSEO

Bite Size Online Marketing Efforts

Posted by Aaron R Stewart on September 27th, 2007

A good portion of our blog readers are small business owners looking to grow their business by expanding their online efforts, or just getting started with their online efforts. Obviously we think this is extraordinary, as we are essentially doing the same thing, and learning as we go. When we started launching the online side to our businesses, we realized pretty quickly we needed to learn more about Internet Marketing, and specifically more about SEO. We started reading SEO blogs, found all kinds of research tools, and as you all know eventually developed SoloSEO, which then brought on even more questions on what to do to market SoloSEO. At that time we wisely hired Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim fame as a consultant, and it was money very well spent. We learned much from Andy, and were introduced to many brilliant SEO minds, one of those was Aaron Wall while we were attending PubCon last year. Aaron leaves quite an impression. I still diligently read both Marketing Pilgrim and Aaron Wall’s blog daily, I suggest everyone should.

Today Aaron Wall has taken time, and probably too much time, to put together and post what I am going to term an impressive, semi-comprehensive overview of all things online marketing (he left SoloSEO out, but that is why it is only a semi-comprehensive overview ). He has presented this overview in a Mind Map format, and it is huge, I mean goliath, mammoth, ginormous big. I will warn you, if you are just getting started with online marketing, I would avoid viewing the mind map, it might scare you away from online marketing for good (But please keep it in mind, and perhaps visit it at a later date). It would be similar to giving a CPA exam to someone who just majored in English, not good. I consider myself to have slightly better than average intelligence, I have an undergrad Economics degree, an MBA, and am working on my dissertation for my Ph.D in Organizational Management, so I have seen some stuff, but Aaron’s mind map thing is just mind boggling, I feel dumb.

After looking the mind map over, and eventually regaining my senses, I eased back into “chunking” through my daily blog reads and came across Seth Godin’s reaction to Aaron’s Mind Map. I must say, few can say it as eloquently as Seth often does, and what Seth states here is perfect. Aaron’s Mind Map is essentially an online marketing check list, it is a really big check list, but a checklist nonetheless. I very much enjoyed Seth’s closing paragraph, as he states,

“Three we can handle. Three is manageable and memorable and actionable. Give me three things and I can find a place for them in my brain. Each of those three things can probably have three subthings if you like. And then, at least for now, that’s it.”

I personally prefer just one thing at a time, but I am a simple-minded boy.

The message to all those getting started with online marketing. Don’t get overwhelmed, it really isn’t as hard as it may look at times. Bite size the process. Start small, work on a few things, just get online. Then we can work on keywords, links and content, then we can analyze the online competitive market you will function within, then, little by little, we can make good progress. We must remember that we have business to run, which have done well all this time without being online, and they must continue to do well. Online marketing can really bolster what we have created, but it can’t replace it entirely, it shouldn’t. Treat your online marketing efforts as just another must do on your must do list, we all have them. We must watch our cash flow, must keep inventory levels maintained, must get the invoices out, must pay the employees, must work on collections, must pay our taxes, etc. And we now must must spend time getting our site online, and then we must work to make our site relevant.

Ahhh… now I am off for a nap, that mind map has my mind all lost.

Add comment Visited 1159 times September 27th, 2007 Aaron R Stewart

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Is a Customer Ever Wrong?

Posted by Aaron R Stewart on September 24th, 2007

The simple answer is yes, there are times when the customer is wrong, but that doesn’t really matter much in the end. We still have to deal with the situation and attempt to make the most of it, while not further upsetting and potentially losing a client. This can be very tough for some, I fortunately have wonderful partners that are very kind, and considerate, probably to a fault, and they handle most of the customer service needs around here. But I had an interesting experience last weekend, which made me think (I know, I know, finally the dummy thinks).

My wife and I had the opportunity to get out of town, and head up to Salt Lake City on Saturday night. Now it isn’t too big a deal, Salt Lake City is only 40 miles North, but it is just nice to get away from a college town, and the mass hysteria that occurs on the weekends here, especially homecoming weekend. We decided to get reservations at ZTejas at The Gateway, and were looking forward to a good meal, and a change of atmosphere. Well, it didn’t turn out quite the way we had envisioned it.

We were sat quickly enough, even a few minutes before our reservation time, so that was great. Unfortunately our table was by a window, which meant my wife was going to be cold (she is known to bump up the thermostat from a warm by manageable 72 degrees, to sometimes over 75, you guys know what I mean, way too hot). We ordered our food, and were served a Diet Coke for my wife, which is essentially the only liquid she has consumed for the last 20 years of her life, and a water for me, as I have recently got off the diet soda wagon. Although, had I known there was an apparent water shortage in SLC, I would have milked that tiny drink of water like crazy, because we didn’t see refills for 20 minutes after that, and the ZTejas cuisine can prove to be very spicy.

The appetizer came quickly enough, but it was missing the guacamole, which is just unpardonable in my simple mind. And we didn’t even get that nice warm corn bread everyone else seemed to be enjoying, we were totally forgotten. In all fairness to our server, she was sat 3 large parties all at once, so she was obviously crazed, but it would have been nice if she had just popped in as she was running around to tell us she hadn’t forgotten us. The real problem in my mind was the manager, who busy walking around with his hands in his pockets, and not helping this server out even a little bit. He glanced at our table, and others every once and awhile, and even with empty glasses in view, he did nothing. He could have at least been yelling out encouragement to the server, as he stood there motionless, it would have been something, but instead he played statue. Anyway, it was quite a humorous, but frustrating display of inept management, and incredibly poor organizational protocol. The server needed help, due to the over-seating in her section, and management apparently did not have a back up plan to deal with this sort of situation. I believe in the restaurant biz, this sort of thing must happen all the time, so the lack of a back-up plan seems remote, so it was probably just lack of effort and an unwillingness to put the plan to action that caused the problem, and this server’s whole section suffered because of it.

When our server finally got things semi under control, and worked her way back to us, we explained our frustration. Our mouths were burning, and our throats were dry, no guac, and no cornbread. My wife usually is the one who expresses our upset on our behalf, as I look down at the table and remain quiet. I don’t like to complain, I find it troubling. I am convinced that if I do complain, Karma will make sure I deal with upset clients at work all the next day. And I don’t handle upset clients well, so I try to avoid them at all cost. Fortunately my partners are quite good at calming situations down, where I tend to escalate them. At least I know some of my limitations, and it takes more than my fingers and toes to count them all.

Once our concerns had been expressed, we quickly had refilled drinks, hot corn bread, (unfortunately it was after we had finished our food) and a promise that the manager would come over to speak with us. My wife then informed me I would be speaking with the manager, as she was not happy with my head down, quiet tactic, as it made her feel I was not supporting her. When the manager came over I decided to try something new… I simply remained calm and explained to him our disappointment, that we had driven 40 miles to have a nice meal, through the driving rain, and it was just too bad it wasn’t as good as we thought it would be. The manager was obviously ready for a fight, so I think my calm comment kind of threw him off a bit, he stumbled when he spoke, and eventually said he was sorry, offered to “buy us a dessert,” (why do they say this, he isn’t paying for anything, we all know he isn’t), and offered to take the price of the appetizer off our bill, which was very considerate and appropriate response in my mind. He then quietly walked away. Our free dessert came quickly, we didn’t get to choose it, and unfortunately it had coffee flavored ice cream, which just plain tastes like dog breathe, so we didn’t eat it. But in a few more minutes the manager returned, he again told us he was sorry, and he then gave us a $50 gift certificate for the next time we made it up to SLC. I was impressed, he didn’t have to do that, I surely wasn’t expecting it, the free dessert and appetizer seemed an appropriate response for the trouble we experienced, so this was way above my expectations, and I look forward to going back to ZTejas someday. That was not the way I was feeling just a few minutes earlier.

When he came over the second time, I was very interested in what he said. He told us that he had thought about it, and if he had arranged to take his wife out, and driven 40 miles in the rain, looking forward to a nice meal, and the same thing had happened to him, he would have been upset. And that made sense to me. In business things aren’t always going to work out, there will be clients that aren’t totally pleased with our service, or our products, and we are going to have to deal with the upset. We have learned as a company that quickly taking responsibility for the problem, even if it is just our portion of the problem, and quickly apologizing, is by far and away the best way to diffuse the situation. It is amazing how quickly a rational discussion can begin, once a sincere apology is made. As customers, I would suggest we try to remain calm when something isn’t quite up to our standards, and attempt to make the problem we have personal to the person we are talking with. If they can get an inkling of how it might feel, if it were them experiencing the trouble, then I would suggest the eventual outcome will be much better for both the participants. The customer will get resolution without an increase in blood pressure, and won’t feel the need to kick the dog, yell at their spouse and kids just vent their pent up frustration, and the provider will keep a client and better comprehend just how their clients feel when things don’t go well with the service. This understanding might cause a provider to reanalyze their business model, and potentially make changes to better the company’s product or service. I will say this; a soft answer does seem to turn away wrath, and apparently it also gets you an extra $50 from a manager who originally didn’t seem to care about any of us, not too shabby an outcome.

Add comment Visited 730 times September 24th, 2007 Aaron R Stewart

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The 3 Legs Intro to SEO - A SoloSEO Sketchcast

Posted by Michael D Jensen on September 24th, 2007

Patrick Gavin of TLA and some others launched SketchCast.com today, and I was in on the beta testing. I created a SEO tutorial that helps people get started with SEO, which you can view below. And don’t forget to try out sketchcasting yourself!

1 comment Visited 996 times September 24th, 2007 Michael D Jensen

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Unexpected Features Gives Product Passion

Posted by Michael D Jensen on September 21st, 2007

I took up running about a year and a half ago, starting with a 4K. I’m hoping next year to run the St. George marathon with Aaron. Being a gadget guy, and an Apple guy, I asked my wife for the iPod Nano and Nike+iPod kit for Christmas. This gadget tracks how far and fast you’re running, and reports to you on your iPod and also on Nike’s website (data gets uploaded when you sync with iTunes).

In one of my runs last week I ran the first mile at my top sustainable speed. After running several miles after that and finishing my workout, a voice came on and said something to the effect, “I’m (some famous athlete), congratulations! You just ran your fastest mile!”. I had no idea who the athlete was, but it was so fun to be surprised at the end of my run with a personalized congratulations. My next run I ran further than I had ever run before, and afterwards Lance Armstrong congratulated me for having done so.

Impressed? Yes! It got me to thinking though, if I had known about the feature, like if it was printed right on the box, it wouldn’t have been as exciting when it actually came on and congratulated me. I can see the marketing language on the box now…

“And when you finish your fastest mile or longest run, famous athletes will personally congratulate your accomplishment!”

The lesson learned, not every feature needs to be marketed or “featured”. Some of them should be left to be discovered. When people “discover” on their own, they often enjoy it more than having been fed or delivered it without any action on their part at all.

1 comment Visited 1142 times September 21st, 2007 Michael D Jensen

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SEO Strategies for Specific Markets

Posted by Aaron R Stewart on September 18th, 2007

Even with the best SEO tools at our finger tips, our sites cannot perform well if we don’t optimize our sites to perform within specific online markets. We talk much about how SEO is a process, and it is, the steps are the same for every site, but what we focus on within the SEO process can be quite different. So which keywords are targeted, how much new content we need to write, and how many quality links we need to secure, etc. are dependent on a site’s competitive situation.

The process of SEO is much like driving a car as far as processes go. We all know we need to start the car, put it in gear, give it some gas, turn left, turn right, stop, etc. to operate a car. However, although we are all doing the same processes in our cars, we all end up at different places, and so it is with SEO. However, usually (hopefully) when we get in our car we know where we are going, and we then go through specific processes in proper sequence to get us to where we need to be. With our sites it is no different. To be most effective in our SEO efforts we need to understand where we want to go. This can only be done with a good comprehensive review of who our online competitors are, and the online situation they have either created, or are competing within. What keywords they are using? How many links do they have, and from whom? And how much content do they have, is the content all product specific, or does it address the history of the market, or is is about the company’s vision? All this information needs to be gathered, analyzed and then we can script out our specific SEO strategy to either out perform these sites in these competitive areas, or stay out of the area completely and try to find a new niche we can position our site within, or maybe we decide a little of both. Whatever we decide, we then need to work within this SEO strategy for maximum results.

We should have long-term and short-term mindsets. Obviously to enter or better compete in an online marketplace where we are late entrants, with strong competitors, we might need a bit of time to get our site built up to a point where we could expect to compete with the leaders. But with time and persistence we can slowly make progress. In established markets we also might consider a well conceived PPC campaign, just get us some exposure on the SERPs first page, where we wouldn’t normally expect to rank organically for quite some time. Obviously there are costs to PPC campaigns, and PPC opportunities need to be managed with some ROI oversight to insure we are getting what our company needs from these ads. We may just be happy with the exposure or perhaps we feel we need to generate enough revenue to justify the expense.

In the short-term, we should be looking for competitive niches where our competitors aren’t as prominent, or even non-existent. We know there is a trend in search where a great percentage of searches (up to 25%) each day are brand new, we need to capitalize here if we can. Additionally, no one should know our business better than we do, and we should be up on the new trends and terminology used within our industry. If we are quick to include new trendy keywords by predicting which keywords potential clients might start using to search for us, then we can quickly rank well for those keywords, especially if our site has been sufficiently optimized and proven to be of good quality and relevant by the search engines.

One thing is for sure, if we are not doing something to improve our site through SEO, then we are choosing to allow our competitors to gain on or lap us online, and we are missing out on obtaining new, relatively inexpensive, online clients. This is without question. So whether it is learning more about a site’s online competitive environment, or about general SEO concepts, or just trying some new SEO tools, gathering keywords, writing content, or pursuing some good links, we should all be doing something, at least weekly, if we are serious about increasing our online potential, and online stature for the future. Yes, there will be some online markets where extreme SEO efforts will not be enough to improve our ranking and we will need to do more, and others where minimal SEO work will be plenty to keep our sites on top. This is one of the amazing things about search marketing, it is heavily based on the online competitive environment, and one size does not fit all in SEO. Which size do you need to be? Start today by clicking here to analyze your online environment.

3 comments Visited 1760 times September 18th, 2007 Aaron R Stewart

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Hey Businesses… Its about Blogging time.

Posted by Aaron R Stewart on September 7th, 2007

A good friend of mine, Thayne Peterson, called up yesterday and asked what he should do with his website to just help it perform a bit better. As you can imagine we get that question quite a bit around here, especially now that more people have kind of figured out what SoloSEO is about. This friend owns an auto dealership in Provo, UT (free link alert) and deals mostly in high-quality, used BMWs. He also has a repair shop as well, where they specialize in repairing most German made cars (this needs to be stated more clearly on the website). He, like many of us, just wants to be a bit more visible online.

In our conversation he mentioned he was considering signing up for a local online business directory, and perhaps purchasing some advertising on their site. He wondered if I thought it was a good idea, so I took a look. After some initial poking around, it was soon obvious that signing up was free, and the site existed solely on ad space it sold on the site. So I had no problem with him signing up, at least it is a new link to him, and this directory is well put together and has quite a comprehensive overview of local business, organized by category. I didn’t tell him if I thought purchasing an ad on this site was a good move or not, I don’t know enough about this directory’s traffic mix, or his business to understand if online advertising will provide a high enough ROI to make the ad price worth the investment. I will leave that decision to him.

But after a quick review of his site, I just gave him a few ideas that I think will help its performance in the search engines. First off, he does an excellent job of keeping the inventory of current cars up to date. As soon as they receive a new car, they clean it up and takes some nice pictures of the car, and then put those up with a simple description of each car on the site. I suggested that they should spend a bit more time on creating content for each car, focusing more on some keywords they are targeting, as well as the specifics of each car. These keywords should come from what they feel their strengths are, with local references included, like Provo, UT, Northern Utah, 40 South of Salt Lake City, UT, as examples. Additionally, I would have them use SoloSEO tools to analyze other local automotive sites doing well in the search engines, and then start targeting those keywords as well. Finally, they should also make sure the photos for each car are labeled clearly, and using an occasional keyword here and there, in a picture description, isn’t going to hurt rankings either.

Once a car is sold, they currently take the content and the pictures of that car off the site. I think this is a mistake many of us make. Rather, I would suggest they create a sold page, or past inventory page, then organize all the cars by model and year on this sold/directory page. Keep all that content written about each car, and the descriptive photos for each in play for the search engines. If they spend time creating the content, then they should continue benefitting from it. Plus, it might help potential clients find a model of car they are looking for. Thayne does a great job finding cars according to a potential buyer’s specifications. He did this for me, and it worked out great. So, if a potential buyer found a car on Thayne’s site by browsing the past inventory, which takes no time from Thayne’s sales people (truly a major benefit of any well conceived site), and Thayne gets a new client to work with, along with all the specs he needs to find a similar car, it is a win/win for everyone.

Next, I would suggest they start a company blog, it is another easy way to add content. We of course love WordPress Blogging system, we use it ourselves, and highly recommend it to everyone. On the Independent Import’s blog I would have them blog about sales they are having on certain cars, about automotive tips, about information on recalls, about new performance parts or options to “pimp our rides,” and even about the new innovations BMW is coming out with all the time. The automotive industry is one of constant innovation and change, and this provides excellent and frequent topics for a blog. Keep the blog fresh, with one or two posts a week at least, and also let his current and new clients know about the blog. Many new car owners are passionate about their cars (especially BMW owners), and reading new info about their brand of car and possible improvements/options, is very interesting and will increase business. I’ll bet Thayne could get quite a good subscription base fairly quickly, I know I would sign up.

I would guess there are many of us who feel like we need to do better online. Our site is there, but we need it to perform better, if at all and bring us some new clients. This is most easily done through search. Look for ways to increase your content, adding new pages, and a blog. Then write about products, changes in the industry, and keep your content, don’t ever throw it away. It may need to be tweaked or placed on an archives page of some sort, but you worked hard to create it, let it continue to work for you, it will make a difference in search engine rankings. As far as all the free advice to Thayne, I will take it on trade for a M3 convertible, black… of course.

1 comment Visited 1653 times September 7th, 2007 Aaron R Stewart

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It’s All About the Experience

Posted by Michael D Jensen on September 4th, 2007

Marketing, in whatever form, is all about the experience. This is the why behind how link bait and viral marketing work.

We recently moved to Southern Utah, and in our family we like to be tourists everywhere we go, even where we live. We heard about these dinosaur tracks, so we set out to find them. We had a map that had directions that appeared pretty specific, even down to having an extra digit after the decimal point of how many miles from point X to point Y. With my iPhone (sweet Maps app), GPS on the car, and our handy dandy map, I thought we’d be there in 20 minutes, see the tracks, and be on our way to the next historic site. Instead, we had a safari adventure in our minivan, with 3 young kids in the back, hunting for dinosaur tracks in 100 degree weather, on a dirty bumpy road, that lasted two and a half hours.

Now if you are still a kid like I am (and like my kids are), this was awesome. We turned down a road which ended up being more of a 4-wheeler road, having to turn around and backing into a cactus. We saw a few guys off the road, but after approaching them on foot I realized they were carrying weapons. Luckily they were harmless and gave us some hints as to where to seek the dinosaur tracks. We traveled down the road for what seemed like an eternity, all the while enjoying the beautiful Utah desert and the sweet sound of kids nagging each other. Finally, a sign; of course it was 3 inches by 3 feet with the words “Dinosaur Tracks” in a single column, in white and brown (camouflage), and a small arrow pointing the way. We turned and kept looking, another 3″ x 3′ sign. We found the parking lot, and another 3″ x 3′ sign. We walked a ways and finally came to the end of our hunt, with about 10 footsteps from dinosaurs, engrained in stone for us to stare at in amazement. This ain’t plaster of paris my friends, these are dinosaur tracks.

So, if you’re still reading, hopefully you’ve imagined our experience and smiled at least a tad. It was a blast, and tucking my kids in tonight they remember our trek of finding dinosaur tracks. What would this have been like had this rock with the tracks been cut out and taken to my local museum? We could have walked right past them. We wouldn’t have spent more than 2 or 3 minutes looking at the tracks. A portion of the visitors to the museum probably would miss the tracks altogether. And when those kids were tucked, I guarantee they wouldn’t remember the dinosaur tracks.

It’s all about the experience. There is a fantastic article written on the topic titled The Experience is the Marketing by James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II. This is the inner workings of link bait and viral marketing, it is the experience the user undergoes. The experience may not last two and a half hours like my dinosaur track safari, but if the user has a memorable experience, the marketing worked. The article gives several examples, such as “The American Girl Place”. It’s not your typical toy doll store. Parents take their daughters with doll in hand to get the doll’s hair done ($20), get their picture taken together ($21.95), watch a theatrical production together ($25), and to have dinner together ($18). Yes, you can buy a new doll there, but it’s the experience that drives thousands each year, and millions in revenue, not the dolls.

In the online world, we don’t have the advantage of a physical setting to create an experience. We do, however, have many forms of medium to create an experience.

Online Mediums for Creating an Experience
First, your design and usability is the first part of the experience. Is your design clean, does it speak to your audience (high-end consumers, women, older folks, college kids, etc), are products easy to find with available details?

Second, do you offer more than just product? What about a section of all the crazy ways your product has been used (think Duck brand Duct Tape), or a photo blog of people wearing your product in different locales (like Beast Clothing)? What about an application that helps people with some aspect of your product or service, that they find useful (like our Link Search Tool). What about a viral video (think Diet Coke & Mentos) that showcases or includes your product, or is a captivating commercial that makes it viral?

Tapping into your Audience
Just because your marketing medium isn’t a physical building, it doesn’t mean you can’t tap into the physical senses of your audience. You can appeal to emotions, appetites, feelings, memories, hopes, and vanity. There’s no step by step how to and no online experience generator to accomplish this. But there is your innovation, and the imagination of your team and company.

Get Started and Create an Experience
To start, read the article The Experience is the Marketing. It’s a great jump start to making an experience for your audience, which is the ultimate in branding and marketing.

1 comment Visited 1000 times September 4th, 2007 Michael D Jensen

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