Traffic Triggers – Focus the Information on Your Website!

Did you read the previous two Traffic Trigger articles? These are step-by-step lessons to help you successfully market your business on the Internet.  The first talked about using the right words that people want to see in order to find your website. The second talked about the consequences of not following the rules when you publish information about your business.

Let’s visit your website again. Look carefully at each page – is there a main focal message for each page of your website? Or, have you crammed it with as much information as possible, hoping to tell everything you can about your business? The best websites have a tight focus about their message, and that focus matches what the user wants to experience when they visit the website.

When businesses hire me to write information for their website, I need to have a thorough understanding about their products and/or services. I also need to know what their prospective visitor wants to see about that product or service, and what their competitor has already done to beat them in the race when marketing that product or service.

Each page of your website should focus on a specific thing – one service type, one product type, or one category. If you try to cram too many keywords in one page, you confuse the only two audiences that matter – the search engines, and the people wanting to take action on your website.

If the search engines get confused when they see your site, they won’t rank it well against your competitor. If you’ve included too much of a variety on your main pages, the search engine won’t know what your focal point is, and won’t provide relevant search results to the person looking for you. You may not even show up in the search results, if you can’t focus your marketing efforts well enough!

If the visitor actually ends up at your website, and you haven’t kept a tight focal point, they may not know how to navigate or what you want them to do on your website. A confused mind doesn’t buy; a confused mind doesn’t take action; and a confused mind turns and runs away.

Take some time to look over each page of your website, and ask yourself, “What is the main focal point of this particular page?” Determine if you are confusing both of your visitors – the search engines and the human reader. If you are, then you may need help determining your marketing message better for your website.

Traffic Triggers – Give Good Information and Don’t Copy

We all know about copyright issues – it was something you learned in your Basic English class. Don’t plagiarize and don’t take information from another place without citing your source – I can still remember my English teacher slapping her desk every time she brought this up!

The same is true on the Internet – did you know that there are ways of tracking information and content on the Internet to find out if it has been illegally used? Of course, there are legitimate ways of sharing information online, but even then, there are rules to follow.

This was an issue that Google looked at just over a month ago. They changed the rules, which was a good thing for most of us marketers, because it made things tougher. And, anytime something gets tougher, I know that it’s better for those who adapt to follow the new rules.

In a nutshell, there are valuable places to publish information about your business, your products, and your services online. They key traffic tips here are to make sure it is unique information, that it is relevant to your business, and that it is valuable to the viewer.

I’ve published articles about my services online at specific directories. Others may re-publish that information on their website, or in their marketing – as long as they cite the source and give me credit for the original publication. That’s the viral part of spreading the word about your business, and it works very well! That is how some of my keywords for marketing show up repeatedly in the first six pages of a Google search.

Unfortunately, many places online were dropping the ball at establishing and enforcing standards. Their English teacher would have probably given them an F for what they were publishing!

Google saw a lot of irrelevant, poorly written information spreading across the Internet, without the value that searchers were looking for. As a result, they adjusted their algorithm that decides where the traffic goes when people are searching online. The end result was that some businesses and other areas of the Internet lost more than 70% of their traffic within a week!

They were publishing short, copied information; that was lacking in value and authority. Now they have to adjust their marketing efforts to make up for that loss in business.

It’s best to start your traffic strategies already knowing the rules, and following those rules to the letter! If you want to understand how, visit me at one of the Chamber Marketing Lunch and Learn workshops to find out!

Traffic Triggers – How Do You Get Traffic To Your Website?

There is a key ingredient in making online marketing work for your business, and this ingredient is so critical that it shouldn’t be overlooked.

When you have a business website, you need to do more than just speak to people and ask them to visit your site. You need traffic to your site, driving there 24/7, without you physically telling them to go there.

You need traffic, but not just any traffic will do. Your website should be jammed with targeted traffic that is genuinely interested in your offers. This traffic should already be pre-qualified, and ready to become part of your customer base.  The best traffic to your website is relevant, targeted, and active traffic that will power your business and fuel your marketing campaigns.

So, the question is; how do you get your share?

There are over 40 different ways to generate traffic to your website. From search engine optimization, to feeder site resources, to pay per click marketing and sponsorship opportunities, there is no shortage of opportunities available to you.

This Traffic Trigger series will give you a quick guide to evaluating a number of options, so that you can develop a marketing campaign geared for success. Of course, if you’d like further information about how to effectively implement any of these traffic techniques, we can brainstorm ideas together sometime!

 

Traffic Starts at Home

Setting up your traffic strategy for success all begins at home, and before you work to develop off-site marketing campaigns, you need to first focus on optimizing every square inch of your website. This prepares it to start generating organic traffic from the major search engines.

Organic traffic is the crème de la crème of traffic, as it’s natural, targeted and organic – coming directly to your site after a user types relevant keyword phrases that the search engine has identified as being associated with your site.

Of course, you can’t set up your website successfully until you understand what those users are searching for in order to find your business! Most often, they don’t search for your business name, unless they already know that you exist.

Think through the key questions that people have when they visit your business. What are the key products or services they are looking for? Those are some of the same words they, or just about anyone else, will use to look for you on the Internet.

Many businesses ignore this first step in a traffic campaign. They spend countless hours, an wasted dollars, implementing online marketing, only to find out that they should have focused on entirely different words to bring traffic to their website.

How are you doing with your traffic triggers? The next article will explain why Google recently shut down traffic to some websites – and how you can avoid that happening to yours!

Three Marketing Necessities to Get Google to Love Your Business

There is only one way to get Google to love your local business and that is to give Google what it wants. That makes sense, doesn’t it?

So what does Google want from you?

Relevant Keywords:  Google wants you to use keywords that match what people are typing into its search engine. Google’s role is to connect customer queries to your website, using keywords as the traffic source. You need to use the same words that potential customers use when they want to find your business. If they are searching for green shirts and you are using purple shoes as your keyword, Google won’t match you to their search.

High Quality Content: Google wants you to use high quality content. It has an image and reputation to maintain and is getting stricter with determining whether the content published is relevant to the search being conducted. The content you publish needs to be well written, provide value to the reader, and be relevant to your industry. In fact, Google recently adjusted its algorithms to tighten up the standards for high quality content. Those businesses that published less-than ideal content noticed a drastic drop in traffic to their website.

Google Wants to See Relevant Backlinks: Backlinks are similar to road signs on the Internet, directing traffic to your website. You get backlinks a number of different ways, and Google is constantly judging whether your backlinks match what your industry represents. Connect to quality forums, social networks and websites that relate to your industry and to your business. Choose your backlink practices carefully, because your business success on the Internet really does depend upon it.

Follow these three guidelines in your online marketing efforts, and your business website will get noticed by Google in a good way, resulting in more traffic and more sales for your business.

Building Your Business to Benefit Others

I spent a rather intense 13 months studying under Jay Abraham, who is undoubtedly one of the best business mentors and strategists around today. He's called "America's Number One Marketing Wizard," and has significantly increased business growth for thousands of clients across hundreds of industries.

Mr. Abraham set high expectations for our accomplishments between each of the live strategy sessions, and called us on the carpet when we fell short - because he sincerely believed we could do better. His homework assignments were tough, and I think it was because he saw potential in us that we hadn't realized yet, and wanted to give us hope to reach our goals.

There were many lessons that I learned from those mastermind training sessions, and many that I need to revisit as my business evolves and grows. And, I believe, that's a critical point for businesses today - take some time to revisit what you've done in the past, find where you need to grow, and find the help you need to make it happen.

Probably the biggest lesson I learned from Mr. Abraham has given me the desire to strive for a high level of service in my business. Granted, I am human and fall short of my goal, but the important factor is to bounce back, learn from it, and do better next time.

Mr. Abraham calls it the "Strategy of Preeminence." Here is how I recall his definition of that term, which is the underlying foundation of success for many businesses when they take their vision to this level.

As a successful business leader, you exhibit the Strategy of Preeminence when you are emphatically authoritative as a trusted advisor in your market. You have empathy for your clients, and work to develop their trust in you. You commit to enriching your client's lives, and to give them hope.

Operating in this Strategy of Preeminence, you are NOT trying to sell your products or services or your best interest, but instead you are focusing all your attention on helping and protecting your client.

Mr. Abraham also helped me visualize my marketing terms, specifically between the words of "customer" vs. "client". A customer is defined as "someone who buys a commodity or service" while a client is "someone who's under the care and protection of another."

Can your business take the Strategy of Preeminence challenge?

• It is your responsibility to resolve problems for your client.
• You need to make a personal connection.
• You must make individuals feel special.
• Surprise and delight your clients from time to time.
• Always seek feedback and make improvements.
• Pay attention to details.

Take time to revisit how you have been serving your clients, how you have been marketing to them, and how you need to grow to make it better for them.

Your Sales Funnel - Are You Keeping Your Funnel Full?

Your business thrives and grows as you add more customers and satisfied clients. Sometimes, it is helpful to take a step back and examine how you obtained your current clients in order to plan future strategies. Take a few minutes to examine your existing strategies for getting more prospects and customers.

• How are you drawing prospects to you who are ready to buy your products or services?
• Are you using opt-in boxes on your website or sales pages?
• Are you handing out business cards or working trade shows?
• Do you have direct response mechanisms in newspapers, magazines, or the radio?
• How are you meeting new people and drawing them to you?
• Are you doing cold calling or direct mailing?

In order to keep your sales funnel full, you need to have a method or mechanism for drawing new people to you. Write down what methods you are currently using.

If you weren't able to come up with a method or mechanism that you are purposely using right now to get more prospects, you have a fundamental problem in your business. Take some time to plan out a few of these strategies, and get comfortable using them.

Hopefully, you wrote down at least 1-2 methods for getting new prospects. Now, what is the sales process that you use once you meet that new prospect? Typically, you are helping them to solve a problem, so how will you go about doing that?

Your next step is to plan out what happens after that new prospect makes an initial purchase with you. How are you moving them on to more sales with you, or for additional services that you provide? If you've planned out this sales funnel in advance, you are more likely to move prospects through to loyal customers who are ready and willing to give raving referrals to your business!

Plan ahead and implement methods to keep your sales funnel full. Remember to review these periodically, and make adjustments when necessary. Examine your sales funnel, and see what needs to be changed or improved upon. Change is a good thing, especially when you can integrate new ideas to better serve your customers!

Marketing Legalities - What Does Your Signature Say About You?

When you send out emails for your business, do you sign your messages as...

Your First Name
OR
Your First Name and Your Last Name?

It's unfortunate to write this, but it is necessary to market yourself correctly in order to avoid unnecessary legal risks. Don’t present yourself as an individual, if, in fact, you are an established business entity.

If someone reads your email, they may assume that you, as an individual, have sent that email. If there is ever a reason for liability, as an individual you probably don't have a business entity protecting you.

You want to be clear that you're sending the email for your business instead, and also your position within the company.

Here are two good examples...

Example 1:

Susan Smith, Managing Member
Smith Widgets LLC

Example 2:

Joe Franks, President
Frankly Widgets Inc.

In these examples, both writers identify themselves by name, because that personal touch that is necessary in emails (and in many forms of marketing). However, they also list their company titles and the full names of their businesses.

So, how are you signing your emails? Sometimes the little things in life (and in business) make all the difference for success!