SEO Explanation

Earlier this month, I again was informed of the continuing mass confusion regarding Search Engine Optimization that exists in the market place. I have maintained for a long time that market confusion was the single biggest factor in frustration and dysfunction in small business SEO campaigns. So, for the next month, I am going to prepare some clarifications that should help you understand what you are buying and give you input on what you should be buying depending on your objectives.

Objectives... there is a good place to start. Start by defining what you want out of your Search Engine Marketing (That is the acronym SEM). It means what you want to come to you from search engines. Let’s assume that what you want are site visits. (I know this is basic, but there is a reason why you should start this simply). You might have other objectives as well, such as apprearing ahead of competititors, being present on certain search terms, etc. However, I recommend that in today’s climate, that you focus on getting site visits.

Ok, with that established, let’s talk about SEO or Search Engine Optimization. SEO is about as confusing as it gets. In general terms, a site is optimized for certain terms or relevance. Relating to keywords, a page can be made relevant to a certain term or terms by using those terms in a relevant fashion. So, when you buy SEO, you are buying the efforts to periodically evaluate and make adjustments to the site to make you more relevant to a given set of terms. This is where you have to go back and ask yourself, does this meet my objective of getting more traffic?

I am frequently asked why some competitors can promise first page placement on search engines. This expectation has confused the market place for years. Here is an analogy from a funny movie that applies here. In The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Peter Sellars (playing Clouseau) asks a woman inkeeper sitting next to a dog if her dog bites. She says no. Sellars reaches for the dog, which violently bites him. He says to the woman, “I thought you said your dog did not bite.” She replies, “That is not my dog.”

Keep that in mind when you think about the value (in terms of traffic) of being listed first on terms that do not have a lot of traffic. One of the biggest SEO mistakes I see is insisting on being listed on terms that sound good but do not result in a lot of traffic. In our SEO program, when selecting your terms, we look at what is the best value for you in terms of effectiveness. Our program follows the terms and lets you know if they are more or less effective. This is a long-term strategy. Long-term, it will place you on terms that meet your objective because they are getting the best traffic for you.

This takes us back to your objective, which is to get traffic. So, if your most effective terms will require you to invest time and effort over the long haul to get better traffic, how can you meet your immediate objective of more traffic? Easy... pay per click. This is a search engine marketing strategy that meets your objective. I have long endorsed this strategy because you pay in and get visits back. In fact, it is why we designed our Keyword SEO program the way we did. In our program you invest a minimal amount $300-$450 each month (depending on the number of terms you have) on long-term strategies, allowing you to put the majority of your Internet budget into paid clicks. This balance keeps you focused because you are getting your main objective met: traffic to your web site. People ask me what the ideal balance should be. This is it. A steady and affordable Keyword program and supporting Pay Per Click to make sure you get what you need now. This meets short and long-term objectives.

Or, you can become confused by the facts. If you are on the first page on search terms that are not effective, it is probably really frustrating that your traffic is not improving. Are you satisfied paying for positions that are not so effective? Remember The Pink Panther... Does your dog bite?

All markets are different and there is no silver bullet but there are tools that are available to everyone to help you figure this out. You have to decide what you are buying. When you enroll in our SEO program, we show you the tools that are online that we use to determine what is going to result in the most traffic for you. Sometimes the keywords that we choose would not be your first choice but those choices are based on effectiveness. Effectiveness improves your chances of traffic.

I will break this down with specific examples in the weeks to come. It is important to me that you all learn what you are buying so you can meet your objective. Otherwise, it is really easy to buy something that sounds good but does not bite.

If you are interested in our easy and effective SEO program, please let me know. You can email at donald@dogstarmedia.

Flash Video Internet Banner Ads - Wow!

This strategy combines ReachLocal’s display banner capabilities with Dog Star Media’s rich Flash Video media design to create a very effective brand/marketing/remarketing campaign with excellent traceable results. Executed properly, this is one of the more effective combinations we seen lately. And, our first client who is taking this out for a spin is the forward-thinking Patrick McMenamin, MD, the current President of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. You can see his web site at renewyou.com. Keep your eye on the video... it is going to feature prominently in this new strategy.

If you start with a Pay Per Click campaign. Basically, search engine users click on your paid link and visit your site. With a ReachLocal Pay Per Click campaign, those visitors are recognized and recorded. A percentage will convert to a phone call, form submission or email. The rest surf on. With this display banner campaign, ReachLocal technology and online partnerships are able to place banner ads on those visitor’s future visits to Yahoo and other sites where banner advertising is available. This is called remarketing, when you make a second (and multiple) exposure to a user, like a follow up message. This is an excellent match for cosmetic surgery and cosmetic dentistry because these are not impulse purchases like fast food. The bottom line is that these visitors get follow-up exposures which builds trust and leads to calls.

In terms of marketing the Display Banner campaign places your banner on relevant web properties to give you a total exposure of hundreds of thousands of views each month. This is called branding or marketing, where you make a first impression. Of course, in both cases, the banners click through to your web site. The bottom line here is this strategy gets you hundreds of thousands of targeted exposures, introducing new consumers to your services and site.

So, how do we make this better? That is where Dog Star Media comes in. How about making the banner out of Flash and including video of the doctor speaking directly to the user? If you have seen any video ads (that you would normally see on TV, or even have seen on TV) on the Internet, this is what I am talking about. Matter of fact, you can probably see one here... yahoo.com or here...cnn.com.

In our Flash Video banners, the video will begin to play when loaded but the sound will be down. Users can click or roll over to play audio. Many of our clients have web drops on their web sites so users can be introduced to the doctor up front. This video works perfectly for these Flash banners. In Dr. McMenamin’s case, we are making three banners, based on what we know about what are the most requested services (This is based on page view interest we gleaned from his web statistics). The result will be selectively placed banners that speak to a targeted audience and previous site visitors to reinforce the most requested services he offers. Pay attention: This is what it looks like when you have all oars in the water and are using tracking to make tactical decisions.

The Display Banner with ReachLocal can be done with our without a Pay Per Click strategy but the remarketing (which I think is one of the strongest components) cannot be done without Pay Per Click. And, if you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I think Pay Per Click is the most reliable marketing investment a small business can make.

Want to market/remarket/brand and get new visitors to your web site all in one neatly packaged, effective strategy? This is it. Please contact me here for more details.

New web sites and web video in New Jersey

When I met Dr. Janet Neigel, she introduced herself as the south New Jersey version of Dr. Susan Hughes. I bet almost every cosmetic surgeon reading this has either met Dr. Hughes or knows her from her involvment in the AACS. It is kind of fitting that we have web site debuts for both of them at the same time today.

Dr. Neigel launched her great, new Flash web site today at eyelid.com. Sleek and stylish, this new site is easy to navigate and has a high-end cosmetic look.

We are updating Dr. Hughes’ pre-existing site in several ways but the most dramatic change has been the addition of web drop video. You can see it here at drnewyou.com. What a difference it makes when you see Dr. Hughes in person speaking to you, explaining the benefits of her surgical skills and welcoming users into the site and her practice. Short, focused video like this is easy to produce and instantly gives you an advantage over competitors. Like I said in last week’s blog, it makes conditions unequal, tipping them in your favor online.

Both of these sites are an example of how the game is being raised on the Internet. On all of my coaching clients’ data, the Internet has taken on an even bigger role in the current business climate. What can you do to make yourself more competitive ASAP? You can start my making a presentation on your site that is designed to stop the shopping. Video of the doctor speaking is something that does this, so is an excellent site design.

Congratulations to these two NJ cosmetic surgeons. They are doing it the right way online.

If you want more information on these and other Internet strategies, please email me today at donald@dogstarmedia.com.

If all things were equal...

Ask yourself this question: If all things were equal, would a prospective patient choose you based solely on your skills and experience?

It is a great question to ask yourself in a defining moment. If all things were equal, would patients pick you? If the answer is yes (and it should be if you are confident in your skills and services), then that should help focus you. That’s because things are not equal.

Packaging and salesmanship make things unequal and the 24/7/365 activity of the Internet allows these two factors to trump the “if all things were equal” scenario. The fact is that your superior skills, experience, service and even results, can easily be out-maneuvered on the web. This is done by your competitors who are packaging themselves more effectively and using better salesmanship online.

Here is how you can bring things back to equal and even tilt the advantage back into your favor. In terms of online packaging, there is no substitute for a great web site design. However, if you already have that, it is still possible to be behind the curve. We find that the addition of video of the doctor(s) speaking directly to web site visitors is the most dramatic way to add impact to each web visit. After all, nobody sells you quite like you. Meeting the doctor in a consultation makes the most impact on a patient. You can build a sense of trust with a personal connection. Video of you speaking to prospective patients on your web site begins the same effect. I like to say it moves the doctor from the end of the equation to the front of the equation. It takes the most valuable influence on new business, the person with the least availability... this being the doctor... and makes that person available to every site visitor. This is only packaging but it effectively establishes contact and the beginnings of the trust relationship. Using video this way, tilts the packaging battle in your direction.

In terms of salesmanship, aggressive placement keeps the playing field uneven. Think of the old days when Yellow Pages ads were really the only advertising that medical and dental practices would do. Aggressive placement in this case would be the doctor who bought the large full page ad or the big color ad. In Internet terms, these competitors are doing what they can to stand out the same way. The fastest way to do this is with pay per click campaigns. They are accountable and effective. They make you available for certain on certain keyword searches. And, since they are measurable, they yield information needed to learn more about the behavior of your local searchers. So, to even the playing field, what are you doing for aggressive placement.

We can help you with both the packaging and salesmanship that can address this issue. Nothing can truly even the playing field but you be aggressive in ways that you know give you the advantage. A solid SEO and Pay Per Click Strategy and Video of you addressing the site visitor are great ways to start because there is no doubt about the impact these strategies make.

If you want more information on these strategies, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.

Marketing Budgets

This is the time of year that many of our clients are making marketing plans and budgets for the year. It’s part of the reason why I wrote the Smart Marketing List last week. If you are making plans, you should go back and read that blog.

One question I get a lot regards how to break up a marketing budget. Generally, a good marketing plan for a small business is built around direct marketing and Circle of Influence marketing. And, as I said last week, most of this should be measurable using online or tracking technologies. Direct marketing means consistent promotion and marketing messages that are directly delivered to a known list or database. Direct marketing can be email marketing, direct mail, direct promotion, etc. Anything that goes to a set list we can identify. Circle of Influence marketing is simply doing direct marketing to a list of existing patients or clients. In these cases, the odds of marketing success increase 10-1 because a trust relationship is already established.

Next up: Internet Strategies. These are a critical backbone for new business strategies. And, Internet strategies are a good next step up when it comes to bang-for-your-buck. This is a good next layer to add to your plan. Internet strategies are online strategies that drive traffic to your web site. There are plenty of choices for Search Engine strategies including optimization or Pay Per Click. Depending on your market and goals, a blend of the two is a healthy plan. Paying for clicks is not a bad thing. I like it because it is very accountable. Of course, a good Internet strategy requires a competitive web site. I think site modifications and upgrades should be a regularly budgeted item so you can remain competitive.

Once your direct, Circle of Influence and Internet strategies are in place, then it is time to look at the most expensive and usually least productive elements: mass media. This shotgun advertising approach unfortunately is usually where many business owners begin their planning. This often results in too much hope being placed in long-shot media buys, which ends up in disappointing expectations. As part of my coaching program, I help clients understand how and why mass media works to help modulate expectations and divert wasted funds into more productive strategies. Often tracking numbers in print, TV or billboards help me illustrate this point. Mass media is not a bad strategy but it should be kept in perspective both financially and in terms of expected results.

So, if you are planning your marketing budget for this year, keep some of these ideas in mind. My coaching program is open to you at any time if you want to get a grip on how to run it with a little more accountability or perspective. If this is something that interests you, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.