Event Marketing Articles and Event Promotion

Leveraging People ‘Googling You’ to Your Advantage

Information Is Power
The above proverb is more applicable today than ever before. In a previous post, Watch Out: People Are ‘Googling’ You, I emphasized the common practice of other people and companies using search engines to find information about you. It is becoming increasing more difficult to keep your information private regardless of your own vigilance in the matter. Fortunately, if you choose, you can use the digital trend to your own advantage.  Consider this: “Information is more powerful when you can control it, especially when the information is about you.” Do you have a firm control of your online identity?

The Information Battle for You
Most people, including myself, are adamant about keeping personal privacy.  As the world becomes more digital so does your personal information. Some state agencies are working with search engine companies to make more records searchable within major search engines. You can read more on the subject at the following link, “Google to dig up more personal records - Software to index more state files such as school test scores.”

Your Digital Choice
You need to decide how you wish to proceed in the digital age.  Some people choose to stay as anonymous as possible when it comes to the Internet.  People are going to look you up online regardless of your best privacy efforts. The information people find online about you could be good or bad and it only takes a few minutes to find something.  If you can’t beat the system you can at least use the situation to your advantage.  The easiest and most powerful way to control your online information is by having your own web site.  When you have your own web site you decide what information is public and what is kept private.  If you are interested in a few preliminary suggestions for creating your own web site please read on. An entire book could be written on this subject, so I’m going to stay to the very basic of recommendations. There are some additional links at the end of the article that might be useful.

Controlling the Information
It has never been easier or as inexpensive to have your own web site. You don’t need an elaborate web site.  In most cases a one page web site should suffice.  By having your own web site you put yourself in the position of being your own information manager.  In many cases you can register a domain and get minimal hosting, including persona email, for less than $75 USD annual. Is it worth $75 to have control of your online information?

Having your own web site is like being in charge of your own television station. You decide what's important for other people to know.  I cannot think of any other medium that offers that sort of broadcasting power for such a minimal cost. You can use your own web site to get business or personal ideas out to the entire world almost instantly. You might consider using your web site to promote your own products or services.

Registering Your Own Domain Name
Start by registering your own domain name, first name and last name, with a dot com. You might want to consider doing the same for family members.  For a few extra dollars you can keep your domain name registration private. Everyone registering a domain should take the time to consider private registration.

In some cases your name might not be available. Consider using a middle initial or other combination. Think of a few different combinations and run it by family and friends.  Ultimately the name you choose has to be readily identified with you.

Some Quick Search Engine Considerations
When you have a name registered and have selected a hosting provider make your web site live. Your web site might just be a picture of you and some contact information.  The reason to post your own web site quickly is because search engines give weight to the age of a web site.  It also helps to have some links coming to your web site. Your goal should be to get the number one listing for you name. Most people only look at the first few search results. Few people get past the first page of search results.

The Most Important Piece of Advice
Regardless of having your own personal web site or not, be cognizant of everything you do both online and off. Each time you leave a comment on a blog or web site guest book consider what others might think. This is especially true with social networking web sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Multiply. A level of caution also applies for photographs and video.  Almost anyone can post a picture or a video to the Internet from their cell phone.  My recommendation is if you’re in public consider yourself on camera.

Ask Others To Help Assess Your Online Information
Consider having family or friends review any information you about you online.  Have family and friends search the most popular search engines (Yahoo, Google, MSN, AOL) and see if they can find any information on you.

Food for Thought …

“Some 71% of 2,000 14 to 21-year-olds said they would not want colleges or employers to do a web search on them before they had removed some material.”
Source: BBC.CO.UK - 'Young warned over social websites'

You can turn people ‘Googling You’ into your own advantage by having your own web site. When you control the information you get to paint your online picture. If you choose not to setup your own web site be careful of what you post online. Ultimately it’s up to you to control your online identity.

Get Additional Information:

• Watch Out: People are Googling You!
• Domain Name Guidelines
• The Simplest SEO Technique
• Moving Forward with Your Ideas

The Simplest SEO Technique

One of the most common terms used by companies to describe Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is "black magic." Search engine optimization is a complex art with no guarantee of success.  In all my years of doing search engine optimization projects there is one simple technique that has made the biggest impact for my clients in their search engine listings.

The simplest SEO technique is setting your page title properly for each individual page of your web site. It takes a lot more than just a proper title tag to get good search engine placement. I don't want people to think that changing a title tag is all they need to do. In terms easy of implementation and effectiveness, I believe proper title tags offer the best ROI for your time and money. You don't need much computer experience to implement this technique. If you have a friend or family member that knows a little about creating web pages ask them for help.

What's the Title Tag?
For those that don't know the title tag is displayed at the top of your browser window. In Internet Explorer and Firefox, the text in the browser's top blue bar is the title tag. Title tags help search engines properly index individual pages. Title Tags are also displayed in the search engine results page as the blue underlined text for each individual search result.

Wrong Title Tags
Most company web sites don't have their page titles set correctly. As an example, I searched how many web pages have their title tags set to "Welcome." Google returned 676,000,000 results.  The issue with the "Welcome" title tag is that it doesn't tell the search engine or user anything more about the page.

Proper Title Tags
Think of title tags in terms of the search phrases or keywords people type into Google when looking for something. Let's consider a user searching for an event as an example. The event is an air show in Rochester, New York. I know from web statistic logs that most people using search engines enter the terms "air show" and the location "Rochester." The home page title tag should reflect those terms, "Rochester Air Show."

Niche Keywords
Find the keywords and phrases most applicable to each individual page on your web site. If you site has been up and running for more than a few months check your log files to see what keywords users are typing in to get to your web site.  The keywords should be related to the content of individual pages. If there is a schedule of events on your air show web site the title tag should read "Schedule Rochester Air Show."

Take some time to research keywords and modify your web site's title tags.  Properly formatted title tags can give you a quick boost in the search engines.

Additional Resources:

• Are You Targeting The Correct Search Keywords?
• Why Invest In Search Engine Optimization?
• Getting Listed In Search Engines
• The Importance of Organic Search

Using Relevant Linking Throughout Your Web Site

One of the greatest legacies of the Internet is the ability to link one document to another.  Document linking is a tremendously powerful feature that has stood the test of time.  Document linking is simple and highly intuitive. Document linking is one of the primary reasons that world wide web exploded back in the 1990s. You can lead your users from one piece of interesting content to another.  Linking is also a significant factor in the search engine optimization. Each time another web site links to your web site it is like a vote is being cast. The more links you have to your web site from other relevant web sites the higher the probability you will enjoy a higher search engine ranking.  Every web site owner should take the time to consider their own linking strategy especially at the individual page level.

Are you using internal links on your web site?
Internal links connect your users with relevant content on your web site. Is there information on one page of your web site that can be linked to another page of your web site? Wikipedia is a good example of a web site that uses good internal linking.

Link to Relevant Information
Think of linking as a way to enhance the content on your web site. Link to information that will be useful to your web site user. You can use internal and external linking to give additional information.  When you make use of linking within your web pages be sure to use descriptive text links. Descriptive link looks like this: "Learn More About Usability" versus the classic generic link "Click Here." Let the user know what they are clicking on.

The Fear of Linking Elsewhere
Some web site owners are hesitant to link to external web sites. Their hesitation comes from not wanting to have users leave their web site.  It is an understandable predicament.  After years of going back and forth on the issue I've decided that external linking is a good thing.  It is beneficial to link to other web sites that provide supporting information to your own content. One example is using a link to maps.google.com or mapquest.com to supplement driving directions on an event web site. If you are linking to an external web site there is a good chance that your users will recognize the value of information you are providing them and return to the source.

Another recommendation to linking to external web sites is using a new browser window.  When the user clicks on an external link a new browser window opens leaving your web site in the background. A simple way to open a new windows is by using the "underscore blank tag" in your document link.

Don't Over Link
It is possible to over link within some of your individual web pages. If you are using links within a text rich document be cognizant that your linking doesn't interfere with the users ability to get through the information. If you have too many links it is like trying to jump mental hurdles. Try to strike a balance between the ability to quickly read through a document and giving high quality relevant links.

Thank You, Dr. Obvious!
Some people might think that all the information presented above is blatantly obvious and they would be correct. Unfortunately there are far too many web sites that don't use enough linking within their own web pages.  With all the bells and whistles web developers have it is easy to forget some of the simplest things can bring the biggest impact.

Clean Code and Better SEO

Yesterday evening I had a short telephone conversation with one of my friends.  He maintains a very large web site that gets tens of thousands of visitors daily.  A few months ago we sat down for dinner and he told me about some of the changes he was making to his web site.  At that time, he was in the arduous process of cleaning up his code.   The end result was well worth his time.

Sloppy Code and SEO
Search Engines don't like sloppy code.  Think of it like trying to read someone's really sloppy hand writing. Now imagine having to read through pages of sloppy handwriting.  There probably would come a point in time when you would want to give up.  The search engine spiders are the same way. If there is a significant amount of code that is clogging up your individual pages the search engine spiders just stop.  This has a negative impact on your search engine optimization. Recently Google has become much better with reading CSS and Javascript. You can still miss out on getting important pages indexed properly or not indexed at all. It is in your best interest to keep your code very clean.

Using Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets are helpful in keeping your code clean.  It also reduces the size of individual pages and minimizes download time.  Learn more about CSS (external link). My friend who recoded his site noticed a significant reduction in data transfer and faster loading pages.  Creating links to style sheets files instead of having the styles defined in each document is one of the easiest ways to keep your code clean.  Bottle up your Javascript and place it into individual files.  This will help spiders get to the core of your content. If you are using tables for formatting try replacing them with style sheets.

There are going to be a few people who can automatically grab on to the information in this post and quickly apply the simple suggestions. What's more important is understanding that CSS can help create a more efficient and streamlined code that is search engine friendly.  If you're contracted with a web development company ask them how they're using Style Sheets to optimize your site.  You can probably find someone local who programs web sites that might be able to help.

My friend who recoded his web site noticed a significant increase in search traffic from Google.  He was getting thousands of additional visitors daily because of cleaning up his code. At the same time he had the usability benefit of faster loading pages.  This never fetches complaints from users.  CSS and SEO are important, but be careful not to over focus on one technique or solution.  It might be the small things that count, but you still need a comprehensive strategy and approach.

Additional Resources:

• Why Worry about Search Engine Optimization?
• The Importance of Organic Search
• Why Create High Quality Content?

Search Engine Optimization and Flash

Developers are still enchanted by Flash.  It does some pretty wild things.  One place where many developers like to use Flash is on Splash pages and navigation. In doing so, they make it difficult for search engine spiders to crawl their web site.  You need to take into consideration the effects of implementing Flash technology on your site.  It can be both a virtue and a vice.

Making a Splash with Flash
One of the first SEO hurdles is a Splash Page with Flash.  How many times have you visited a web site and get a Flash loader?  In some cases you need to wait over 10 seconds to get something to load. Granted almost 50% of users in the US have high speed internet, but developers are abusing the bandwidth. Users don't want to wait that long.  In most cases a Flash presentation loads which is less than impressive.  If you are going to make people wait, make sure the wait if worth their time.

Secondly, Splash pages make it difficult for search engine spiders to crawl your site.  If you have a tremendous amount of content behind your Splash page you run the risk of it not being indexed properly.  My first recommendation is don't use Splash pages.  But, if you are going to use a Splash page make sure you have text links on the Splash page.  This will provide the spiders something to crawl.  Ideally, you should avoid the Splash page and take users directly to a home page.

Flashy Menus
There are several developers that like to utilize Flash for web site navigation.  Flash allows developers to add "bells and whistles" to their navigation.  The trade off comes in the form of SEO problems and usability.

Just like Flash on a Splash page, Flash navigation is difficult for search engine spiders to digest.  You might end up inadvertently hiding pages from search engines by using Flash navigation.  The simplest solution using text links to supplement each point of navigation.  Depending on your link depth this might not be practical.  If you have several points of navigation use text links for the main points of navigation. Another alternative can be found here: How to SEO Flash.

If you are using Flash for navigation make sure you test the usability.  I've seen users become quickly confused by difficult to use navigation.  Your navigation should be simple and to the point.  Never make users have to guess how to use something.  It might make sense to you, but you need to be certain it makes sense to them. Users like the simplicity of point and click.

Always be careful with how you implement Flash on your web site.  You can easily have a negative impact on your search engine rankings if you make it difficult to spider your web site.  If you do use Flash have text links that the spiders can crawl.

Additional Resources:

• Flash is Growing Up
• How to SEO Flash

The SERP That Really Counts

If you want to be successful with your online presence you need to leverage SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Look at targeting a series of keywords and focus on getting on the first page of the SERPs(Search Engine Results Page).  There are only ten positions on Google that really matter #1-#10.  Everyone wants to be #1 on top search engines and so should you.

Why is getting a top ranking position so important?
The higher your position the more visitor traffic you command.  If you can get a top listing for a competitive keyword you are well ahead of the pack.  Keep in mind there are plenty of companies that never achieve the number one spot and do very well online.

Important SERP Statistics:

• 50% of users click on the first organic link to appear
• 250% more users click on the organic listings before the Pay Per Click Ads
• About 80% of users looking to purchase something start with search engines

Sources: Peter Kent, SEO for Dummies and Brad Fallon/Andy Jenkins

As you move down the SERP fewer clicks get distributed to each listing.  Just like a newspaper most of the user's concentration is focused above the fold.  The "fold" is represented by the viewable area in your browser window without needing to scroll down the page.   Newspapers and search engines keep their most important information above the fold.  A very small percentage of people searching for something online make it past the first SERP.  When is the last time you searched through the second or third SERP?

Searching and Purchasing
Brad Fallon makes a great point about how people search and their purchasing intentions.  When people use two words or less as a search term they are usually doing research, e.g. "Bahamas Vacation"  If they are refining their search terms with more than two words they are most likely looking to purchase something, e.g. "Discount Hotels Bahamas."  Use this knowledge when selecting your keywords.  Highly specific key phrases (keywords) might get fewer clicks, but they'll bring you higher quality visitors.

I stress the importance of getting a top listing on the search engines.  It's a shame that so many companies get lost in the SERPs.  The people at the top of listings make a lot of money regardless of how their sites look.  Set your sites high and work at it until you succeed.

The Importance of Organic Search

One of the most difficult web methodologies to sell a company is organic search engine optimization. Some companies we've tried to sell organic SEO services to have labeled it "black magic" and "a waste of time."

Most companies don't want to produce high quality content for their web sites.  The infamous "we don't have time for that" line always comes up. Many companies also refuse to accept that a well thought out organic search campaign can take six to twelve months before appreciable results can measured. Their mind set is "I want it done yesterday." I appreciate any company's desire to have quick results.  But don't forget that value is built over time, especially online.

The clients who have embraced organic SEO have done very well for themselves.  The best part is that most haven't even realized their full potential. Companies that successfully implement organic SEO get higher quality traffic and keep advertising costs down.

Why does a company need to integrate organic search?
Organic search offers a tremendous return on investment.  According to Brad Fallon and Andy Jenkins organic search gets 250% more clicks than PPC (Pay Per Click) advertisement.  People and search engines place significantly more weight on organic listings. Organic listings have more credibility because you have to earn a top spot.  You cannot buy your way to the top like PPC listings.

The example to the right gives an excellent indication of how people view SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages).  The areas highlighted in red get the most attention.  Notice that people focus on the top organic listings and pay little attention to the PPC ads.

SEO is NOT a "fire and forget" tactic.  You need to constantly tweak your approach.  There are no easy paths.  Organic SEO also needs to be combined with great web strategy, strong design, smart marketing, and usability.  Those companies that can combine all those features do very well online.  You need to give organic SEO serious consideration if you want to be successful online.

Google Heatmap image from brandinfection.com.

Why Invest In Search Engine Optimization?

Aaron Wall of SeoBook.com asks:

"Why should a legitimate business need to worry about SEO?"

Companies that smartly implement SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as part of their online strategy tend to be very successful online. If you are serious about leveraging your online presence you need to get serious about SEO.  Too many companies miss the boat when it comes to SEO.  It is important to remember that SEO isn’t a single universal solution.  You still need to integrate SEO with a balanced design, copywriting, usability, plus a few marketing strategies on your web site. 

Ask any business if they are interested in doing the following with their web site:

• Do you want to save time?
• Do you want to reduce cost for your company?
• Do you want to increase revenue for your company?

Any company or small business owner will answer "YES!" to those questions.  SEO is integral in getting to "YES."

Saving Time for Your Company
A good SEO strategy helps you position your company or service online. This saves you and your business valuable time.  Most companies waste time online and off because they fail to choose the right market.  With a little keyword homework courtesy of SEO you can find the quickest and most effective way of choosing the right online market. 

Saving Your Company Money
Compare and contrast SEO with traditional advertising such as radio, print, and television.  Let's use radio as an example. In radio your target market needs to be listening at the right time, on the right station, and actually pay attention to what you have to offer.  With print, just like radio you are competing against the plethora of other advertising.  Traditional advertising can cost thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars every month!  A well thought out SEO strategy will assist you in minimizing advertising dollar expenditure.

Increasing Revenue
SEO can increase your revenue by delivering more qualified prospects to your web site. This plays upon the leverage that web sites naturally give you.  Most of the time people don’t show up to a web site accidentally.  SEO helps bring together relevant content and the users who are interested in that content.  When you have their undivided attention it is much easier to sell your products or services. Be sure you utilize strong copywriting to further enhance your offer.

The best part of SEO is that it levels the online playing field.  Smaller companies that are smart and nimble are giving larger corporations a run for their money.  SEO offers you a tremendous return on investment when properly executed.  It opens the door for almost anyone online.  Legitimate businesses can’t afford to miss the opportunity SEO offers.  Starting late in SEO is far better than no SEO.

Are You Targeting The Correct Search Keywords?

People always ask me about keyword research and why it is important to their web site.  Not targeting keywords and optimizing for those terms is a missed opportunity at getting more targeted traffic to your site. You start most SEO projects with basic keyword research.  It involves finding terms that relate to your web site or product and to what extent those terms are searched on search engines.  You optimize for those terms in your title tags and body copy. 

Many companies misunderstand or overlook keyword research.  Sites that rank well in search engines are targeting and optimizing for a set of keywords.  Some of the most successful companies online target specific niche markets. Keyword research is also an ongoing process. You can't just do it once and forget about it.

Are you targeting the right keywords for your web site? There are a number of web sites and companies who choose to target the wrong keywords or not target at all.  This isn't intentional, but most likely because of a lack of knowledge.  I know of one major US Corporation that is missing massive opportunities because they are targeting the wrong keywords.  They are missing out on millions of dollars in potential sales.

There have been numerous times when a company gloated about being at the top of search engine rankings for a given phrase or keyword.  When someone showed them that nobody was searching for their keywords the mood quickly changed.  There is little or no value on targeting on keywords that nobody searches.  One rare exception is when you target a word or phrase that might become buzz worthy in the future.

Your keywords should be specific to your target market.  Check that your keywords are generating enough searches monthly.  How many searches are enough? It depends on the market. You should concentrate on a variety of niche market terms that pertain to your company or service.  There is a great deal of value in keywords that bring highly targeted traffic. 

Let's use the example of the keyword "soccer."  An estimated 1.5 million people search on this every month between Google, Yahoo, and MSN.  Most people assume if you can get on top of this list you are all set.  The answer is maybe.  Yes, you will have a tremendous amount of traffic if you ranked well for the term "soccer" and you are a soccer site.  Keep in mind your visitors might be looking for soccer clubs, soccer news, soccer equipment, or soccer history.  In short "soccer" is a very broad term.  You are better off targeting more specific terms that pertain to specific niche markets.

Target "Soccer" Keywords

• International Soccer News
• Ireland Soccer Jersey
• How to play soccer
• USA Soccer
• Soccer Shirt

These terms get far less searches than "soccer" but bring higher quality visitors to your web site.

Concentrate on optimizing keywords for each individual page on your web site.  One to two keywords or phrases per page is usually a good place to start.  Gone are the days when you could use the META keyword tag to your advantage.  Your keywords need to appear in your title tag and throughout your body copy.

Your log files can show you what terms people are searching to get to your web site. There might be a term you find that if optimized will bring you more traffic.

The very basic concepts outlined above are merely the tip of the massive SEO iceberg.  Hopefully some of the information provided will get you thinking about your site.

Additional Resources:

• Overture Keyword Tool
• Google Adwords
• Wordtracker
  

Why Create High Quality Content?

In a previous article I explored Jakob Nielsen's HOME RUN acronym. In this article we'll look more closely at the High Quality Content portion of HOME RUN.  Two very important things to consider regarding content is how the content relates to the user and how content is viewed by search engines.

The biggest reason to create high quality content is for your users.  Ask yourself this question: "How often would you revisit a web site that is never updated or has nothing that is interesting to you?" I'm guessing never. Always think in terms of the user experience and what you can offer.   The most popular web sites give users exactly what they want in terms of content.  Those same sites keep users coming back by offering high quality content on a regular basis.  You need to do the same with your web site.  Most of your content should take the form of HTML text. This is one of the most basic yet hardest to adhere to principles of successful web sites.

"Why should I concentrate on providing high quality (HTML text based) content on my site?" 
Aside from the user, a huge reason to create high quality content is for Search Engine Optimization purposes.  Search Engines crave HTML text and are always on the prowl for content. As long as your pages are properly formatted and tagged, you'll have a much better chance of getting indexed in search engines.  Properly indexed pages can automatically bring traffic to your site.

I look at my personal challenges of trying to convince graphic design firms and agencies to create web sites with a decent amount of HTML text.  One firm that I consult for does great visual work with the web sites they create.  Unfortunately, the search engine bots that visit web sites are indifferent to how nice a web site looks visually.   The firm's web sites look visually spectacular, but the over emphasis on design creates a liability to their client's SEO goals. Those bots look for HTML content.  You need to balance content with design.   

Most companies refuse to create high quality online content.  When it comes to firms that maintain their own web site, few of them "get it."  They'll tell me how they don't have time to create content or that they don't think it's important for their web site. The worst part is that content can be generated internally for little or no cost.  It only takes time and the benefits are massive. This is one of the primary reasons companies don't do well online.

Don't make the same mistakes as everyone else.  Make sure you keep serving up high quality HTML content. The content needs to be relevant to your users.  Pay particular attention to specific target markets.  If you can follow the suggestions above on a regular basis your web site will soar.

Additional Resources:

• High Quality Content - Three Types
• Creating High Quality Content

 

Getting Listed In Search Engines

Have you ever been tempted to use a "Submit Your Site" service? Such services promise to get you listed in hundreds of search engines.  Unfortunately, it isn't always that simple.  They get your money and you end up wondering "what just happened?"

I would like to save you some time and money in regards to getting listed in search engines for new sites.

Don't bother with all the extravagant site submission tools, especially paid submission and inclusion.  You'll spend too much time filling out forms and laying out cash with few measurable results.  Most searching is done on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL.  Those sites account for approximately 90% of the Internet search market.   Thus, there is no need to "Submit to over 100, 250, or 1000+ Search Engines instantly!"

The best way to get search engines to find you is by getting another site to link to your site. Links from other sites to your site (Back-links) are worth a great deal. Recently a friend and I launched a web site. We were able to get indexed in Google in about a day, without submitting our site.

Google controls almost 50% of the search market as of the summer of 2006.  I start with optimizing for Google when posting a new site. You need to start with some links going to your site.  As opposed to spending a great deal of time searching for other sites to link to your site, use an existing site.  Most people have friends that maintain a personal web site. Ask him or her for a back link to your site. 

Make sure whatever site you get a link from has a Page Rank of 4 or 5.  A simple utility for determining Page Rank is the Google Tool Bar.  Higher Page Ranked Sites are visited more often by Google's search spiders.

Blogs and Forums
Consider leaving a comment on a blog or forum with a link to your site.  Most blogs and forums allow you to link your site when leaving a comment. Net etiquette note: In your comment, DON'T ask people to visit your site. Just make an honest comment to the post and leave a link to your site.   

There is one site that is worth submitting to: the Open Directory Project (OPD), better know as dmoz.org.  You need to be approved by an one of their editors to get into the ODP.  On occasion this can take a while, but you're index with higher quality sites.  One common mistake many people make is not getting listed in the proper category.

Visit the dmoz.org submission page for more information.

Keep building links to your web site!  It will save you the trouble of getting found by search engines. And you'll get better search engine rankings.  One of the biggest measures of where you fall in the search engine rankings is the number of links to your site.

Resources:

• Google Page Rank (PR)
• Google Tool Bar
• dmoz.org submission page