Website Optimisation Headlines

What Blogs Should You Be Reading?

by Mack Collier

Whenever I speak to small businesses that are considering launching their own blog, there are always a few people that want to know which blogs I think they should be reading to stay up to date on the ever-changing world of social media.  If you are just getting started exploring blogs, here are some of my favorite ones that should help you quickly get up to speed on blogging and social media.

Here's my list of must-reads, and if you click on the person's name, that will take you to their Twitter account.  If you are on Twitter, you should be following these people there as well as reading their blog. 

Social Media Strategy:

Chris Brogan's Blog - Chris' blog does a great job of not only showing you how to use social media sites and tools, but also explains how you can create a social media strategy, and incorporate the use of these tools into that strategy.

Social Media Explorer - Jason Falls and Kat French help you navigate the social media space with all the latest news and trends.  This blog becomes much more valuable after you have gotten your feet wet with these tools.

Shannon Paul's Very Official Blog - I like Shannon's blog because it's written through the eyes of the social media user, and as such, can give you great insights into how your customers will view your blog, and what they are looking for.   


Social Media Measurement:

KD Paine's PR Measurement blog - KD is the true social media measurement 'guru', and she's one of the leading experts for measuring the ROI on not only social media efforts, but marketing and PR as well.

Kami Huyse's Communication Overtones blog - Kami's blog focuses on pr and marketing communication efforts, but she also has wonderful insights into social media.  Check out this social media case study involving Sea World San Antonio.


General Blogging Help:

Darren Rowse's Pro Blogger - Written for bloggers that want to make money from their blogging, this blog still is a treasure chest of tips and tricks to make you a better blogger.

Brian Clark's CopyBlogger - Also great for blogging tips, with a focus on writing compelling copy.


Business Blogging Strategy:

Toby Bloomberg's Diva Marketing blog - Toby's blog offers invaluable advice and case studies of small businesses and companies that are using blogs and social media in their communication efforts.  She also does a wonderful job of profiling successful bloggers.

Business and Blogging - General blogging advice, but slanted toward the business that's using blogging as a way to connect with its customers.

Mike Sansone's Converstations blog - Absolutely perfect for anyone that needs Blogging 101 help.  Mike does a very job of walking you through the very basics of blogging, down to a dictionary of blogging and social media terms.


These ten blogs will give you a great introduction to blogging and social media.  My advice is to not only start reading these blogs and following them on Twitter, but start interacting with them as well.  Read their blogs and leave a comment.  Ask a question if you see something you don't understand.  Or if you are on Twitter, talk to them there about the posts they write, or share their posts with your Twitter followers.  The key is, don't just watch this space, participate!  That's the best way to learn, by not only listening, but by asking as well.  That's the wonderful thing about the blogging and social media community, so many people will go out of their way to help you, if you'll just give them the chance! 

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Flash, the iPhone and Facebook Format Followers

by Sage Lewis

Marketing Pilgrim gives us some good information this week regarding mobile phones and Motrin.  First, we learn how detrimental all Flash websites are to iPhone users, who only see a blank page when they try and visit a flash site.  Second, Sage talks about the mommy blogger outrage over the edgy Motrin YoutTube commercial.  Are YouTube and LinkedIn following Facebook's lead?  Now on YouTube, you will now see and can buy PPC ads, and LinkedIn has added demographic-specific Events to user's profiles in a similar fashion.  Lastly, check out WebProNews for a detailed translation of a live chat Q&A with Google.

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Everything You Think You Know About Social Media and Measuring ROI is Wrong!

by Mack Collier

One of the biggest 'criticisms' of social media that companies have, is the difficulty in measuring the return on investment for their efforts.  Many believe that widespread business adoption of social media won't happen until a clear benefit to the company's bottom line can be measured.  Of course, these people are totally missing the point of what social media is, and why it works.

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10 Questions that Guarantee SEO Success, Part I

by Stoney deGeyter

When focusing on SEO strategies we often talk about the engines, algorithms, links, page-tweaks and whatnot. We focus on what we can do to improve website architecture, research keywords, or write better copy. All of these are important to successful search engine optimization, but what we often don't focus on is the internal issues.

Businesses don't succeed on the basis of a product alone. Those products have to be developed, marketed and sold using sound business principles. Similarly, SEO doesn't succeed solely by what you do on the technical front, but what you do internally to build a platform that will allow SEO success to happen.

Whether you're performing SEO for your own site, hiring a consultant or firm to provide SEO services for you, or you are the SEO provider serving various clients, there is the added dynamic of knowledge and communication that factors into building a successful optimization campaign.

Here are 10 questions that you need to ask to make the campaign successful:

Am I open to other people's thoughts and ideas

If there is one thing I've learned performing SEO over the last 10 years is that my solution isn't always the best solution. Nor is my solution always the most feasible. We often find ourselves making recommendations for changes then working with the development team to figure out how to best implement those recommendations. Sometimes we can get exactly what we want other times we have to figure out workable compromises, which often creates a far better solution for everyone.

On the client side, they too must be willing to compromise--that is if they want to perform well in the search results. Such compromises should not interfere with the integrity of the site or sales process, but will often need to be made to ensure site is properly optimized and search engine friendly.

Both sides must be willing to listen and understand what the goals are and work to find solutions that achieve those goals successfully.

Do I listen more than I talk?

Ok, obviously both the client and SEO cannot listen more than talk, but the point here is to be sure that you're listening. We often want so badly to get our point across that we fail to hear the points being made on the other side. While the SEO has knowledge of the optimization strategies that work, the client has product and industry knowledge that the SEO cannot come close to.

The only way to learn is to stop and listen. Put aside what you already know, listen to the knowledge presented by either the SEO or client, then integrate that new information into an even more successful campaign.

Am I willing to change my opinion based on new information.

In over 10 years optimizing websites there hasn't been a week or month that I didn't learn something new. SEO is a process. Algorithms change, keywords change, customers change, and strategies change. While many of the same principles that worked 10 years ago still work today, there is still a need to keep up with what's new.

And as that new information is gathered, opinions we had yesterday may need to give way to new opinions today. We often look back at things we've done and "update" it, either by making a change or implementing new ideas. This often causes concern from the clients as they think "why didn't you do this last month?"

The truth is, as new ideas are presented, new tools developed, and new discoveries made, those changes could not have been made last month. But that's the process of SEO, constant discovery and adapting your thoughts and opinions to build a better solution.

Do I readily admit when I am wrong?

This is hard for anyone, but is especially hard for the SEO who feels they have to justify the client's continued need for their services. But the truth is, we all make mistakes and sometimes those mistakes are costly. Sometimes they cause usability problems, loss of conversions, or even a temporary rankings disaster. While the SEO tries to avert such things from happening, not all of them can be. As with anything, you have to admit your mistakes, learn from them, adjust course, fix what's broke, and move on.

The client also must recognize that failure to implement the recommendations of the SEO may also lead to failure. This is often a frustration we have in that the client wants to know why they may not be getting certain results and we continue to point to past recommendations that have never been implemented. The client must recognize that these recommendations are made based on what the SEO believes is necessary for success.

Do I think and observe before acting on a situation?

Both the client and the SEO have responsibility to consider all things carefully. The SEO must fully understand (as much as is possible) any given situation before making any recommendations. The client must then analyze the recommendations to ensure that it's implementation aligns with the goals of the site.

Every website is different and SEOs often see solutions as one-dimensional, not taking certain site nuances into consideration. Stock solutions must be changed, tweaked and adapted for each individual site. As both the client and the SEO discover any given problem, only through full observation by both parties can the best solution be decided upon. And while every solution may not work exactly as planned, the success rate is higher if the observing, thinking and planning comes before taking action.

Tomorrow we'll continue with the final five questions that must be asked to ensure SEO success.

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Maximize Your Paid Search Budget with Better Ads

by Jennifer Laycock

With the holiday shopping season already in full gear online, paid search prices are going to be going up. After all, more competition equals higher prices. That means you'll need to make sure every ad you create has the best shot at landing you a conversion. To do that, you really need to understand how to write great ads.

Karen Thackston tackles the topic of writing paid search ads that pre qualify in a great post over at Marketing Words this week.

Since AdWords has recently made some changes to the way they calculate Quality Score, it's becoming a little easier for companies to use their paid search ads to pre-qualify buyers. In the past, there was a bit of danger to pre qualifying because Google used your click thru rate as part of Quality Score, which meant you would pay more for ads with less clicks.

Since they've made some adjustments to take ad relevancy into stronger consideration, that risk appears to be dropping somewhat. That means you're free to tighten up your ad copy a bit in order to pull better results from the clicks you earn.

Karen explains:

In their AdWords Blog, Google states, "Most importantly, we are replacing our static per-keyword Quality Scores with a system that will evaluate an ad's quality each time it matches a search query. This way, AdWords will use the most accurate, specific, and up-to-date performance information when determining whether an ad should be displayed. Your ads will be more likely to show when they're relevant and less likely to show when they're not. This means that Google users are apt to see better ads while you, as an advertiser, should receive leads which are more highly qualified."

Karen also points out the benefits of using relevant keywords and even negative copy in order to pull in the absolute most qualified buyers. She gives a great before and after example of a sample ad for a Mexican cruise and does an excellent job of illustrating the copy changes that can make a dramatic impact on an ad's conversion rate.

If you're doing any paid search advertising this year, make sure you take the time to read through her full post over at Marketing Words.

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Guilty (in a good way) By Link Association

by Debra Mastaler

All York County Government and York County School Division offices, departments, agencies, governing bodies, boards and commissions are eligible to submit requests for programs, public announcements for cablecast or internal use, and/or requests for program production services to the Division of Video Services. Other individuals or groups are not eligible unless sponsored by an eligible user.

 

Ok so maybe not the dot-gov-link-gold-mine I had first envisioned but still, this may have link building potential through direct and residual links.

If your business caters to local government or the school division, look for sponsored programs and special events where local business people are called upon to donate goods and services. Video tape your products being used at the event and work with your government contact to have the tape included on the local cable channel. (remember, you have to be sponsored by a "eligible user"). Be sure to include contact information at the end of the video.

 

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FREE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION ANALYSIS

Social Networks, Your Way

by Beth Harte

I have rules about my social networks and I am sure most people who are comfortable utilizing social networks do too. When someone is just starting to get involved in building up their social network it's hard to know or recognize when and where to set boundaries. As well, there seems to be a bit of a challenge when it comes to being completely professional or being yourself.  Luckily, the rule of being "you" is winning out and those folks who think they are being "professional" in sending blog links, promotional introductions, and other spammy items are turning into "professional outcasts."

You might also be wondering how to separate professional relationships from your  friends. With social media and the necessity to be honest, real and transparent, they are bound to mingle, so either accept that up front or make a rule to keep them separate and stick to it. [Disclaimer: the link in this paragraph links to my blog].

I'll share my rules and then maybe you'll see it's okay to make your own rules...I mean, it's your network, right?
 
LinkedIn
I only link to people I know and when I say know, I mean know pretty well. LinkedIn is about having a solid, referable network. How can I refer someone if I don't know them? It's tough to say no when you get a request but, just as an example, think about it from the perspective six months or a year down the road when someone you do know asks for a reference or an introduction. You'll either need to fess up and tell them you don't really know the person they are looking to meet or speak to or you'll pass through a reliable network contact to someone who, well, may not be. And that's not good for your relationships that you worked hard to develop. LinkedIn, for me is strictly a professional network and it always will be.
 
Twitter
When first starting out on Twitter, the norm seems to be to follow everyone that follows you. I played along by following everyone who followed me...then it started getting dicey. See, the thing is with Twitter, the more you're on it and the more you use it, the more people follow you. And some of those people are not there to build up a network. They are there to spam you, get you to their websites, respond to their promotions, etc. These days, I don't follow anyone unless I check them out first and thoroughly. I check their description, their photo, their friends, their website, what they tweet and who they tweet with or to. It takes a lot of effort, but it's my Twitterstream and I don't want it filled with junk. With Twitter a lot of friends met there have become professional contacts, and even business partners, and that's really the beauty of social media and social networking.

Facebook
When I first started using Facebook, I wasn't sure what to think or what would happen, I wasn't even sure it was a viable business social network. It definitely seemed more laid back that LinkedIn, that's for sure. I kept my Facebook profile very professional for a while (no photos or personal sharing) and only linked to business associates or friends from LinkedIn or Twitter. But I will say with Facebook, I learned that there is a lot of great sharing of books, websites, links, videos, groups, and more that you don't find elsewhere. Maybe it's because Facebook provides visuals and not just a link. And that sharing is what leads to other common interests and relationship building. That said, these days I am guarded when I friend someone. I have friended too many people only to receive a novel (actually, it's a message sent via Facebook) on why their business is good for my business, etc. No thank you! And, for a while Facebook was my little business playground until that one fateful day when my sister-in-law sent me a friend request, then my brother, then my cousin... How can you not friend your own family?! (Perhaps that's a rhetorical question for some of you.) It was then I decided that if business associates and friends wanted to know the real me...they'd have to know my family too. Why should I be the only one stuck with them?!
 
If you haven't dived into LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook just yet, I highly recommend that you do. They are three great applications for building up a social network of professional associates and friends. And you might just be surprised that the more you get to know people, how your associates become friends and your friends become associates.  Just remember, it's okay to have rules and to say no.

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Why Wikipedia Accuracy Won't Cut It For Google Local

by Miriam Ellis

Almost everyone with an interest in Local Search is trying to get a message through to the large minds at Google, in a variety of ways. The message concerns the real-life effects of inaccurate data in Google's One Box, 10-pack and Maps on the public. While a major percentage of Internet users have grown to trust the Google brand and will take Google's local data at face value, few will understand that Google views its own local applications as a wiki, community project. Let me explain why this is seriously problematic.

Mike Blumenthal tried to point out to Google the hazards of letting business information be edited by the public by hijacking Microsoft's unclaimed business listing. Danny Sullivan got a chuckle out of this and hijacked Yahoo's unclaimed business listing for good measure. This riotous behavior from some of our most respected pros in Search came upon the heels of reports of business owners losing as much as 30% of their income because their Google Local Business Center listings had been hijacked by competitors and criminals.

Matt McGee had a message of his own to send to Google regarding outrageous false reviews sitting in Google Maps for 10 months, utterly damaging one company while glorifying their competitor. If, over the course of 3 days, tons of negative reviews come in for one business while, simultaneously, these same reviewers leave tons of positive reviews for a direct competitor, it's pretty evident that spamming is going on. The intent of this practice is ugly and the trail of abuse is as clear as day, but the reviews continue to sit there, unfairly prejudicing the public against the victimized business.

I had a few choice words of my own for Google when my emergency search for doctors and a hospital in my brand new home town returned me nothing but errors. Not one single result in this critical category of local business information was correct for my searches, and I can only assume that these errors are sending countless sick and injured people to wrong addresses every month in my populous community.

The problem here is that doctors move shop, just like any other business, but their outdated data continues to display in Google's Local applications unless the doctors know how to update it...and chances are, they don't have a clue. It's one thing to get sent to the wrong side of town when you want a pizza; it's quite another when your child has just broken his arm.

As for my town's major hospital being listed with an incorrect phone number, it looks likely that the wrong data may be the result of Google aggregating information from third-party sources. Rather than ending up with the hospital's main number in the A position in the 10-pack, they've got some obscure phone number for a business office somewhere in the hospital complex up there. This results in the business office having to redirect all incoming calls to the main hospital, and they have no idea why this is happening to them. In the midst of my medical emergency, I didn't have time to explain it to them.

To Google's credit, the cordial and doubtless long-suffering Maps' Guide Jen responded personally to my complaints about the inaccurate information for emergency services providers by pointing out that Google does have this link on this page specifically for reporting incorrect emergency services data. I appreciated Jen showing this to me, as well as her offer to have Google try to get the errors I'd reported corrected, but some of my readers at the SEOigloo blog were not impressed.

It turns out that Dana Lookadoo of Pixel Position had an experience almost identical to mine when her husband's appendix ruptured and she set out to find the hospital he was taken to, using Google Maps. She got the run-around and has a message of her own for Google regarding the concept of reporting this kind of error, using the special link on Google's page:

Let me make a checklist for the next time we have an emergency:
1. Check Google Maps & print.
2. Rush to hospital with hopes that map is correct. If not, proceed to #3.
3. Stop and ask directions at gas station or pedestrian while placing pressure on ruptured organ or bleeding appendage.
4. Wait in ER. Pray time was not wasted.
5. Recover and return home to Google Maps. Find the Help Center.
6. Go to Google Help › Maps Help › Contacting Support › Contact Us. Click on "I see incorrect business information for emergency services, hospitals or shelters."
7. Report incorrect emergency listing with hopes to save someone's life.

I think the validity in Dana's tongue-in-cheek message is to be found in the fact that few Internet users are likely to be aware of this special link, and are likely totally unaware of the fact that Google's business model is hinging on public volunteerism to ensure the accuracy of their data.

Did you read that carefully? Let me repeat: Google views local as a wiki application. As a Maps' guide explained to Mike Blumenthal:

The wiki nature of Google Maps expands upon Google's steadfast commitment to open community. That said, we also work very hard internally to identify behavior that doesn't benefit the community and to take the appropriate actions. We look forward to more and more users getting involved to help us keep Google Maps fresh and accurate.

The mother of all wikis - Wikipedia - is organized so that the public can contribute to a body of information while official editors oversee the community project, eliminating self-aggrandizing spam and correcting errors. This is how it's supposed to work, at any rate, but weaknesses in the system have been widely publicized and educated Internet users are likely to come across warnings not to trust the information compiled in Wikipedia as flawlessly accurate.

As I see it, the main danger of misinformation being distributed by Wikipedia is a poorly informed public. While this is unfortunate, it cannot compare to the hazards of inaccurate data in an application like Google Maps, which include:

1) False representation of businesses without their permission or knowledge
2) Lost income due to incorrect or hijacked listings
3) Public safety in jeopardy due to inaccurate publication of emergency/medical services information
4) False, libelous information given prominent publication in the form of user reviews

In essence, Google's local business model is based on acting as the guardian and keeper of business livelihood, public reputation and public safety, but having stepped into these oversized shoes, they have quickly jumped back out of them by putting the responsibility for the accuracy of data they are publishing on the shoulders of public volunteers and third party data collectors.

The ethical and legal implications attached to making money off of a business model like this are becoming more apparent with each passing month, and apart from this, there is a very serious flaw in the scenario. Whereas Wikipedia could count on a community developing around their application gradually, as awareness of the website's existence increased, and nothing terribly bad would happen as a result of this process taking its own sweet time, Google has put local data at the top of their incredibly powerful SERPs, without waiting for this community of civic-minded volunteers to materialize and set about correcting all the errors in the index.

The number of unclaimed business listings sitting in Google's Local index (including Google's own) is all the proof we need to see that the general public is unaware of the existence of this community Google is hoping will evolve around Maps. This is truly problematic.

Maps' Guide Jen explained to me that Google couldn't possibly be responsible for contacting all the hospitals in the country to make sure the data Google displays about them is correct. I have to ask, if Google can't do this, how can they expect anyone else to? I like Local Search a lot, but like most small business owners, I don't have the free time to set about correcting Google's index any more than I would have the time to go through the print Yellow Pages and correct all of the potential errors in it. That's the YP's job. But when it comes to Google, it seems like it's nobody's job.

And this is the message that I think Mike, Danny, Matt, Dana and I are all trying to bring to Google's attention: if this is your profitable business model, Google, it is also your responsibility and shirking a responsibility that so clearly involves the financial solvency of legitimate businesses as well as public safety is not an ethical thing to do.

Every week, I hear this same message coming from a variety of frustrated SMBs and alarmed Search Marketing specialists, and I have to wonder if the mass of evidence that continues to build up will ever get so large that Google will finally confront the fact that the index they've created is too important, serious and real to be treated like a wiki side project.

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Need More Blog Posts? Then Start a Series!

by Mack Collier

At one point or another, every blogger struggles to find new content ideas for their blog.  For some of us, ideas for posts come easily, but if you're a blogger that's constantly wracking your brain for the next post idea, launching a blog post series could be your solution!

What do I mean by a blog series?  I mean that once a week, month, or even day, you post around a certain topic, or collect other posts around a certain topic.  Or it could simply be highlighting some of your favorite posts. 

A great example is a series launched by Steve Woodruff called 'Five in the Morning'. Originally, the series started out with Steve highlighting 5 valuable blog posts he found, in a new post of his own.  Steve would then go to Twitter, and leave a tweet promoting the series, but also letting the five bloggers that he had spotlighted, know that he had included them!  This is a great idea for three reasons; 1 - It gives Steve more posts for his blog, and exposes his readers to new blogs, 2 - By promoting the series on Twitter, he drives more traffic to his post, and 3 - By notifying the bloggers on Twitter that he profiled them, he gives the bloggers incentive to promote his post as well!

But blogging companies can do this as well.  Graco features Wondrous Wednesdays posts where the company puts the spotlight on their employee's families, and their customers.  This is the best idea for a company blog post series I have ever seen.  It works so well because it puts the spotlight on the company's employees, as well as customers.  I've blogged about this before, but people want to know more about your company's employees, and their fellow customers!

Another possibility could be to post industry-specific news stories once a week, say every Tuesday.  You are likely already reading about the current events in your industry, so why not collect the best stories you find into one post that you share with your readers?  This is an excellent way to not only get a weekly post for your blog, but more importantly, you are creating valuable content for your readers!

So start thinking about ways that you can create a regular blog post series.  If you only add one post a week this way, that would likely be enough to help you see a nice boost in your blog's readership! 

Check out our small business news site.

Can't Win For Losing

by Sage Lewis

There's some bad news but good tools in the news this week. Yahoo "can't win for losing" as Google terminates its advertising partnership with them and Yahoo shares drop significantly. While Google and Yahoo part ways, Yellowbook and YouTube join forces to distribute SMB videos. Wordtracker announces a new tool that anticipates the questions people are clicking on while searching based off keywords. Also, according to Search Engine Watch, the number of small businesses using social media is expected to double from 300K to 600K in the next twelve months.

Check out our small business news site.

Interview: Bruce Clay on SEO Tools

by Manoj Jasra

One of the presenters at this year's SES Chicago is Search Marketing Veteran, Bruce Clay. Bruce will be leading a session on the topic of SEO tools: "tools that will help you to accomplish your tasks including indexing, competitive analysis, site ranking, diagnosing and remedying problems, page level information, site level information, on-page optimization and much more." I had a chance to ask Bruce a few questions about his session and how he leverages SEO Tools for his own strategies.

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Do I need a shopping cart or a content management system?

by Mike Moran

Someone recently asked me how he knows whether to use shopping cart software or a full-blown content management system for a Web site. Does it depend on how large your site is? Does it depend on what kind of content you have? And, most importantly, which one is better for search marketing? These are good questions, so they deserve good answers.

You need to start with a definition of a content management system. A content management system, or CMS (as those of us in the know call it), is a way of separating the words and other content you use on each page from its layout and appearance. You might be familiar with the idea of a style sheet (or Cascading Style Sheet--CSS) that separates from your HTML the appearance of your site. Your CSS defines that a heading should be bold, in navy blue sans serif type that is 16 points tall. A content management system takes things one step further, by allowing you to enter your content with the CMS itself supplying much of the HTML.

Depending on your CMS, you might enter a few tags to indicate where in the text you want headings, bold type, or lists, but you'd never have to fool around with metatags, such as title and description tags. The CMS prompts you to enter them into a form on your screen, and uses a template to generate your HTML from the content you provide.

Using a CMS provides a few advantages over using straight HTML:

• Little or no HTML training needed. Depending on your CMS, your writers might need to learn only a few basic tags, or none at all. Many CMSs provide a text editing window that looks just like a PC word processor, so anyone who can write with Microsoft Word can now write a Web page.
• Mass content updates. Anyone whose gone through the throes of product name changes or a new marketing message knows how many places you need to change manually to pull it off. Content management systems usually provide the ability for mass changes to content, and, even better, you can design your content so that repeated elements are stored in just one place, so you have just one place to change when the time comes. While there are HTML editors and techniques such as "includes" that let you do some of these things without a CMS, content management systems make it far easier.
• Mass optimization. Because the bulk of your HTML is in the CMS template, rather than the content, you can make search optimization changes far more easily that affect all your pages at once.
• Multiple authors. CMSs provide the ability for multiple content authors to work on the same pages without stepping on each others' toes. You can also secure the content so that only certain people can update certain content areas.
• Automated publishing. You can customize your publishing process so that things you need to do every time (such as get the owner's approval or update your site map) happen automatically with the press of a button.With a little expertise, you can even automate some nice search functions, such as keyword density checking or title checking. Your input form can ask your writer what search keywords the article should be found under, and can then check to see if those keywords are used in the title and throughout the body in the right proportion.

Whew! Now let's look at shopping cart software, which is usually what people call a simple e-commerce system. It provides critical functions for retail Web sites, such as, yes, the shopping cart, checkout, accepting credit card payments, and many other functions. High-end e-commerce systems do all these things and also contain a simple CMS embedded inside, which helps you keep your product database updated. These high-end systems, just like a CMS, help you maintain your catalog information with little or no HTML knowledge, using templates to publish your pages.

As you might expect, a pure CMS is likely to be more configurable and easier to use than a high-end e-commerce system, but simple shopping cart software is the easiest yet. In addition, many open source CMSs are becoming available, so they are as affordable as you can get—free.

It's typical for large commerce sites to use both a CMS and a high-end e-commerce system, with the content being published to the e-commerce database from the CMS and displayed from there. Other businesses, including some small businesses, use shopping cart software for their product catalogs, but separately publish other pages from a CMS.

What should you do? As usual, it depends on what kind of small business site you have:

• A large product catalog. If you have hundreds of SKUs, go with a full-featured e-commerce system that combines the shopping cart functions with an embedded CMS.
• A small product catalog without much else. If you have got a few dozen products or less, and not much other information that what's in the product catalog, you are better off with a simple shopping cart product without the complexity of a CMS. Updating a few hundred pages by hand, if it becomes necessary, won't be the end of the world, while you might keel over from sticker shock for a high-end e-commerce system.
• An information-rich site with some products for sale. Many small businesses sell online, but their major thrust is offline sales. And the most important function of their Web site is explaining how their products or services work, and ensuring that customers understand how their problems can be solved. For these companies, it might be worthwhile to combine a CMS with a simple shopping cart system. The CMS helps a great deal when you have hundreds of pages on your site that need updating.

Remember, that although this might all sound magical, you know better. Both a CMS and a shopping cart system are merely tools whose benefits depend entirely on how skilled you are in wielding them. Both kinds of software can be hard to configure, so hard that you need special help from experts. In the right hands, both can improve your organic search rankings, but used improperly, they can hurt you badly also, with parameter-laden dynamic URLs that search engines don't always index. The good news is that even if your software is configured incorrectly, an expert can correct it rapidly—one template change can fix all your pages at once.

The original questioner was confused because both kinds of software can be used to create high-quality, searchable Web sites. Be sure that you know what kind of site you have before you choose, and consult with experts in your set-up to save you from problems down the road.

Check out our small business news site.

FREE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION ANALYSIS

Blogs, Vlogs and SEO

by Beth Harte

Have you decided to take your blog to the next level by including video? Hooray! Video logs (vlogs) can help communicate in a lot of different ways and they also add a "real" voice to your blog posts (and yes, I mean that literally and figuratively).

Vlogs are great and easy to do. And the wonderful thing about engaging in social media as a company is that it allows you to bring the human element into your communications. Employees, customers, prospects etc. want to see the "real" you (there's that word again!), they don't want to watch a corporate video that looks manufactured. So, don't worry about spending thousands of dollars on equipment or a vendor to produce vlogs for you. There's no reason to break the bank when you can produce great vlogs yourself with a minimal investment.

So go ahead and grab a handheld camera (there are lot's of cameras under $500 to choose from) and let the wheels start turning. To help you out, here's just a quick list of ways to use a vlog on your blog:

• Introducing a new product, service or employee? Why not do a 'videoment' (video announcement)?
• Press/news releases can be boring. How about bringing them to life with a video quote?
• Have a new white paper? How about a video of the executive summary? (It might just capture some attention by those who don't like to read)
• Doing demonstrations at an upcoming trade show or event? Why not capture them for use on your blog?
• Engaging the analyst community? A video could just be the ticket to getting that briefing that you need.
• Do you have an internal blog? How about posting some employee news or training?

Excited to get started? A few things to keep in mind before vlogging.

Vlogs are a great addition to a blog post. But, there are people in the world with disabilities and having just a vlog could potentially leave out folks who are hearing impaired. Be sure to include everyone in your company's outreach by providing a transcript for every vlog.

Not only does this keep your audience broad, it helps with search engine optimization and natural search rankings. How?

Well, most vlogs/videos need to be hosted on a site such as YouTube or Viddler so that you can embed them into your blog post. These sites give you the ability to add keywords and tags to your videos. So, now you'll have keywords and tags in three areas:

• Blog post copy (utilize your keywords within the transcript of the vlog)
• Blog post (the keywords and tags you use when you post to your blog)
• Vlog (the keywords and tags when you upload your vlog to YouTube, Viddler, etc. for hosting)

Grab a camera and have fun!

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Google Website Optimizer: Always Be Testing

by Manoj Jasra

A few months ago Bryan Eisenberg and John Quarto-vonTivadar released an in-depth guide on testing using Google Website Optimizer called, "Always Be Testing." I had the opportunity to go through the book and thought that anyone could read it and quickly implement a testing framework using Google's website optimizer.

I recently got the chance to interview co-author Bryan Eisenberg to get his thoughts on his motivations for writing the book and the benefits readers can get from it.

 

[Manoj]: Can you start by providing some insight into your motivations for writing the book: "Always Be Testing"

[Bryan]: Google released Website Optimizer a few years ago. It's evolved and improved greatly in that time, and a lot of people are using it now. But the biggest challenge people face is, "what do I test?" My partner, John Quarto-vonTivadar and I wrote "Always Be Testing" to provide readers with a guide to learning what to test, how to test, and in what order to test.

While many companies are testing, even more companies should be testing who are not currently doing so. Google Website Optimizer represents a painless and cost-effective way to begin testing. Because you can get started in 30 minutes and because it's free, it cancels out all the usual excuses of time and budget.

• They'll gain the confidence to take the first steps, which is always hard.
• They'll learn a process for understanding how to test, what to test, and in which order to test, from the market thought leader in testing and optimization.
• As they improve, they will generate their own testing ideas arising from the unique nature of their business and they will then be able to test and improve the elements of their business that give them a competitive advantage.

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Comprehensive Guide to Keyword Research, Selection & Organization, Part XII

by Stoney deGeyter

This is part 12 of a 12 part series on keyword research. This series will guide you through four distinct phase of the keyword research process, providing you step by step guidelines to help you gather, sort and organize your keywords into an effective marketing campaign.

Yesterday, as we begun the fourth and final stage of the keyword research process, we looked at several ways to analyze your website and segment keywords into groups based on user intent. Today we'll wrap up the entire research process, and this series, by outlining the final act of keyword grouping. Often times even your segmented keyword lists can be quite extensive and it'll be important to group these phrases even further in order to be properly optimized into the website. This ensures that each page optimized maintains a tight focus but still able to be optimized for a significant group of keywords.

Grouping phrases together for on-page targeting

The process of organizing your keywords is similar to the process of splitting a single core term into multiple cores, only its done in a much more fine-tuned scale. With core terms you were dealing with multiple themes, or different ways to search for the same product. In this phase we are working with only a single core term and deciding how to segment literally hundreds of phrases into manageable groups that are similar in nature.

In most cases the keyword at the top of your list will be the core term itself. Start with that. You'll also usually find it's singular/plural counterpart to go with it. Copy these keywords and paste them to another section of your keyword research spreadsheet. You'll, keep copying phrases and pasting them into another part of your spreadsheet as you continue to organize into these groups.

I typically like to organize phrases in groups of no more than fifteen keywords per page, but sometimes less or more is perfectly OK. Other times you may have two or three small groups that can be grouped together, depending on their focus and the content of any given web page. The goal is to make sure you end up with lists of keywords that you're comfortable with in regard to being able to optimize them together into any given web page.

Group qualifiers with similar meaning

As you look for phrases that can be grouped together, it's its easy, initially, to start with phrases that are the have modifiers that are similar in meaning. And example of this may be "discount," "cheap," "inexpensive" or "on sale".

Along the same lines, you want to avoid putting phrases together where the modifiers don't work together or have opposing meanings. For example, you may don't want to talk about your "elegant wedding rings" on the same page that you describe them as "cheap wedding rings." Qualifiers that fit with elegant may be "exotic," "designer" or "classy". It'll be up to you to determine how these keywords are best grouped for your site.

Group qualifiers that are related

Another way to group keywords is by looking for qualifiers that may have a different meaning but can be considered to be related to each other. Depending on how your pages and site are laid you may be able to group qualifiers such as "gold," "white gold" and '"18 kt gold" together in one group or "antique" and "vintage" in another.

On a sports site you may get some mileage by combining "baseball," "basketball," and "football" together, or on a battery site "14 volt," "18 volt," and "24 volt may also be able to be combined on a page. In doing this you have to make sure the "fit" works with the structure of the site and that the related qualifiers are not distracting from the overall message, or diluting the focus of a given page.

Let the content guide keyword grouping

One of the most important elements in organizing phrases together is to make sure that you group phrases that can "correctly" be implemented together into the site. Don't try to force keyword phrases together that simply are not a good fit on a single page. It's important here that when constructing the page's content that a natural flow in writing will be achieved. Grouping words together that don't fit will only make your content awkward and cause you to lose your visitor's attention.

Here are some guidelines for ensuring your keyword groups will be effective in implementation.

Fit

SEOs often like to create optimized pages with lots of text. After all, it's pretty difficult to optimize for keywords when you have no text to use them in. Text becomes increasingly important with the more keywords you're targeting on a single page, even if they are all part of the same core term. The inclination is to keep adding more text to get all your targeted keywords on the page. Unfortunately, left unchecked, this can create unwieldy pages loaded with optimized text but do little to serve the visitors needs.

Space: Look at each page and determine how much space is available for text before you start cluttering the page. Product category pages generally have room for no more than a paragraph or two of text, unless you do a bit of clever reworking of the page layout. The key is to decide if that reworking is going to add or subtract from the overall page as a whole. If space is limited and you really can't get a whole lot of text on the pages, then cut out some keywords and target them elsewhere.

Message: Aside from the length of text, you also have to consider the message of the content itself. Don't allow the message to get diluted simply to get more keywords on the page. The message by far is more important than the keywords. Ensure that all your keywords fit with the overall message of the page and enhance rather than detract from that message.

Distraction

When we think of keyword distraction we usually think of how keywords are used on the page. SEO's are often willing to bend the rules of good grammar just to get another instance of a keyword in the text. But keywords themselves can just as easily be the distraction. How well your keywords will flow with the content on the page is largely determined by the keywords selected and grouped together. To prevent your keywords from being a distraction there are a couple things to look for:

Noticeable: Once your content is written using the keywords, read through to see how noticeable they are. If you can read and pick out the keywords then it's likely that your visitor will too. This is a noticeable distraction that gets in the way of the visitors conversion process.

Flow: You also want to keep an eye on the flow of the content. This just isn't about sentence structure but about how the information is put together. When trying to get multiple instances of keywords on the page a lot of SEOs resort to repetition. While repetition can be good in certain circumstances, in others its just an annoyance. Make sure paragraphs flow in a logical order. Don't let your keywords dictate your content.

Adjust

Keyword research, selection and organization is not a set-it and forget it strategy. It's fluid. Even once you get to this last stage you have to be willing to go back and adjust things from earlier stages as necessary. When it comes to implementing keywords into the page the same holds true. Certain keywords that you felt would work nicely together, may not in actual implementation. You must be willing to take these changes into account and adjust the plan as needed.

Delete if necessary: There are many times that we complete our keyword research and then comes time for implementation and we realize that certain keywords just are not going to work. This may be for any number of reasons, whether they slipped through earlier stages, or they just don't work with the page's content. Whatever the reason be willing to delete the keyword or move it to another keyword group. No sense holding onto somethign that just won't work.

Be creative: Sometimes working keywords onto the page is just a matter of creativity. Don't be afraid to find creative compelling ways to work in good keywords. Again, don't force somethign that won't work, but don't give up so easily when a little creativity may give you a better result.

Don't rush

We conclude this series on Keyword research with a simple message: Don't rush.

The keyword research process is a strategic part of your optimization campaign's success. This isn't just somethign you can burn through so you can get to the actual optimization. Rushing leads to mistakes and mistakes in keyword research result in poor SEO performance.

Keyword research provides the foundation for a solid SEO strategy. When performed properly you'll have a greater chance for achieving successful search engine rankings and your pages will be less cluttered and more highly focused. What's more, you'll have a site that does a far better job at targeting it's audience and converting them into customers.

In SEO, every little bit counts and the more you can do to improve the performance of the site, the more successful you'll be. And since SEO is all about good keyword targeting, it makes sense to get your keywords in order. The phases and steps outlined in this document will help you do that. Not only will you find just about every possible, relevant keyword for your industry, you'll be able to implement an SEO strategy that is build for success from the ground up. And that will give you an edge over your most ardent competition. So take your time to do it right!

Missed one of the steps in this series? Click here to go back to the introduction and follow the links at the bottom.

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