I have had this question on just about every call or email I have had for about two weeks, so I thought it would just be best to broadcast the answer.
In lieu of the last few weeks, I can tell you there are generally three groups of business owners in the market right now. The first is the group who is trying to pick up ground on competitors, the second is maintaining their current marketing and the the third is reacting to the panic by making cuts. People ask me what I am doing. I see things “big picture” and I am trying to pick up ground on competitors. This is because I think it is the wise thing to do when competitors pause or give ground.
There are a few things I learned long ago about cosmetic services. They have been reiterated to me over the years by some very wise surgeons and dentists.
Fact 1: In slow times, people do things to make themselves feel better. In many cases this is cosmetic treatments. If you are experiencing slower business, this is the panic, not the recession. The panic will lift first, bringing about a quicker recovery for you than you will read about on CNN or Fox News. Being aware of this will help you decide not to relinquish any position in the market.
Fact 2: There is business out there, it is just a question of knowing where it is and being in position to react to it. This one is for all of you who have not heeded my recommendations to put in infrastructure... direct marketing driven by databases. It is too late to have those leads in the pipeline if you have not been practicing these techniques. Those of you who have will have an added advantage when the panic subsides. The lesson here is if you are relying solely on mass media advertising and heavy commitments to new patient flow, you can avoid bottoming out in a future downturn by investing in your Circle of Influence.
Fact 3: Buy low, sell high. I am talking about branding and market share here. As the more timid players withdraw, a vacuum is created. You should be stepping into that vacuum. I have been promoting our SEO service for the last two weeks in this blog for a reason. It is one of the best ways you can gain ground quickly as your competitors withdraw. And, in the case of our SEO program, nearly everyone enrolling is cutting their SEO costs because our more focused program is less expensive than their current service. For $300/month plus whatever you want to put into Pay Per Click, you can step into the void of others cutting back.
Fact 4: Fight or die. I am very encouraged to hear the courage in the voices of my clients right now. Sure, no one likes to fight through a slowdown but what is the alternative? Quitting? No one is quitting and everyone is sucking it up. However, in the name of smart decision making, now is the time to make smart strategic moves. Right now, every click and every prospect is valuable because you probably need it. However, once things loosen up, those clicks and prospects will be just as important. I suggest making your fight for them now pay off in the future. I am not suggesting expanding your business, but expanding your influence.
Now, with that said, I should point out that we have three strategies to help with all of this for $300/month or less. They are our Keyword SEO program, my coaching program and The Cosmetic Channel™. The Cosmetic Channel now comes with web video, in-office DVDs and email marketing and at $240/month is the best impact in the short term. In addition, we are offering to spread the payments for web upgrades over several months so ambitious clients can reduce their short-term risk to make smart upgrades in the vacuum created by their more timid competitors.
Our goal is to make these programs available to you now when your competitors may be retreating. And, be advised, their marketing advisers are probably telling them the same thing. Things are reshuffling in your market, the stronger players are going to make smart moves to take advantage. I hope you hear this message and that you are that strong player. If you want to put in some of this infrastructure, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Keyword Efficiency Indicator Explained
After last week’s blog, I got a lot of response about our Keyword SEO program. It is clear that there is a lot of frustration with other companies out there when it comes to SEO. So, I wanted to give some greater detail on a key measuring factor we use as part of our program.
Generally, I think it is safe to say that most people do not understand what their SEO company is doing. And, I have to admit, a lot of the more technical stuff is hard to understand, even for me. But, as I stated last week, this is part of the reason why we decided to simplify our program down to the easy to understand keyword service. It is also the reason why we focus our service on some very basic concepts to understand. One of those is the Keyword Efficiency Indicator (KEI).
In short, the KEI compares the number of searches for a keyword with the number of search results to pinpoint which keywords are most effective for your campaign. In other words, it gives us a basis for choosing smart keywords on which to focus your optimization.
Generally, I think it is safe to say that most people do not understand what their SEO company is doing. And, I have to admit, a lot of the more technical stuff is hard to understand, even for me. But, as I stated last week, this is part of the reason why we decided to simplify our program down to the easy to understand keyword service. It is also the reason why we focus our service on some very basic concepts to understand. One of those is the Keyword Efficiency Indicator (KEI).
In short, the KEI compares the number of searches for a keyword with the number of search results to pinpoint which keywords are most effective for your campaign. In other words, it gives us a basis for choosing smart keywords on which to focus your optimization.
Suppose the number of searches for a given keyword is 486 per month and Google displays 214,234 results for that keyword. Then, the ratio between the popularity and competitiveness for that keyword is 486 divided by 214,234. In this case, the KEI 0.002. That is a keyword with a low number of searches with a high amount of competition. In other words, the odds of this term working for you are not so good.
Using KEI as a basis, we can make some choices as to how we should proceed on emphasizing certain keywords for you. It also helps you moderate your expectations regarding certain terms. We have found that clients get stuck on wanting to be on certain terms. Seeing a long-odds KEI helps them understand that the best way to access that term is through a Pay Per Click strategy. Thus, a good blend of Keyword Optimization and Pay Per Click is often a successful overall strategy.
See how easy and logical that is? I’m not trying to minimize the work SEO companies do while charging the big bucks. I am just pointing out that a simpler strategy works well, too. This simple and affordable strategy gives you a solid SEO program. The limiting factors are length of time you have been optimizing, Pay Per Click budget and, of course, market conditions. Our goal with this $300/month program is to give clients an affordable, understandable program that lets them feel good about the long-term commitment it takes for SEO. And, if time is a factor, then the Pay Per Click option is built right in.
Add to this regular reporting that is easy to understand and you have an Keyword SEO strategy designed specificially for niche small businesses. And, that is what Dog Star Media is known for: making major strategies affordable and available for small businesses.
If you want more details on our Keyword SEO program, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Keyword SEO explained
This has been the talk all week for some reason, so I thought I would address it in my blog. I think maybe a lot of you are looking at your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with a big question mark hanging over your head.
Yes, SEO can be a mystery. We have worked for years to find a suitable SEO partner without success. Our conclusion: Most companies that perform full blown SEO services offer way too much for small business clients. It is not that their services are not good or do not work but they are overkill for a small business, particularly a niche small business like a cosmetic dentist or surgeon. The $1000/month or more costs to support all of their efforts is just not justifiable. So, now what?
I decided earlier this year to do an analysis of this problem and this is what I found.
1) Clients did not understand what they were getting for their investment.
2) Clients did not have reasonable expectations of SEO.
3) Clients did not receive proper communication updates and regular reporting they could understand.
4) Clients did not understand the strategies and lost faith and interest, even if it was working.
5) The cost for the service was simply too high.
This was consistent across the board. So, I decided to look at what was working, what could be simplified strategically and how we could offer the benefit at a reasonable price. My research came down to two simple SEO strategies: Keyword Optimization and Pay Per Click.
Keyword optimization is only one method of SEO but it has the benefit of excellent accountability. Many other SEO strategies pay a role in the overall optimization big picture but, at the end of the day, keywords provide landmarks that we can measure. In addition, I was presented with verification that a steady keyword optimization strategy was the most effective plank in the more complicated full-blown SEO strategies from our partners that had been frustrating our clients. So, I knew Keyword SEO had to be part of what we did.
Next up came the perceived value. Our Keyword SEO strategy had to work on easy to understand metric AND paint a realistic picture of what is achieveable. We selected a program to use for optimization that focuses on the Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI). This is a numerical rating that tells you if a keyword is likely to be effective for you. Say you want to be ranked on a really popular term. The KEI tells you if that term is really going to be effective for you. It has nothing to do with where you are ranked on that term. It tells you if that term is a good bet. Today, I was looking at the KEI of the term San Diego Cosmetic Dentist with a client in a phone meeting. He saw that there were 8 millon listings under San Diego Cosmetic Dentist and he realized that our suggestions to try to place him higher on less trafficked terms with less listings improved our chances of getting him on Page 1. It was an easy explanation and he understood the strategy completely. This use of a simple KEI indicator made the whole process make sense and shows it to be worth the monthly fee... which is only $300/month compared to at least $1000/$1200 month which most dedicated SEO companies will charge. (I even know of one client who is paying more than $2500 for top of the line service. It works well but not many clients are able to do this.)
This greater perceived value is the key to keeping a consistent effort going. Consistency and persistence is vital to SEO and I believe we have found a very good match for niche small businesses for the reasons stated above. So, what about the highly desirable, highly unattainable low-KEI words that you still want to see yourself on? The answer is the same as always... my old favorite: Pay Per Click Advertising. Due to the vastly higher traffic on Google, we recommend Google AdWords as a branch of this keyword-based program. Therefore, as part of our program, we administer a Google AdWords campaign (for one country or one search engine... another country or search engine is an additional fee). Between the Keyword Optimization and the AdWords, you have an easy to understand strategy in place. And, at $300/month it is fairly priced for the services you are getting, which are handpicked services that work best for small businesses.
Needless to say, we have not been able to keep this in a pilot program. Now that it is proven, we are adding clients every week and I am pleased to say we are seeing progress on every client that is enrolled in this program. The common reasons people switch to our services is:
1) They are unsure, unhappy or displeased with the service from their current SEO company.
2) They are ready to pay less for SEO.
3) They do not know what they are getting for their SEO.
4) Poor communication and reporting by their current SEO company.
If you are one of the many who are experiencing any of these four circumstances, I invite you to try our Keyword SEO service. SEO is the cost of doing business on the Internet. We make it much more affordable and easier to understand for you. Please let me know if you are interested at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Yes, SEO can be a mystery. We have worked for years to find a suitable SEO partner without success. Our conclusion: Most companies that perform full blown SEO services offer way too much for small business clients. It is not that their services are not good or do not work but they are overkill for a small business, particularly a niche small business like a cosmetic dentist or surgeon. The $1000/month or more costs to support all of their efforts is just not justifiable. So, now what?
I decided earlier this year to do an analysis of this problem and this is what I found.
1) Clients did not understand what they were getting for their investment.
2) Clients did not have reasonable expectations of SEO.
3) Clients did not receive proper communication updates and regular reporting they could understand.
4) Clients did not understand the strategies and lost faith and interest, even if it was working.
5) The cost for the service was simply too high.
This was consistent across the board. So, I decided to look at what was working, what could be simplified strategically and how we could offer the benefit at a reasonable price. My research came down to two simple SEO strategies: Keyword Optimization and Pay Per Click.
Keyword optimization is only one method of SEO but it has the benefit of excellent accountability. Many other SEO strategies pay a role in the overall optimization big picture but, at the end of the day, keywords provide landmarks that we can measure. In addition, I was presented with verification that a steady keyword optimization strategy was the most effective plank in the more complicated full-blown SEO strategies from our partners that had been frustrating our clients. So, I knew Keyword SEO had to be part of what we did.
Next up came the perceived value. Our Keyword SEO strategy had to work on easy to understand metric AND paint a realistic picture of what is achieveable. We selected a program to use for optimization that focuses on the Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI). This is a numerical rating that tells you if a keyword is likely to be effective for you. Say you want to be ranked on a really popular term. The KEI tells you if that term is really going to be effective for you. It has nothing to do with where you are ranked on that term. It tells you if that term is a good bet. Today, I was looking at the KEI of the term San Diego Cosmetic Dentist with a client in a phone meeting. He saw that there were 8 millon listings under San Diego Cosmetic Dentist and he realized that our suggestions to try to place him higher on less trafficked terms with less listings improved our chances of getting him on Page 1. It was an easy explanation and he understood the strategy completely. This use of a simple KEI indicator made the whole process make sense and shows it to be worth the monthly fee... which is only $300/month compared to at least $1000/$1200 month which most dedicated SEO companies will charge. (I even know of one client who is paying more than $2500 for top of the line service. It works well but not many clients are able to do this.)
This greater perceived value is the key to keeping a consistent effort going. Consistency and persistence is vital to SEO and I believe we have found a very good match for niche small businesses for the reasons stated above. So, what about the highly desirable, highly unattainable low-KEI words that you still want to see yourself on? The answer is the same as always... my old favorite: Pay Per Click Advertising. Due to the vastly higher traffic on Google, we recommend Google AdWords as a branch of this keyword-based program. Therefore, as part of our program, we administer a Google AdWords campaign (for one country or one search engine... another country or search engine is an additional fee). Between the Keyword Optimization and the AdWords, you have an easy to understand strategy in place. And, at $300/month it is fairly priced for the services you are getting, which are handpicked services that work best for small businesses.
Needless to say, we have not been able to keep this in a pilot program. Now that it is proven, we are adding clients every week and I am pleased to say we are seeing progress on every client that is enrolled in this program. The common reasons people switch to our services is:
1) They are unsure, unhappy or displeased with the service from their current SEO company.
2) They are ready to pay less for SEO.
3) They do not know what they are getting for their SEO.
4) Poor communication and reporting by their current SEO company.
If you are one of the many who are experiencing any of these four circumstances, I invite you to try our Keyword SEO service. SEO is the cost of doing business on the Internet. We make it much more affordable and easier to understand for you. Please let me know if you are interested at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The Dog Star Media Bailout Solution
There are a lot of you who are turning to marketing a little bit smarter right now during the slow down. That is good and I offer plenty of good advice on that in my coaching program. However, I have spoken to several doctors and dentists in the last few weeks who had wanted to make a major step forward in their web design this fall but are holding off due to cashflow concerns.
It is a real paradox in times like this. At the time when you need to be most competitive, cashflow can hamstring your immediate needs to improve your ability to be more competitive. Normally, Dog Star Media does not offer financing plans but these are far from normal times.
I made this offer to two doctors this month to try to get them what they need now. And, after some consideration, I am willing to do this for up to 5-6 practices that want to take advantage of our “bailout” program. We will spread out the costs of a Flash or Flash Video web site over up to 10 months, making monthly payments around $1000/month. This greatly reduces the immediate out of pocket expense, eliminates you having to finance it with interest to get it now and more importantly sharpens the sword during slower times.
Here are some Flash and Flash Video sites we have done this year. If this is something you could use now to improve the marketability of your practice, we will work with you to get you what you need now.
www.EastBaySurgicalArts.com
www.SpokaneDerm.com
www.MiddletonCosmetic.com
www.StonebrookDental.com
On another note, we are about to produce a series of Cosmetic Surgery episodes in Spanish for The Cosmetic Channel™. We are looking for a fluent or native Spanish-speaking surgeon who wants to have a breast and body surgery video series that features you on camera. You would get a custom made set and versions of your show would then be available to the market on The Cosmetic Channel™. We have made this package very affordable for the right doctor and I look forward to whoever this casting call turns up as a potential Spanish-speaking host for our breast and body shows. For more information or to pre-order these Spanish Language DVDs and web videos for your practice, please contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
It is a real paradox in times like this. At the time when you need to be most competitive, cashflow can hamstring your immediate needs to improve your ability to be more competitive. Normally, Dog Star Media does not offer financing plans but these are far from normal times.
I made this offer to two doctors this month to try to get them what they need now. And, after some consideration, I am willing to do this for up to 5-6 practices that want to take advantage of our “bailout” program. We will spread out the costs of a Flash or Flash Video web site over up to 10 months, making monthly payments around $1000/month. This greatly reduces the immediate out of pocket expense, eliminates you having to finance it with interest to get it now and more importantly sharpens the sword during slower times.
Here are some Flash and Flash Video sites we have done this year. If this is something you could use now to improve the marketability of your practice, we will work with you to get you what you need now.
www.EastBaySurgicalArts.com
www.SpokaneDerm.com
www.MiddletonCosmetic.com
www.StonebrookDental.com
On another note, we are about to produce a series of Cosmetic Surgery episodes in Spanish for The Cosmetic Channel™. We are looking for a fluent or native Spanish-speaking surgeon who wants to have a breast and body surgery video series that features you on camera. You would get a custom made set and versions of your show would then be available to the market on The Cosmetic Channel™. We have made this package very affordable for the right doctor and I look forward to whoever this casting call turns up as a potential Spanish-speaking host for our breast and body shows. For more information or to pre-order these Spanish Language DVDs and web videos for your practice, please contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
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