1. Create and target a location based keyword list, which in our case includes phrasing utilizing Portland, Beaverton, Tigard, etc. We’ll include these in titles, content, metadata, and site interlinking in as natural and organic a way as possible. We want to target keywords for better Google ranking but we want to write our content for our users. It’s a fine balancing act.

2. Create location based landing pages within our client’s site for each unique physical address where our clients are doing business. Making sure that NAP (name, address, phone) are listed exactly the same across all location pages is very important. We’ll use our location based keyword list to rewrite metadata, content, titles, alt attributes, and links.

3. Make sure our clients have Google+ Pages that link to their location pages. If you want to be recognized by Google what better way than to use their tools and social networks? This is a very important step…but more importantly we’re linking back to our location pages from our Google+ Page.

4. Find relevant local directories and make sure our clients are listed there. Are there associations, chambers, reviews sites (claim your business), that we can be listed on? The key here is to try to get LOCAL, same city address, as our client’s locations. Basically, this is local link building. We’ll also see if we can get links from our client’s local customers and partners, keeping in mind that a link from a Portland based site to our Portland location page is best.

5. Add local images and testimonials on each location based landing page that we create. Include an image of the office, the staff, and the work environment. Use location based keywords in the alt attributes for each image. Include testimonials that are from customers that are specific to that location, and give a link, if possible, to that customer. Maybe they will reciprocate the link.

Bonus strategy:

6. “Geo-tagging, check-in.” We plan to setup our clients so their locations will be geo-tagged on social networks. This might come in the form of incentives to customers who check-in. “Be entered to win a cool prize by checking in at our location.” This will create social buzz and activity lending more authority to your local presence.

These are just a sample of the activities we’ll be doing to start our local search engine optimization effort for our clients. Are you a local business that has experience in ranking well in local search? What strategies worked best for you? We’d love to hear from you.
 

My daughter and I have volunteered at the Food Bank on several occasions before ourselves, but I’ve never been part of such a large group volunteering at one time, or a group comprised of such enthusiastic eight year olds. The kids quickly organized themselves around each two ton sack (massive sack I must say) of potatoes and proceeded to quickly designate themselves and each other with various tasks… baggers, bag tiers, runners to bring the bags to the crates. In a matter of two hours the kids had processed 10,555 pounds of potatoes; enough to feed 1,760 families approximately 5 meals. In fact, doing the math, each eighth grade volunteer supplied food for 150 families.

So why am I sharing this experience? Well for one I think it’s great to involve your children in activities that help them understand the hurdles that society needs to overcome. Oregon is one of the top two states in the nation in terms of hungry families. Telling our kids these hard truths is one thing. Having them work to help feed these families helps the kids gain a deeper appreciation for the problem, while being part of the solution.

The other lesson I learned, and one that I wish I learned a long time ago, is when faced with a challenge… just jump in do it. The kids today were much less concerned about who had what skill, whether they were better suited to a certain task, or whether one was harder or easier than another. They were, in fact, much more concerned with beating the other teams gathered around their massive sacks.

My promise to myself today – and maybe one each of us can make – is to continue to find volunteer opportunities for my kids, and me, that help solve problems while they learn valuable lessons. And second, to learn more lessons myself when working with kids. Observing kids with each other can teach you so much of what has been ultimately taught out of you since you were once a kid.

Photo Credit to graybeard.

How do you begin? Certainly there are keyword tools that help you determine the number of searches and competition for any particular keyword, but these may not be as useful as they seem. What can be a great indicator of SEO keyword success can be the data that resides in your Adwords campaign reports – if you’re currently doing PPC. Take a look at your PPC keywords that show the best conversion, those that are generating a strong click-through-rate, and those with a decent Quality Score. These keywords, while likely competitive, can help you establish your ‘head’ keywords off of which you can build some medium to longer-tail keywords for SEO.

For example, you might have a strong click-through-rate, high Quality Score, and great conversion rate for the keyword ‘cloud computing’ but good luck ranking for it through SEO in any decent time frame (unless you’re Cisco, IBM, etc.). However, you can use ‘cloud computing’ as your head keyword and start to look at variations of it that are less competitive but are still driving traffic, such as ‘cloud computing infrastructure’ or ‘mobile cloud computing’ – if relevant to what you do.

If you (or your client) don’t have any Adwords data, it could be worth a few hundred dollars to run a test campaign. Create some ads around your keyword categories and add a bunch of variations. Do it right and within a month or two you’ll have some decent data, at least enough to make some informed decisions.

Also… I’m not suggesting that when building an SEO keyword list you shouldn’t include competitive keywords. Just be sure not to load your list full of them. Balance your competitive keywords with these less competitive variations so that your keyword list has a good mix of both. We like to address our clients’ keyword list every three to four months. Are we seeing any traction? If so where or if not where? Adjust, adjust, adjust…

Search engine optimization is a long-term effort; something that takes time if it’s to be done well. PPC on the other hand is, or can be, more short-term. Why not use that short-term “quick results” aspect of PPC to at least give your SEO a head start?

The immediate results were quite remarkable, but then comparing site analytics the month after a refresh can certainly skew metrics so now that we’re approaching that one year mark since we made our site more content driven we wanted to compare its metrics once again to before the update. We compared this past February to present (2/1 – 4/16/2013) to last a comparable timeframe before the update, March to May (3/1 – 4/14/2012). Here are the numbers:

• Site visits:                            Up 63%
• Page views:                        Up 285%
• Pages/visit:                         Up 135%
• Site referrals:                     Up 140%
• Search referrals:               Up 53%
• Time on site:                      Up 59%
• Bounce rate:                      Down 97%

These are numbers that would have any digital marketing agency or SEO provider excited, but the number above that I still find remarkable is the bounce rate. Our bounce rate is a shade over 2 percent! This means that 98 percent of our site visitors find something interesting enough to click through to. Site stickiness…

In the next iteration of our site we’ll be adding relevant blog and resource feeds to our product and service pages. We feel that while our product and service pages explain what we do nicely, its blog style content that really depicts how we feel and approach those very services, and that’s more interesting to smart buyers today.

Some of our clients are seeing the value that this approach can bring and they’re starting to implement plans for site updates as well. We’ll be blogging more about how our next website content integration performs and what our clients find as well, so come back soon!

Photo credit to Andrea “spettacolopuro”.

So, first, how did I know that my site was hacked? Well, I got this funky message when I went to my site in Chrome. Thank you Google! I was like “oh great…crap…shoot…dang…darnit…”

I jumped on the Google machine and did some crazy fast searches on WordPress sites being hacked. I found a bunch of information out there that made me feel a little better, mainly because I found out I was not alone. You know the feeling, if you’re in trouble it always feels a little better if your buddies are in trouble with you. Anyways, I found a great blog that listed many security measures I could take to lessen the potential for future hacks. Notice I said “lessen the potential for future hacks”. A few of those that I felt were most important were:

1. Update to latest WordPress Version.
2. Change your login password often.
3. Block search engines from accessing the admin section.
4. Protect your .htaccess file
5. Don’t allow directory browsing.
6. Secure your wp-config.php file. Duh.
7. Prevent script injection.

Once I had this list I promptly shipped it off to “My Guy”. If you own a site you need a”My Guy”, unless, of course, you’re “The Guy”. I told My Guy we need to do all this stuff.  He said OK but first we have to fix this thing. Oh yeah…good point. So, FORTUNATELY we had a backup of the site…probably the most important thing that we had done aside from building the site. The problem was our backup was 4 weeks old, which means our latest blog posts were not in there. The site is now restored from backup, and we spent a few hours putting our blog posts back into the site, making sure URLs were exactly the same so we didn’t have broken links.

After finding that nice list of security measures to be implemented by My Guy, I decided I needed to backup my site more often than “when I remember, and can get around to it”.  Jumping back on the Google machine, I found a company called CodeGuard. It allows me to actively monitor and backup both my site and my site’s database. I connected the service to my site via FTP, or rather My Guy did, and now it’s monitoring the site for changes. If a change happens I get a notification via email. I can then say, yah CodeGuard that was me. Or, I can say no, that was NOT me and I want to reset the site back to before the change. Check out their video.

I’m here to tell you, if your site’s been hacked, or compromised, you’re not alone. There are many many site owners out there that are in the same boat as you and me; hacked.  The good news is there are many many good Samaritans out there showing us how to fix our sites and improve our website security. I’m not sure I’m cool with calling Google a ‘good Samaritan’ but I know they’ve recently created a new help center to assist folks in recovering from being hacked, or, as Google says, compromised. Here is a nice video that they’ve put together to inform you of your options:

Don’t take your site security for granted like I did. Get your My Guy to help you beef up your site security, enlist in some good backups, and keep on keepin’ on. BTW, doing all this doesn’t make me feel like my site will never be hacked again…but at least I know I’ve taken action, and I can restore my site in a moments notice. That’s the peace of mind I need.

For anyone in SEO, Panda and Penguin has had an impact. Site rankings and organic traffic has likely declined for at least one or two clients, but if you look at those clients with an eye toward user (prospect/customer) centricity you’d see that they’re likely off the mark. That is their sites are likely content deficient and not really focused on delivering information of value to their customers and prospects. For this reason, Google has helped clear the way for companies and websites that deliver value (information), and isn’t this what we all search for anyway?

I do strongly believe that there still needs to be fundamental SEO performed for all websites. I think every company should have a…

1) well-researched keyword list; one that evolves over time. I think that….

2) smart usage of keywords in creating website copy, content, and Meta data is still of strong value. I also strongly believe that link building and directory submission strategies that worked only months ago should be trashed in favor of…

3) real link building. Take advantage of your strategic partners (technology or otherwise) to create meaningful links; read and comment on relevant blogs and create links of value (not spamming); use directories but limit yourself to those that are of value to your industry.

Creating valuable optimized content is an art. It needs to be well-written, help educate your target audience, and take multiple formats. According to MarketingProfs 2013 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report, B2B content marketers are spending 33 percent of their overall budgets on content marketing, which is up from 26 percent last year, and 54 percent plan on increasing spend next year. This is significant and follows a trend that sees greater emphasis on producing good content that most think will continue for the foreseeable future.

It’s this content that Google wants to index and serve up in searches. And it’s this content that is taking the driver’s seat in the search engine optimization efforts of smart marketers. It’s all about content! In coming blogs we’ll address the three areas of SEO that we still feel are important, and share some content tips and techniques that can help clear the roadblocks to producing decent content, so come back!

So here are five things that any company can do (right now) to improve their blogging effectiveness!

1. Enable commenting. I think some companies are nervous about what people might say about their blogs or content. If that’s your feeling, then I’d advise against blogging at all. It’s ALL about the conversation. If someone disagrees with what you’re saying that’s okay; it shows they are passionate about the topic. Comments can also have relevant and worthwhile outbound links that can help boost your blog’s visibility.

2. Enable social media sharing. Your blog needs to find its way into the social spheres of your prospects, customers and partners. Sharing is the easiest way to give your blog some legs. Sure, people can copy the link and paste it elsewhere, but in this day and age where ease-of-use is core, clicking a button is the way to go. With WordPress, there are any number of social media share plugins that can be incorporated into your site quickly and complimentary. Do it!

3. Capture email addresses. You’re in marketing; you market; you create leads. There’s nothing wrong with asking people to leave their email addresses so you can let them know about new posts. Once you gather email addresses you can then send out a monthly newsletter that showcases the month’s popular blogs, highlights new (exclusive) content, and more importantly keeps you top of mind. And… there’s a plugin for that!

4. Show authors for each post. A blog that is written by ABC Company is sort of impersonal and likely won’t deliver the engagement you’re ultimately looking for. Create authors (real, live people at your organization) for each post; include their picture and short bio at the end of the post. People are more apt to comment on a blog written by a person than one written by a company.

5. Show related posts. At the end of your blog post display the five most recent related posts. Whoever is reading your blog has an interest in what you’ve written about and you should try hard to keep them at your blog, reading more posts. So why not deliver to them what they’re looking for. You’ll likely find that time on site and pages per visit increase, creating a stickier site.

There’s a ton more you can do to create a stickier, more interesting blog. In fact as a bonus I’ll suggest you add some imagery. We’re a visual people after all. What else can marketers do to their blog to make it more useful? Drop your thoughts in the comment field below.

Photo credit to Ben + Sam.

Let me ask you… what was the ROI of your last press release? How about your last trade show? These are two marketing tactics and strategies that are part of most organizations marketing, yet I’m pretty confident that ROI is something that isn’t factored into them (for the most part); they’re just ‘things that marketing needs to do.’

I sort of liken a good company blog to someone speaking at a trade show. It can impart knowledge, build brand leadership, and help a company’s visibility, much like leading a breakout session at a trade show. If you don’t blog, or guide the conversation, you’re like a trade show attendee sitting in the crowd listening to a speaker, and that’s okay, but not nearly as powerful.

I like to think of social media as the place where conversation can occur around good content – a blog perhaps, or even a smart post or share. In this way, social media is much like the networking sessions of a trade show. If you’re active in social media then the conversations are active, your brand is part of this dialogue. If you attend networking sessions you meet prospects, customers, potential partners… you get the idea.

Now marry the two – social media and smart blogging. You’re starting the dialogue (trade show speaker/smart blog post) and then carrying the conversation over to include a larger audience set (networking sessions/social media channels). I don’t know about you, but when I see someone speak at a trade show or event, they usually have a pretty decent gathering around them during the networking sessions. Many who don’t speak enjoy the networking, but end up leaving early to catch Sportscenter in the hotel room… just sayin’!

I believe that social media involvement and blogging are two essentials that need to become part of every organization’s marketing efforts. They’re things that ‘you just need to do.’

Photo credit to Olivier Hodac.

After you post your blog what do you do? You don’t need to spend hours posting it all over the web, though I suppose depending on where you post it that couldn’t hurt. You can, however, take FIVE minutes and do these FIVE things.

1. Post it to your social media channels. Assuming you don’t live under a rock and you have a Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, and LinkedIn account get your blog up there. Using a tool like Hootsuite, this task should take you a total of 50 seconds to a minute, tops!
2. Share your blog at some content aggregator sites. If you’re blog doesn’t have ‘share’ buttons this can take you a little longer, but assuming that you’ve set up your blog correctly you should have the necessary buttons to share your blog at Reddit, StumbleUpon and other sites like them. Total time here… maybe two minutes.
3. Post your blog in relevant LinkedIn Groups. I’ve already mentioned LinkedIn above but that would be your personal news feed. Here I’m talking Groups. There’s a well-attended Group on LinkedIn for just about everything, and I find that more conversation (comments and discussion) happen when I post my blogs there than at the actual blog itself – which is fine by me. You can post using Hootsuite as well, so the total time here… maybe one minute.
4. Find some other blogs on the same topic and comment. If you’re like me, you probably have a number of blogs that you follow regularly to keep tabs on your industry. Maybe they’re set up in a Google Reader feed so it’s easy to stay current. You’ve more than likely found some articles or blogs on the topic you’re writing on, so it should be easy to comment on one and insert a link to your blog. If you’re not being spammy, and you’re adding value, I’m sure your link will be approved. Total time here depends on how organized you are, but figure one minute for a well thought out comment.
5. Distribute your blog to your subscribers. Your blog or site should have some way of collecting contact information. On our site, we collect email addresses so we can stay in touch monthly with people interested in who we are and what we blog about. With a short amount of setup time, you can easily create a monthly newsletter template in Constant Contact or MailChimp that pulls all your blogs in a given month and sends it to your email distribution list. Once set up, this takes zero minutes to manage.

These are five things that you can do to increase your blog readership. Okay… so there might be a little setup time, but once that’s done and behind you, your total investment is about five minutes per blog. There’s a ton more you can do, but these five are we call the raw minimum. What have you done that works?

As far as search engine optimization and generating quality organic traffic is concerned, the Penguin and Panda updates from Google place a greater emphasis on quality, well-written content. With social media channels becoming more and more crowded, and cluttered with poor content the need for good content begins to become apparent. So what to do if you’re a B2B marketer charged with developing content today?

First, I think it important to highlight (and dispel) a few content marketing myths. These myths were recently discussed in an article at Search Engine Watch by Andy Betts (about Lee Odden’s presentation at SES London) entitled Creative Content Marketing: Winning Hearts, Minds & Wallets. I think they’re worth repeating:

Myth 1: Content marketing simply means creating more content.

Myth 2: Quality content isn’t sustainable.

Myth 3: A content object only has one life.

These myths are really more like excuses. Excuses for why content marketing isn’t easy. I didn’t say it was hard, but it’s not easy. Get over these excuses and you’ll find yourself and your marketing team on a path that not only creates good, quality content, but results in better organic traffic, better social media conversation, and ultimately more sales-ready leads.

Step one: Learn to write! Writing well isn’t easy; not everyone can do it. If you aren’t a decent writer it’s okay, but you need to recognize that and find people that are. They may be in-house sitting at a cube nearby or they may be people you need to source. There are even some great agencies that can be hired (subtle self-serving hint here). Bottom line… the content needs to be well written if you’re going to stand a chance competing with all the good content being produced.

Step two: Content isn’t always written. You still need to be able to write, but content can take a number of different forms. Written content like blogs, articles, press releases, e-newsletters, and stories can be complemented with video, Infographics, Pinterest boards, photographs. Your marketers; your creative; it’s what you do… time to start doing.

Step three: Find out what prospects and customers want. The content you produce needs to be compelling for the people that matter – your customers and prospects. Use social media (LinkedIn Groups, Facebook, Twitter) to LISTEN to what people are saying, consuming and engaging with. Use surveys or polls if you have them available. Heck… ask your customers what interests them. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to tell you what they want – especially if you’re going to give it to them.

Step four: Share your content. Sharing your content in your social media channels is great, but also take advantage of LinkedIn Groups, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and other relevant, categorized social media aggregators. If you’re not putting your content out there for consumption you’re missing out on audiences you haven’t engaged with yet.

There are other steps to successful content marketing for sure, and I’ll likely blog much more on the subject, but these four I believe for a strong foundation to build your efforts around. I’d love to hear what you would add to these steps for content marketing, so drop a comment.