(Editor’s note: As many readers know I write for many other publications. This is an excerpt of an article that I wrote for my local Chamber of Commerce magazine. I think you’ll find some of the insights shared here helpful.)
The Internet is a big place seemingly extending beyond infinity. As a result, it’s easy for people to get lost or misdirected when searching for information or a business. What can a business do to ensure that they’re found rather than lost in cyberspace?
Tony Simmons, president, Simmons Business Services in Princeton, NJ, recommends getting on the local Internet listings such as Google Places, Yahoo, and Bing. “There’s a whole host of free or listing services that will link your business with business categories,” he says. “If people are searching for those business categories there’s a good chance your business will come up.”
When it comes to keywords, there’s a methodology to picking those plus one needs to make sure that they’re included in the metadata at the back of your site for each page. “The wording on the page needs to be consistent with your keywords,” recommends Simmons.
He’s also a fan of adding pictures, videos, and other attention grabbers to your Website because most people only spend about six seconds on a site and this helps keep them there longer. “Once they’re on your Website the goal is for you to get them to give you their e-mail address and the best way is by offering them something meaningful yet free such as a free assessment if you’re a financial planner.”
Most business owners understand the value of networking and Simmons says it’s important they also understand they need to employ a systematic way of building their contact list as well to bring those people to their Website. This can be used for e-mails, newsletters, print mailings—all of which can help drive traffic to a site.
Multi-purposing your content is also helpful. “If you write a blog post, newsletter or a position paper use, use it in your e-mail, social networks, blog, and your Website,” says Simmons. “Very often one document can bring you publicity in many different forums.”
When the search is on, Chris Casarona, principal strategist with Creative Counsel, a Princeton Junction-based marketing firm, recommends understanding what you want to be searched for. That means understanding what you deliver to the market, what your market values, and why somebody might search for that. Once you’ve got that figured out you can develop a comprehensive list of keywords. “Those keywords are specific as to how you want to be found,” says Casarona.
It’s important that your content jibes with those keywords. “Developing good content about what you do and offer is key,” emphasizes Casarona. “People forget and tend to look for a trick or magic bullet that’s going to push them up a couple of slots. In reality what they should be focusing on is developing solid effective content so when someone does find them the information is useful.”
Reciprocal links from other sites such as business associations or trade organizations can also bump up traffic and help with search engine optimization (SEO) while also enhancing your credibility since there’s a link from their site to yours and vice versa. According to Casarona, reciprocal links aren’t ranked as highly in search engines as a non-reciprocal link, but that’s okay. “People follow all links so there’s no such thing as a bad link coming to your site although some are more important than others,” he says.
Links from social networking sites like Facebook and Linkedin are no brainers. In reality there isn’t a lot of traffic coming in from social networking sites, but cumulatively this still helps. “It also gives you an opportunity to tell visitors that there are people in your firm, you attend events and your people are out there doing things,” says Casarona.
“When I talk to SMB owners who are starting to shift advertising dollars from core print products whether it be direct mail, newspaper, billboards and start living in a digital world they want to know how do I get my Website to the top of the page, how do I create that visibility for when consumers are looking for me and what’s the best approach?” adds Nick Santise, an online sales specialist with NJ.com.
He recommends search engine marketing and Google AdWords, otherwise known as a pay-per-click campaign. Google reports that 37 percent of all clicks that go through Google come through the first position in a Web search. “That’s search engine marketing and the only way you do that is if you do an AdWords campaign,” states Santise.
Santise says it’s important to be on all three sections of Google—the center, Google Maps which is usually at the top of the page, and at the bottom of the page—because it’s more likely potential customers will click through to you if you’re on all three. “We focus on what can we do to get you on the top, the middle, and the bottom,” says Santise.
What his team can’t do nor can anyone else is control how someone searches. “Some people work their way to the middle and others start at the bottom,” he says. “Knowing that 90 percent of consumers never make it off the first page of Google, that’s where you need to be.”
The trend that everybody with a Website should be cognizant of is the growth of mobile searches. According to Google, in 2011 30 percent of all consumers conducted a search on their mobile device. By the end of 2013 that number is expected to soar to 50 percent. “If you have a site that’s great, but it better be mobile,” cautions Santise.
Lisa Snyder, owner of Elle Eye Design, a small Ewing-based business that does Web design and associated projects, often tempers her clients’ expectations when it comes to the Web and the impact they can expect from SEO.
“Google is like a game and if you know how to play you’re more likely to win, but there are no guarantees,” she says. “Organic SEO can be risky, but the payoffs can be really great.”
If you already have a URL Snyder recommends hiring a specialist who understands how Google plays the game. “That’s helpful because what they’ll do is research your competition and write specifically for your Website to help it rank higher. Again, there’s no guarantee, but the words you use can help, and it does take a little bit of time to do that.”
Don’t expect instant gratification either even if you hire a specialist. “Sometimes it can take a couple of weeks and sometimes you might not see results for a couple of months,” notes Snyder.
On the other hand, a number of Snyder’s clients that weren’t showing up on the search engines to begin with have found themselves on the first page of Google.
She’s also a big fan of blogging as a way to drive people to your site. “That’s a great way where you as a business owner can increase your SEO without hiring anybody,” says Snyder.
“One of the biggest misconceptions small business owners have when they make the decision to create a Website is what I call the “build it and they will come” approach,” opines John DeBlase, director, Rockbridge Services and Designs.
DeBlase explains that SEO isn’t something that happens readily. “It takes work alongside a good working knowledge of how the search engine algorithms function. SEO is an ongoing process depending on how often you change your key content. If you don’t spend time when it comes to keeping up with your Website you will not get the results you expect.”
He agrees with the others about the importance of keywords and recommends Google AdWords. Here you’ll see metrics for a particular keyword or phrase comparable to the one you type in. Competition for keywords is categorized as ‘Low,’ ‘Medium,’ and ‘High.’
“You should use Google Analytics and Google Webmaster tools as well for researching SEO,” says DeBlase. “They are free and extremely powerful tools, but not overly complicated for the lay person to understand.”
He also recommends monitoring Websites relevant or related to your own to get ideas. “But most importantly make sure you are selecting content with your key words and always remember to reference your geographical location in your keywords if you have a local business.”
No matter what approach you take he contends that content is king. “You might do everything else perfect, but if your content is not updated frequently and of high quality your efforts will likely be pointless,” states DeBlase.
