The Lead Generation Blog

Exclusive! The very latest iPad 3 rumours…

2011-12-08T07:00:00.002Z

These iPad 3 rumours are so hot that even Apple doesn't know about the exclusive features touted to be going into the next iPad.

Check out this humourous take on fanboy obsession and Tech Blog speculative frenzy.

A New Way to Find New Clients

2011-10-22T10:27:00.010+01:00

I recently joined ReferralKey. It's a wonderful way to find new clients through referral marketing.

I'm especially impressed with its focus on giving and receiving referrals. The system is designed from the ground up to support business networking. In my view, this makes it vastly superior to LinkedIn as a way to meet business owners and network.

You can take advantage of all the networking tools ReferralKey offers free of charge. There is no 'pro' upgrade. This is about referral marketing plain and simple.

Sign up to ReferralKey. Once you're a member, send me a message within the system and I'll explain how to make it work for you.

Filtering out time-wasters and other non-leads (lead generation process)

2011-10-03T19:06:00.017+01:00

Which of the following statements is true?

The Internet is a wonderful way to generate leads
The Internet is a terrible way to generate leads

Actually, they're both true. As soon as you implement lead generation on a website you'll find you get good leads and non-leads.

A good lead is a person with a genuine interest in your product or service.

A non-lead is a person with a genuine interest in selling his/her product or service to you. In other words, a non-lead is a leech looking to free-load off the back of your own marketing efforts.

The trick is to implement a lead generation system that eliminates non-leads up-front so you don't waste your time dealing with him/her. Here's how it's done...

Introduce extra steps to your lead generation process
Fully automate your lead generation process

Introduce Extra Steps

A non-lead hoping to turn you into a lead has the same problem you do – a finite amount of time. S/he will only jump through so many hoops before s/he starts looking for easier targets.

Introducing extra steps to your own lead generation process has a non-lead expend more effort without requiring any extra work on your part (once the changes are in place). This has the flow-on effect of ensuring that only the best leads reach you because people who are only mildly interested (i.e. outside the target market) will also be eliminated by the process.

Automate Lead Generation

Every part of your lead generation process should be automated. The time you save through automation quickly pays for itself – especially if you have a multi-step lead process designed to eliminate non-leads and those outside the target market.

Consider that most online lead generation follows this format...

Offer a prospect information the target market wants
Asks the prospect to enter his/her email address and click a button
Verify the email address
Send the information

A non-lead will happily fill out the form, receive the verification email and use the sending address to spam you forever more.

You can prevent this by sending the verification email from an email account set to automatically delete any email received to it. The problem with this approach is you'll miss enquiries from genuine prospects. Given this is a lead generation effort, do you really want to miss genuine enquiries?

A question worth asking yourself is why you're using email at this point anyway? Especially when you consider the following...

Most free information sent in this manner is never read (i.e. they lost interest between requesting and receiving the information)
Some people won't receive the verification email and will either attempt to contact you for help (i.e. take up a lot of your time), or will simply forget all about it (i.e. a wasted opportunity)

What if you displayed the information immediately? In other words a teaser page offers free information and clicking a 'Show me' button on that page reveals the promised information immediately.

With this approach everybody gets to see the promised information with no delivery failures. Even better – more people will read or watch it because there is no delay.

Of course the revealed information is merely the second step in the process. The information must deliver value in and of itself. But it has a more important job to do from your perspective. It must culminate in a further call to action.

This further call to action should promise a logical next step. And that next step has to be something a genuine prospect can't resist. You should then offer to deliver this next step for some token sum of money (e.g. $3.25).

Why charge for this next step? Because it will eliminate most non-leads. And it forces a genuine prospect to consider whether the degree of his/her interest at this point in time. If s/he is very interested that person will pay a token sum and take the next step.

As you'd expect, this approach results in fewer leads. The leads you get will be of much higher quality and you'll have far less running around to do.

A smart lead generator will introduce a negative option at this point. A negative option is an alternative for people unwilling to pay money for the next step. For example, you might offer a free subscription to your email newsletter.

Most of the people who take this option are in your target market and it's worth keeping in touch with them. While they're not ready to commit immediately, each time they receive your newsletter you get another chance to convert.

Here's an example of how this type of a multi-step process might work...

Jane is a personal trainer looking for people to join her kettlebell class. She starts with an ad in Google AdWords that offers to help people lose 4 kilograms in 4 weeks.

That ad links to a teaser page that explains how a 4-week kettlebell program and diet will ensure a person loses 4 kilograms in 4 weeks. The teaser page ends by offering her 4-week programme for free. All the user has to do is click the 'Lose 4 Kilos Now' button.

Anyone that clicks this button gets the programme immediately. Jane's programme includes an online video, exercise photos, a 4-week workout plan, recipes and explanatory text. The explanatory text makes several points...
A medical assessment is essential before starting an exercise programme
The diet information is general. More effective results can be had with a personalised diet plan
The kettlebell exercises are general. A more effective programme can be had by attending a class
Any diet and exercise programme works best when done as part of a group (mutual support, have fun, enjoy each other's company)
These points culminate in an opportunity to make a clear offer – for just $3.25 Jane will allow the prospect to attend her kettlebell class. The prospect will receive a medical and fitness assessment, diet recommendations based on his/her medical and fitness needs, and the opportunity to experience the kettlebell class first hand

This is a pretty good deal - isn't it? Most people in the target market are likely to take up the offer. From Jane's perspective, she gets a whole lot more than a name and an email address. Jane gets to meet the prospect face-to-face. And the prospect gets to meet her and see how good she is first hand.

The approach also serves to enhance Jane's credibility. This reduces the perceived risk in the mind of prospect by removing substantial doubt.

It's important to understand why a token payment is required. Asking the prospect to hand over money (e.g. via PayPal) forces him/her to decide whether or not s/he is serious about the product or service on offer. As a result, any leads that result from this process are considerably more likely to go ahead and buy.

If my example doesn't apply directly to your situation (e.g. you're not selling an exercise class) you'll have to adapt the approach to meet your own needs.

You're welcome to explain your particular marketing situation via a comment, and ask me for ideas on how you might adapt the above to suit your own multi-step process.

Are men worth the effort?

2011-10-03T09:22:00.000+01:00

Hmmm...not sure about this (being a man and all), but there's a poll out there that asks women to vote on whether or not we men are worth the effort.

Of course it's all for a laugh, so head on over and cast your vote.

Naturally I voted in favour of the motion. Of course we're worth the effort!

Lead Generation - Marketing's Poor Cousin

2011-01-28T16:19:00.001Z

Lead Generation has somehow been denigrated to the ranks of marketing's poor cousin. Agencies (even specialist Direct Agencies) seem to have have little respect for lead generation these days.

In my more cynical moments, I do sometimes wonder whether this is because lead generation is so inconveniently measurable.

The client immediately knows whether or not a lead generation campaign has worked. There are no convenient measures (e.g. so-called 'buzz') to hide behind. The campaign is either generating leads, or it's not.

Of course, I think the real reason why professional marketers seems uninterested in lead generation these days has more to do with what's sexy. And right now, marketing people are in love with social media.

Forgive for me being blunt. Social media is a wonderful thing. But from a business perspective, it's completely and utterly pointless if it's not contributing to the bottom line.

I don't care how much 'buzz' I'm generating on social media. I'm interested in...

The number of business enquiries I'm getting from the web
The nature of those enquiries
The quality of those enquiries

My focus is not blinkered. I'm not obsessed with lead generation to the exclusion of anything else. I'm merely concerned that marketing do what it's meant to do. And that's to generate income for the business.

Right now, I don't think that's the main focus of professional marketing people. And that's why the rest of the world regards us as charlatans

What's your official sex-toy rating?

2010-12-09T15:27:00.001Z

Nothing goes viral like sex, and it's hard to find a better example of viral marketing than this fun quiz about sex toys. Enjoy (but also pay attention to the way this works from a marketing perspective).

Twitter is a complete and utter waste of time for most businesses

2010-11-12T12:04:00.007Z

Twitter is a medium best suited to facilitate the sharing of inanity. Despite this, businesses have jumped on the medium and are trying to find ways to make use of it for marketing purposes.

Why are they doing this? Because Twitter is popular, and seen as a bandwagon on which to jump. Such knee-jerk thinking betrays a lack of strategic thinking within the business. The plain fact is, there is no point being on Twitter unless the company's marketing strategy provides a specific purpose for being there.

Having said that, let's examine a common use of Twitter by business. It's often seen as an ideal notification medium. And in fact Twitter's primary purpose is to notify other people about what the Tweeter is up to.

Popular Twitter celebrities such as Stephen Fry (1.9 million followers) use the medium for (I suspect) personal amusement. This is why you'll find gems on his Twitter page like this one: "Wet and windy. Then I looked out of the window and saw that the weather is too."

The difficulty for business is to translate the success Stephen Fry has had on a personal level, into a viable business strategy. It's simply not useful for a business owner to tweet about his/her epic boil lancing session. The most common Twitter strategy is...

Gain as many followers as possible (usually with minimal thought given to who those followers are, why they're interested, and how to convert apparent interest into profit)
Tell those followers about every new blog article, marketing initiative, shindig, and product the company launches

There are 3 inherent problems with this approach...

Most of the 'news' isn't inherently interesting outside the company because it's self-serving and self-agrandising (yawn)
The followers are almost always competitors or free-loaders rather than actual viable customers
The nature of the content and its followers makes it unlikely a tweet will go viral

This last point is most crucial, because it provides the key to understanding the real power of Twitter.

Successful tweets are those that get retweeted by other users. And the challenge for most business owners is to find content that is retweet-worthy.

Put another way, under what circumstances would you retweet an announcement by Company X that it has just launched Product Y? Here are a few reasons why you might...

The businesses' own followers are inherently interested in product Y. The Apple iPad is an example of a product that was, in and of itself, exciting to a specific group of people
A tweet that offers a very attractive special deal available only to Twitter users who retweet the offer and prove they've done so (naturally the offer must be for something the target market actually wants)
Something so juicy it can't be ignored by those following the business on Twitter, such a link to a YouTube clip of the company chairman running naked down the street while being chased by bears. Sadly, there are very few company chairmen that find themselves in this situation. And even fewer that caught on film

In all 3 cases a small business will struggle to produce anything that meets these criteria. And if that's the case, the business must ask itself whether or not Twitter is a waste of its time and/or money.

The plain fact is, most business owners are far more interested in what they're up to than the rest of us. A dentist may like to think the wider world is interested in his/her new comfy chairs, or the redecorated waiting area. In reality, none of these things are retweet-worthy. Most of us are simply too busy to care.

Even a business that employs a social media marketing expert to manage it's Twitter presence will struggle to find retweet-worthy content. It's difficult to come up with genuinely compelling ideas. And even harder to have it infect the 'Twittosphere'.

But even if a business down come up with something retweet-worthy, and it does catch on, the question of its own target market remains.

Will the business attract genuine prospects in its target market, or merely act as a source of useful information to its competitors, time-wasters (literally) and marketing free-loaders?

If a business can't attract it's target market, there are far more profitable ways to invest it's marketing budget.

Is professional SEO really worth the money?

2010-08-19T18:37:00.014+01:00

There are so many resources that teach you how to do your own SEO it's worth asking the question - is professional SEO worth the money?

For example, this SEO training is specifically designed to help non-technical people do their own search engine optimisation (it's superb).

So why pay hundreds - maybe thousands - to a SEO professional when you can do it yourself for free? As always, the answer comes down to your particular circumstances...

Do you have time to do your own SEO?
Getting to the top of Google may require months of tedious effort on your part. Is this really the best way to invest your time?
What is your time worth to your business?
If you're paid well you're almost certainly better off paying a professional to do SEO for you.
How quickly do you want to get to the top of Google?
A professional can almost certainly get you to the top of Google faster than you. For a start, a pro doesn't have to learn how to do SEO.
Can your business stand the 2-3 months it will take to undo a mistake?
If you make a mistake that results in Google punishing your site, it can take several months of misery while you attempt to undo it. A professional won't make these types of mistake.
Is being at the top of Google likely to be a profitable investment for your business?
There's more than one way to get traffic to your site, and sometimes SEO isn't the best way to do it. A professional will tell you if there's a better approach.
Are there problems with your site that hold it back in Google?
Many web designers have incorrect ideas about what makes a site 'SEO friendly'. Sometimes they do more harm than good, and create problems that must be fixed before a site will rank well in Google.

These last 2 points are especially important. It entirely possible that getting to the top of Google won't help you achieve your business objectives. If so, an experienced pro will tell you and recommend more viable alternatives.

This could save you months of effort, and direct your energies toward more profitable activity.

This alone could be worth thousands (i.e. far more than the cost of an initial SEO report). Not to mention the opportunity cost to your business.

As your SEO experience improves over time, so will your ability to spot the sort of problems that stop a site from ranking well in search engines. The thing is, a professional can tell you within minutes if there's an existing problem. And either fix it immediately, or explain how to get it fixed.

All it takes is a professional SEO report. I'm not talking about a free automated report you find on a website. I mean a report prepared manually by an experienced professional that looks in-depth at your site, likely keywords, internal links, external links, the strength of your competition in Google and all the other factors that go into a SEO strategy.

This report will save your business a lot of time, money and lost opportunity. Isn't it the logical next step for your business?
Click here now...

Strategic Business Networking

2010-08-15T10:21:00.001+01:00

This resource on Business Networking London describes 28 different ideas that combine to form a powerful business networking strategy.

The first page lists all 28 methods and gives a brief description. You can then click through to more detailed information about the idea itself. As I write this, only the first page is posted (the detail pages are not yet in place). But they're not needed to benefit from this information.

The summary information is enough to understand the principles involved, and I thoroughly recommend it to you. It's a brilliant way to approach business networking, and turn it into a highly profitable source of revenue for your business.

How to Attract the Right People to Your Site - The Web Marketing Process Part 12

2010-07-13T08:33:00.009+01:00

This article is part 12 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 11 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

Who buys your product or service? As soon as you know the correct answer to this question, you'll find it much easier to attract the right people to your site.

It pays (literally) to know exactly who you're marketing to, because it makes it easy to find the people you need to promote your product or service to. And finding the right people is half the battle.

For example, my DIY SEO Seminar teaches people how to do their own Search Engine Optimisation. It's specifically designed to appeal to small business owners that lack the money to pay a professional SEO company.

Armed with that knowledge, it's relatively easy to find the type of person I need to promote my DIY SEO Seminar to. For example, a lot of small business owners are members of BNI. I am a BNI member, and can visit different BNI groups (i.e. subbing in BNI vernacular).

Of course, finding your target market is the first part in a 2 part process. You must also have something to offer. And the thing you offer must be compelling.

Your offer should appeal directly to your target market, and attract them to your site to receive that offer. The medium you use will affect the kind of offer you make. For example, I can offer BNI members a free featured listing in my directory. This provides SEO value, and so appeals to people who are already thinking in terms of realising SEO value.

In web marketing terms, where the goal is to send targeted people to my website, I might start by writing an article about Search Engine Optimisation. I may then get that article published on a dedicated article site such as Ezine Articles.

The article will end with my profile, where I make a specific offer to the reader and send him/her to a landing page on my website. We'll look at landing pages in more detail when we get to the "Leads" component of the Web Marketing Process (see part one for more information).

My article is about SEO, and will be read by people with an interest in SEO. The article will be designed specifically to appeal to small business owners who need to do their own SEO. It's purpose is to sell the idea that...

Most small business owners can't afford to pay for SEO
SEO isn't difficult - anyone can do it
They can do their own SEO and save thousands of pounds

The article will be published on an article site that has its own built-in community. That subset of the community interested in SEO will read the article. And a further subset of people are likely to be interested in learning more about SEO. In my profile, I'll construct an offer aimed at these people.

This sends targeted traffic to my site. It also has the potential to convey SEO Benefit to my site. But this isn't its main purpose. And visitor generation doesn't end with the links in the article. The article is merely a filter designed to weed out unsuitable people (i.e. those outside the target market). To have it do its job, I need to send people to the article itself.

Why not simply send them directly to my site? Because the article is the filter that weeds out unsuitable people. And because the article prepares the prospective client to buy by...

Selling the idea they can do it themselves
Establishing my SEO expertise

The article isn't sales copy as such. It must offer genuine value to its target market. It must have utility value in and of itself. By making the article useful to my target market, I ensure they read it all the way through.

Those that click the link and visit my landing page are now fully qualified prospective clients. And I'm in a good position to convert these visitors into leads.

As you can see, it's in my interests to send as many people as possible to the article. To achieve this I'll do the following (at the very least)...

Tweet about the article and link to
Ask key people to retweet the article
Comment on relevant blog entries and link to the article
Write a short article for my own blogs that then link to the article
Link to the article from my Facebook page
Ask key clients to link to the article from their Facebook page or group
Use deep linking techniques to boost the SEO value of the article
Encourage people to link to the article as a valuable resource
Post in relevant forum discussions and link to the article from my signature
Submit ads to classified sites that link to the article
Submit links to the article to directories that allow deep linking
Email clients and subscribers and recommend the article
Hand out links to the article at networking meetings (free article about SEO)
Link to the article from all my websites
Ask key clients and individuals to link to the article from their sites and/or blogs
Offer to write guest articles for 3rd party blogs that then link to the article (or that serve the same purpose as the article and link to the landing page)
You'll find more link building ideas here

The point is, this approach uses a 3rd party article community to obtain free traffic. And then attempts to generate additional traffic.

The article acts as a filter, ensuring that I send highly targeted and motivated prospects to a landing page designed specifically to receive them. I don't simply link to the landing page, I make an offer designed to appeal to the target market.

This is one way that professional web marketers generate free targeted traffic to a web site. And it's highly effective.

In part 13 we'll look at how to use SEO to generate targeted traffic within the Web Marketing Process.

@#%^ NatWest! More spleen venting of a humourous nature...

2010-07-09T16:34:00.006+01:00

I have the great misfortune to have arranged my business banking with NatWest's Direct Business Banking team. Unfortunately for me, I made a single mistake on the original application form and descended into a special kind of Hell unseen since the great plague of 1348.

If you're familiar with the Old Testament, having your business banking with NatWest Direct Business Banking is a bit like waking up one day and finding out you're Job. Bugger. Except that unlike Job, there's no reward waiting for me if I ever manage to crawl out of the misery they continue to subject me to. Double bugger.

All that will happen is I end up remaining a customer of NatWest Direct Business Banking. Triple bugger.

Anyway, when I last wrote of my ordeal I had visited the Kingsbury branch of NatWest and submitted a form designed to change the signing authority on my account. The current need for 2 signatures (my error) is the source of all my banking woes, and I needed to have this changed as soon as it was discovered. That was almost 2 months ago.

I waited to hear that all was well and that we could proceed with the next step (activating my online banking). I waited in vain. NatWest managed to lose that form, but said they'd search for it. Another 2 weeks slipped by...

...and then I received a call from NatWest to apologise profusely for losing my form. On the one hand, they actually called me this time. On the other hand, they lost my form and spent an entire month fucking around.

They can't find the damn thing, and I am now forced to submit the exact same form in the exact same way and hope for a different result.

As an aside, I have come up with a theoretical model that explains why it takes NatWest Direct Business Banking so long do anything. How is it that it can take weeks to simply change an address? After much thought I have the answer!

NatWest Direct Business Banking is a vast bureaucracy, staggering under the weight of huge amounts of paper bound up in gigantic bundles of red tape. The mass of this organisation is so large, the resulting gravity well actually slows time. It's employees enter their workplace, and do actually turn around forms in mere minutes relative to their own position in spacetime. Unfortunately for those us outside the gravity well of NatWest Direct Business Banking, time flows much faster (i.e. at its normal rate). 10 minutes inside the building is equal to several weeks outside. This is the only explanation I can come up with to explain their ineptitude.

Now the person handling my case (for it is now an official case) had told me to take a form into a NatWest branch and have them send it to the Direct Business Banking unit. But this person was well aware of the inherent flaw in this plan, and suggested we do something cunning.

I was not just to take the form into a branch and hand it over. This time I was to ask that they fax it to her so she would have a copy in case it goes missing again.

This time around I chose the Swiss Cottage Branch of NatWest because it looks like the bureaudroid that accepted my form at the Kingsbury branch never actually sent it on. I wasn't certain I would remain calm if I encountered her again.

The person I talked to at NatWest Swiss Cottage was a lot more helpful than one at Kingsbury had been. He had encountered other people suffering at the hands of NatWest's Direct Business Banking unit. He understood that it is a fate worse than a fate worse than death, and did what I asked. And apologised on behalf of NatWest.

I eventually recovered from the shock, hopped on the tube, and went home.

So I've submitted yet another form to this horrendous corporation in the vein hope they will do something right for a change. You never know. The form might actually be processed. It might actually happen in less than 10 days. Pigs might actually fly. Politicians might actually restrain themselves when it comes to their expenses.

Or perhaps not.

Deep Linking Techniques

2010-07-07T11:03:00.002+01:00

A 'deep link' is a link to a page on a website that isn't the homepage. Naturally it must obey all the other conventions of SEO link building...

It must be from an external site (from them to you)
It must be a one-way link (i.e. no reciprocal link)
It must convey SEO benefit (i.e. a dofollow link from a credible source)

A lot of SEO link building makes use of web directories. This is a quick and simple way of getting a link back to a web site.

While a web directory is the SEO Professionals' 'old faithful', it's of little help when it comes to deep linking. Most web directories will only accept links to a site's homepage. So what do you do when you need to raise the importance of some other page on your site? Here are several options...

Write an article and get it published on a dedicated article site. Link to the page on your site from the author profile
Write a blog article and use it link to the webpage
Create a Squidoo lens and generate deep links from that
Find an appropriate 3rd party blog article, make a comment, and link back to the webpage
Add the link to a forum signature and start posting
Create link bait and link on from that
Recreate the page destined for deep linking as link bait in and of itself
Try one or more of these specialist deep link directories

Of course, these techniques tend to involve either time or money. For that reason, you may be better off paying a professional to generate links for you (i.e. save yourself lots of time).

I'm currently working on a this root canal treatment page for a dentist in Battersea. As you can see, it's unlikely this page will pick up links on its own. And it's not the sort of page that can be rewritten as link bait either (within the context of this particular site).

As a result, link building must be done the hard way!

Is it a '6' or is it a 'b'?

2010-06-22T14:51:00.011+01:00

UPDATE: My address has been corrected, and NatWest did contact me today as they said they would. They are looking for the missing form, and have promised to call me tomorrow to update me on the search. Thank you for that call today. The person I spoke to went a long long way to restoring my faith in the organisation.

NOTE: What follows was written before the above call, while I was seething with rage at the situation in which I found myself and the seeming impossibility of getting out of it.

When NatWest Direct Business Banking originally entered my business address into their system, they left out an important part. I needed to get it changed, and that meant filling out a form and mailing it to them. This is apparently the only possible way to change an address with NatWest Direct Business Banking.

Anyway, I submitted the form via a branch having now learned the folly of not creating a paper trail.

Two weeks went by as I moved office, changed my address with every other company I deal with (all trouble free), and settled in to the new place. I looked at my to do list, and decided I better follow up NatWest just to make sure all was well.

It wasn't.

Turns out some poor sole was unable to decide whether the '6' in '122/176' was a '6' or a 'b'. As it was impossible to tell, NatWest Direct Business Banking took the idiotic decision to do nothing at all.

They didn't phone and ask. They didn't write to me. They didn't email me. They didn't do anything.

On what planet is it acceptable to simply discard a form and go back to sleep? How is this 'helpful banking?' Have I somehow wandered into an alternative universe where this is acceptable business behaviour?

It might surprise you to know that after 3 months of being trapped in a sort of business banking hell, I wasn't very pleased. But it gets worse. The other form I sent in at the same time, which will correct a mistake on my part and is the underlying cause of the trouble I'm having with them, did not arrive at the Business Banking Unit. It has been lost.

Their solution to my woe? I should submit another form.

Ha ha ha ha ha! Good one NatWest.

You've already taught me that submitting forms to you is nothing more than a game to amuse your staff. I'm tired of jumping through the flaming hoops you place in my path, merely for the amusement of your staff.

NOTE: Overnight they changed their mind, and have now amended my address without requiring that I send them another form. Hooray!

I've made yet another complaint, and have been promised that somebody will call me back today. I have the local ambulance service on standby just in case this actually happens, because I will need somebody to restart my heart if it does.

NOTE: They did call. A heart massage wasn't required.

What I want from you, NatWest Direct Business Banking, is a call from somebody with the power, authority and IQ to fix this damn mess you've created for me.

Stop telling me to send you things that you'll lose, and put things right. Immediately. Today. Over the phone. You have my number. Use it.

NOTE: OK, so I didn't get it sorted. I'm still in that strange circle of hell where it's not possible for me to get Internet banking, which is essential to the operation of my business. My finger's are crossed. I can get Internet banking once they find that damn form. I will be most interested to see how quickly I get it, given the length of time they've had my application.

Client Service Issues In Existence for 11 Years and Still Not Fixed!

2010-06-21T19:53:00.002+01:00

In my previous article I outlined some of the frustrations I've experienced at the hand of NatWest Direct Business Banking, and their apparent inability to successful do something as simple as receive a form through the mail - which is key to their operation.

It looks like I'm not the only person on the receiving end of a frustrating problem. The issues that infest NatWest's pathetic Direct Business Banking arm have been in existence from the get go. Take a look at an article published in The Independent waaaaaaay back in 1999.

Perhaps one day, the person responsible for the disgrace that is NatWest's Direct Business Banking might stop counting his/her bonus money, and instead take a look at the mess s/he has made.

Very bad customer Service - NatWest Direct Business Banking

2010-06-21T10:34:00.002+01:00

When I arrived in the UK in 2003 Swiss Cottage were the first bank to help me get set up with banking here. 7 years later and I needed business banking for the company I'd just incorporated. Naturally I turned to .

I called the business banking number, and instead of a branch I was put in touch with 's Direct Business Banking. I was assured we could sort everything out over the phone, so off I went.

3 months later, and I now wish I'd never heard of Direct Business Banking. If you're looking for business banking, and considering Direct Business Banking, get yourself a coffee and read the following.

My view is that Direct Business Banking is not fit for its intended purpose. It starts with the encyclopaedic application forms (plural), and complete absence of help to fill them out. Good luck with that. You'll need it.

If a single mistake is made, the trouble starts as you take on the Direct Business Banking 'Relationship' team and attempt to get things changed. They'll promise to call back, and won't. You'll send in forms, and they'll be lost.

So far, nothing I've tried to resolve has worked. Not a single thing. I can't change my address. I can't get Internet banking up and running. And at the heart of all the problems I've had, I've been unable to have the signing authority changed from joint to either/or.

I am stuck in an ongoing and apparently eternal cycle. For example...

I took 2 forms into the Kenton Branch of NatWest, having lost all faith in mailing forms to them. Yes, a branch - completely negating the purpose and supposed benefits of Direct Business Banking
I had both forms checked by an 'expert', and the branch then sent them to NatWest Direct Business Banking
One of the forms arrived, but was not actioned because (or so claim the NatWest Direct Business Banking 'Relationship' team) they couldn't tell if I had written a 6 or a B. Rather than tell me, they did absolutely nothing at all. This is not the first time they've encountered a problem and failed to advise me. As far as I can tell, this is what they always do. It's certainly what they've always done to me
I happened to call 2 weeks later to see what had happened. I discovered no change of address was made, and that the second form had not arrived.

I do not believe the second form didn't arrive. It was sent via Kenton Branch, and one of the 2 forms did arrive as admitted by . For it not to have arrived, the Kenton branch would have had to split the 2 forms and sent them separately.

I think they have lost the second form, which happens to be the most important of the 2. It is the form that will unlock the cause of the problem I am having with NatWest and it's completely hopeless Direct Business Banking unit.

I have absolutely no faith in either the honesty or competence of 's Direct Business Banking 'Relationship' team.

It beggars belief that 3 months have gone by, and I have been unable to resolve 3 simple issues. In all cases, I have done exactly what asked me to do. In all cases, they have completely failed to...

Advise me when something hasn't been supplied in the correct manner
Do anything at all to actually help me

From a customer service perspective, here is where Direct Business Banking has failed...

There is no specific place or person who is authorised to handle problems of this nature, and make sure they are resolved quickly and to the customer's satisfaction. If there were, I am certain this would have been sorted out 5 weeks ago
There seems to be no bring up system that tracks expected documents, and if it doesn't arrive generates an outbound call to the client to see where it is. This would have immediately ensured the missing form was investigated last week rather than this
The members of the Direct Business Banking Relationship team seem to have no authority to do anything but make yet another request to submit yet another form to make up for the previous form(s) they lost
There is apparently no ability for the underlying system to flag an ongoing issue such as mine, and bring it to the attention of a higher authority

are a large organisation. Mistakes will happen, and there will be people who lack the authority to resolve them. In such situations, what matters is not that a mistake was made. What matters is that the customer feels his/her problem was dealt with competently.

I have received one written apology from NatWest. I am not interested in an apology.

An apology is completely and utterly worthless. It is a waste of paper. It costs a few pounds to send a letter.

The only thing I want is to have my business banking sorted out. I want either/or signing authority. I want my address corrected. And I want online banking to work.

That's all. But 's only solution is to ask me to keep doing the same thing over and over again in the hope they will eventually stop losing the forms I sent them.

Bah!

Online Lead Generation - Visitor Conversion

2010-06-01T13:49:00.000+01:00

Lead generation involves 2 key activities...

Traffic generation
Visitor conversion

Of these, visitor conversion is the hardest task to get right. A new article on ASureImage looks at 30 different methods to convert visitors to leads. More importantly, it explains what a genuine lead is and why tricking people into handing over their contact data isn't necessary.

This article is highly recommended to everybody who wants to find out how to generate leads on their own site.

Getting Visitors - The Web Marketing Process Part 11

2010-05-16T13:05:00.066+01:00

This article is part 11 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 10 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

There are many different ways to get visitors to your website, including...

SEO (search engine optimisation)
Social Media
Social bookmarketing
Article marketing
SEM (search engine marketing)
Online advertising
Offline advertising
Guerilla marketing
Viral marketing
Forums
Alliance and affiliate marketing
3rd party content (e.g. Squidoo)
Blogging
Freebies and giveaways
External web content
Business networking
Email marketing
Newsletters (on and offline)
Promotion to existing clients
Online press releases
Regular press releases
Surveys
Ebooks and reports
Download
Link swap schemes
Directories
Classifieds
Competitions
Podcasts
Slideshows (e.g. Slideshare)
Video marketing (e.g. YouTube)
Link bait

And many more than this. For example, take a look at 66 ways to get links and visitors to your site.

You'll look at a lots of different ways to get traffic in coming articles, but none of these methods is as important as knowing...

The type of visitor that most benefits you
The specific thing that will make that type of person want to visit your site

The key to getting the right people to visit your site actually lies in how well you understand your target market, and how good your targeting is. We looked at target marketing in part 8. Now it's time to wade in get our hands dirty!

There's no point getting people to visit your site if they...

Don't want/need your product or service
Can't afford your product or service
Can't physically buy/use your product or service

Any traffic scheme that simply sends you random visitors is essentially useless. You may as well stop people at random on the street and ask each one to give you £1,000.

The most obvious purpose of targeting is to understand who wants or needs your service, can afford it, and is in a position to actually buy it from you (e.g. in the right geographic area).

It's essential that you understood who this person is, where s/he can be found, and what will persuade him/her to visit your site. You need to know this before you try to generate traffic to your site.

In part 12 we'll take an in-depth look at how web marketing professionals identify the right people, and attract them to a website.

Top of Google and Still no Sales?

2010-05-14T19:10:00.005+01:00

It's possible to be top of Google for a lucrative keyword phrase, get plenty of traffic to your site, and still fail to make money. The plain fact is - SEO alone isn't enough.

In fact, I'll go so far as to say SEO is worthless without lead generation.

Many search engine optimisation 'experts' have a background in web development. In other words, their expertise lies in computer programming.

This type of technical expertise might be fine when it comes to manipulating content so it indexes well in search engines. But it doesn't help you with the following crucial areas...

Attracting the right type of visitor
Engaging that visitor on arrival
Turning interest into an actual business enquiry (i.e. generating the lead)

The key to turning a profit on your investment in SEO lies in a deep understanding of the overall web marketing process. An SEO consultant that lacks a background in the skills of direct marketing and response advertising will ultimately fail to generate leads - let alone sales.

If you find yourself at the top of Google, but lacking in sales from your website, it's time to take a long hard look at...

What you're ranking for
The page your visitors arrive on
What happens next

An experienced web marketing expert will know immediately where the problem lies and how to fix it.

How to define your target market (part 10 of The Web Marketing Process)

2010-04-27T15:53:00.002+01:00

This article is part 10 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 9 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

Take a look at the Campaign Planner introduced in part 5 of this series. You'll see there's a section where you can define each of your target markets.

The purpose of this section is to make notes about each target group. Let's go through the sheet...

Name:
Give each target market a unique name. Ideally, this name will summarize the main points
Description:
Use bullet points to outline the main features of this market. At this point, you may have more questions than answers. If so, write down your questions and research the answers later
Where found online:
Which sites are likely to already attract your target market. Can you advertise on those sites? If you have questions rather than answers, write down your questions
Motivation to respond:
What do you think will motivate your target market to respond to a marketing offer? Why will it have that effect? If you can't answer these 2 questions, it's a sign you need to do more research into your target market. If it's an existing target market, it's a sign you need to start exploring this issue with your clients and/or with your sales team
Offer ideas:
What can you offer your target market? As with the above question, this is very important. It's worth taking your time with these last 2 questions, and revisiting them. Ask other people what they think of your answers. Ask your clients what they think. Ask what they'd like you to provide

You may come up with a number of different ideas. It's perfectly acceptable to try them all, testing each one against the others.

If you're getting the idea that you never really stop testing in lead generation, you're right. Your ratios might improve, but anything can come along and change all that.

The ability to quickly detect a problem, such as falling conversion ratios, is a competitive advantage. The ability to quickly test new ideas in a changing market is also a competitive advantage.

And both these advantages are possible only if you're tracking your results. In web marketing, doing the maths is essential.

The Web Marketing Process Step 1 Summary: Objectives

You've now completed step one of the Web Marketing Process. You've looked at how to set objectives for an online marketing campaign.

You've looked at how keeping track of our objectives can save both time and money.

You've looked at the role of market research as a source of information about the size of target market, and as a way to find out more about the people in that group.

You'll come back to this as you move through steps 2-5. And in particular, you'll look at how an analysis of our campaign results can be fed back into the objectives you set for your next campaign.

The next task is to take a look at step 2 – sourcing visitors for a campaign.

Help - Google thinks my business is in Bolton!

2010-04-22T18:31:00.002+01:00

What do you do when your business is based in London, your product can only be sold to Londoners, and Google only displays your site to people living in Bolton? It's a tricky one, but help is at hand.

Strategic Suicide

2010-02-28T22:28:00.002Z

There is an approach to web marketing which goes like this...

Create some content with utility value
Give it away for free
Attempt to convert these freeloaders into paying customers

On the face of it this marketing tactic seems like a good idea. A web marketer uses the freebie as bait, attracting hoards of people to his/her site and collecting their contact details. It's a well know and widely used approach.

My own view is that this approach to web marketing is flawed. Here's why...

It builds a list full of people seeking freebies (i.e. cheapskates)
The resulting list may be targeted in the sense that it contains people interested in the product category the freebie relates to. But did you really mean to build a list full of cheapskates?
Everybody is using this strategy. And 99% of the people using it are giving away low-quality rubbish. Anybody with any sense now knows that giveaway reports and services are less valuable than preserving their email privacy. The people you want in your list probably won't sign up
The low bar set by the people using this strategy mean the lure of free no longer works

Put another way, I think this approach to web marketing is ultimately a form of strategic suicide. A sale is made when somebody wants what you have to offer at the price you're offering it for, and trusts that you'll deliver it.

Without that trust, the sale won't occur. It's something you need to earn, or borrow from a trusted third party (e.g. a referral from a mutual and trusted friend).

Market Research inside The Web Marketing Process (part 9)

2010-02-21T12:07:00.006Z

This article is part 9 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 8 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

Market research has a number of uses. Sometimes it can hint at new markets to sell an existing product to. Or spawn entirely new product ideas. It may even give clues about what motivates people to buy a particular product.

I find it's especially useful when combined with data from previous campaigns. For example...

Let's say market research suggests that product X is likely to appeal to Facebook users
And we have past results from Facebook advertising that show we normally generate one sale per £5 invested
Our product delivers a net profit (excluding campaign costs) of £10 per sale
This suggests we'll make a profit of £5 per sale if we invest in Facebook
Put another way, our return on investment is likely to be 100%

In this case, market research has told us Facebook users are likely to want to buy our product. And data from past campaigns on Facebook suggest we're likely to double our money.

That's useful to know, isn't it? But what if we don't have past experience to fall back on? This is where trial campaigns come in useful. We can...

Use free methods of attracting Facebook users. See this web page for ideas on how to do that
Allocate a small test budget and run standard Facebook ads
Use a mix of free and paid advertising

We then run various trial campaigns until such time as we have enough data to be confident in the results we've achieved.

If we discover the resulting ROI isn't good enough to justify further investment, we can do one of two things...

Abandon Facebook as a marketing method
Examine our campaign ratios, and look for places to improve

I prefer the second approach. In my experience, if a marketing campaign is failing it's usually not the fault of the media.

If I'm not making money from a Facebook ad, it's probably not the fault of Facebook or it's clients. It's much more likely it will be one of the following...

Maybe my offer doesn't appeal to Facebook users?
Or my offer isn't getting in front of the right Facebook users?
Is my landing page converting enough visitors into leads?
Perhaps my sales approach isn't converting enough leads into clients?

Assuming we're tracking the campaign properly, the data will show where the problem lies. For example, let's say the data from our campaign delivered the following results...

We paid £500 to advertise on Facebook
We got 2,500 people to click through to our landing page
10 of those people became leads
And 4 of these leads became clients

We got enough visitors to suggest the problem isn't with Facebook, or with the teaser ad we ran. Most of us would be happy paying 20 pence per click.

Likewise, most of us would be happy to convert 40% of leads into sales.

The problem is clearly with the conversion of visitors into leads. We're only getting one lead per 250 visitors.

We're going to need to look at the landing page, and isolate the problem.

It might not be clear what the problem is, and one way of finding out is to test different landing pages against each other.

The web makes it possible to rotate different landing pages. The first visitor will see version A, the 2nd will see version B, the 3rd will see version A, and so on.

Over time, one of the versions will deliver better results than the rest. Perhaps even significantly better.

Useful Market Research Resources On the Web

The web is full of useful research, data, resources and tools you can use to obtain valuable information about your market. Here are some useful sites to get your started...

UK National Statistics
Media Post: Click the research button
International Internet statistics
Internet market research and statistics
Links to resources about online market research
Information about Internet market research
How to do your own market research
Free market research resources
DIY online survey tool

In part 10 you'll look at how to define your online target market inside the Web Marketing Process.

Does Flash have a future?

2010-02-05T12:28:00.001Z

I've been thinking about the future of Adobe Flash recently, and whether or not there is one.

This train of thought began when I got my iPhone, and started using it to surf the web (i.e. when I had no other way to get online).

I first realised that Safari on the iPhone doesn't have a Flash player when I tried to view a Flash site. In 50 days of use, this was the first time I'd been stopped by the lack of Flash.

The question is, does this lack of Flash actually matter? And to my surprise, I found myself answering 'No, it doesn't'. I can't think of a single time when the use of Flash has been critical to any of my clients.

I do have clients with Flash components in their site. And from time-to-time, it's been necessary to replace Flash sites with HTML pages for SEO purposes. I don't dispute that Flash is better looking and more capable than DHTML. What I question is whether or not the superior ability of Flash is more important than having Google index a site correctly?

I don't think so, and that's how I advise my clients. In theory, Google can index a Flash site. In reality, it can't index it properly (e.g. can't see individual pages). The plain fact is, I can't really work with a Flash site.

Apple left Flash out of the iPhone, and I've discovered I don't miss it.

Defining a New Target Market: The Web Marketing Process (part 8)

2010-01-01T21:13:00.002Z

This article is part 8 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 7 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

Lead generation can be used to expand into new markets. For example...

You may discover your existing client base isn't easy to locate on the Internet, so you're forced to find a new market
Perhaps your business is looking to increase its revenue by marketing an existing product to a new audience
Your business may introduce a new product designed to appeal to a different audience, such as...
Younger people
Older people
A higher or lower socio-economic group
A different lifestyle
A different geographic area
Maybe even an International audience

Any time you expand into a new target market, it's essential that you understand what drives that market. This isn't necessarily a matter of understanding the demographic, socio or geographic make-up of the market.

It's about understanding how to create an offer that appeals to the people in your target market.

Lead generation requires that you overcome human inertia, and motivate a person to take the action you want (i.e. to respond to your offer).

To do this, you need to know enough about your target market to understand what sort of offer they won't be able to resist.

If your company has no experience with this new market, you're going to need to get it. This may involve market research. It can also involve a series of trial campaigns.

In part 9 you'll look at the role and use of market research in the web marketing process.

If your site isn't generating leads check your offer

2009-12-28T19:13:00.002Z

Most of the people I see on a day-to-day basis are obsessed with traffic. All they want are more visitors to their site. I hardly ever meet somebody who understands that getting visitors to a website is the easy part.

The real challenge is trying to turn a visitor into a lead. A lead is a person who is ready to say 'yes'. The question is 'yes' to what?

Consider what you're asking visitors to your website to say 'yes' to? In many cases, the copy on a website doesn't ask visitors to say 'yes' to anything. This happens when the copy on a site...

Talks about products and services
Talks about the company and how great it is
Talks about features and benefits

What most web copy doesn't do is make the visitor an offer. Take a look at the following example...

Since 2000 our entertainers have performed at hundreds of wedding receptions all over the UK, Europe and the world. We've performed at...some of the most wonderful wedding locations and venues around the globe, ranging from...fairytale castles to grand reception rooms...

This copy invests several paragraphs in making absolutely sure nobody can miss the fact the company has performed all over the world, and in some of the best venues. It does this in paragraph 2 of the site's home page (the wrong place to establish credibility with a potential client).

At no point does the copy on this web page make the visitor an offer. It simply invites the visitor to click a link and fill out a contact form. That alone makes it better than 80% of business sites out there.

But what specifically is the company offering to its target market? The product might be wedding reception entertainment, but is that what Brides or Parents set out to buy? Not in this company's well-heeled target market they don't.

What's missing from the copy is the following...

A true flavour of the product on offer. I've experienced their entertainment first hand, and know this copy falls far short of providing a even the smallest taste of what they have to offer a bride and groom
Some specific reason to call the company

The true heart of any lead generation offer lies in this last point. It's the offer that gives a potential client a reason to contact your company.

It's important to understand that an offer is not a sale. It only needs to get a potential client to phone you, or fill out a form and ask you to phone him/her back. Here's an example of how the above company might construct an offer to their target market...

Which of the following would you like your guests to remember when they think about your wedding reception?

[ ] How stunning you looked
[ ] How tasty the food was
[ ] How much fun they had
[ ] The unexpected surprise you spring on them

Wouldn't you love to catch your guests off-guard, and spring a massive surprise on them. One they'll love and talk about for years?

That's what we do. Our wedding reception entertainment is unique, and designed specifically to catch your guests off guard (in a good way). Imagine the look on their faces when it happens. Every eye in the room will turn to you, to see how you're reacting.

Even better, the very nature of our performance immediately has everybody engaged. Before long, your guests will find themselves laughing, clapping and cheering. Within minutes, everybody will find themselves up on their feet and dancing!

The nature of the surprise, and the party that follows, is tailored to your specific requirements (i.e. it's built around you and your husband/wife). So we need to talk about it together, and create something perfect just for you.

Simply fill out the form and tell us when you want us to phone back.

The difference between the two is obvious, isn't it? In this case, the offer is somewhat subdued. It's appropriate for the target market (the product isn't designed for the budget conscious). Instead of talking about how great the company is, the copy focuses on how the product relates to the bride or groom (e.g. Every eye in the room will turn to you to see how you're reacting).

The offer is very subtle in this case. It offers to provide the service of creating something unique with the bride and/or groom. To do that the visitor and the company have to talk.

How Clients Help Define a Target Market: The web marketing process (part 7)

2009-12-24T13:42:00.006Z

This article is part 7 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 6 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

The easiest way to define a target market for lead generation is to look at the people who buy your product right now.

Why do they buy it?
What do they do with it?
What makes these people different from those who don't buy your product?
What makes these people different from those who buy your type of product from a competitor?
Why did your customers choose you? And/or your product?
What emotional benefit do they get from owning your product?
How do they buy it?
Where can they buy your product on the Internet?
When are they most likely to think about buying your product?

If you don't know the answers to these questions, ask your clients. Use surveymonkey.com to easily create a free online survey. Ideally, you can contact each respondent and explore their answers in more details.

What you're looking for are things that had your existing client choose you, so you can consciously incorporate those things in your marketing.

The answers your clients give to these questions will apply equally well to people who aren't already clients, but who are in your target market.

You also need to know where you're most likely to find your target market on the Internet. This may take time to understand properly. You may have to run many tests, tracking results over several months to truly understand where your pound is best invested.

Target marketing and testing is money well spent. It's far better to fail 4 times, and understand why you succeeded on the 5th, that it is to succeed 5 times with no idea why.

If you properly track your results, understand which ratios must improve, and then improve them, you have won your success through knowledge.

This is the heart and soul of wildly successful marketing.

In the part 8 we'll look at how to define a new target market with lead generation in mind.

SEO Case Study - The singing waiters conundrum

2009-12-22T09:52:00.001Z

What do you do when a client wants to rank for the keyword "singing waiters", but doesn't want to be thought of as a singing waiters company? Here's the crux of it...

The client offers a wide variety of different entertainment acts
Lesser companies may provide nothing more than singing waiters
The client wants to rank for the term singing waiters because it's a term people know and use
The client isn't (at first glance) happy to add many of the things needed to get the site ranked for the term (because that sends the wrong message from a positioning perspective)

Fun and games!

Fortunately, there is a simple solution. All we had to do was talk about how the client offered so much more than singing waiters. You can see an example of that here.

This is part of a larger, more challenging SEO project. This isn't the last you'll be hearing about the work I'm doing for that company. There are some interesting SEO challenges to come, which I'll document in this blog.

Target Marketing: The web marketing process (part 6)

2009-12-16T13:50:00.002Z

This article is part 6 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 5 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

Target marketing is an important component in the web marketing process. It has two practical applications in lead generation...

It improves your conversion ratios
It helps you find good places to advertise

It improves your conversion ratios by helping you find people already predisposed to respond to your offer.

Improving conversion ratios, even by a small amount, has a drastic impact on your sales. For example...

Image all 3 of our conversion ratios are 1 in 10 as follows...

1,000 visitors become...
100 leads, which become...
10 appointments, which become...
1 sale

Thanks to target marketing, we manage to improve our ratios to 1.5 in 10 as follows...

1,000 visitors become...
150 leads, which become...
23 appointments, which become...
3 sales

We've tripled our sales via a tiny improvement in our conversion ratios. And lest you think an increase from 10% to 15% is unlikely, I achieved an improvement of 628% by changing 4 words in a letter, and applying bold and underline to them.

This change to a direct mail letter was designed to appeal directly to a specific target market. The bold and underline helped make the words stand out.

That's what proper target marketing will do for you. And why tracking your results is essential (i.e. so you know whether or not your changes have worked).

Target marketing helps you find good places to advertise because you better understand where your best prospects are likely to hang out online, and what they're looking for.

This also improves your conversion ratios, because it helps you find people who are ready to say yes.

Gaining a proper understanding of your target market, and what they do on the Internet, is an essential part of setting your objectives.

For example, a stamp collecting web site might convert 1 in 50 visitors sent from AdWords. The same sales copy might convert 1 in 20 visitors from an ad placed on a specialist web site.

Why? Because the specialist site already attracts the very people you're looking for.

These people are more likely to understand why they're clicking on your ad. And the benefits offered by your product or service.

What's more, properly understanding the target market offers another benefit. It helps you to construct a more attractive offer. One that is more likely to excite your target market.

Objectives: The web marketing process (part 5)

2009-12-01T10:52:00.018Z

This article is part 5 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 4 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

In parts 2-4 we looked at setting objectives for a web marketing campaign. In particular, we found out how to use the resulting information to find the number of visitors needed to achieve the campaign revenue target.

A Campaign Plan is an essential component of The Web Marketing Process. In fact, another way to think about The Web Marketing Process, is to view it as the section headings of a marketing plan. Click the following link and download section one of The Web Marketing Process Campaign Plan (free PDF, no email address required).

Once you have the Campaign Plan displayed in a browser, I suggest you print a copy for yourself so you can refer to it easily throughout the rest of this article. If you find any of the following confusing, revist parts 2, 3 and 4 of this series.

This is section one of the Campaign Plan. As you progress through this article series, you'll be able to download other sections of the plan until you have a complete Campaign Planner.

Naturally, section one focuses on objectives and targeting. In this article, we'll look at objectives and move onto targeting in part 6 of The Web Marketing Process.

How to fill out the Campaign Plan:

Name:
You can call the campaign anything you like. Ideally the name should make it possible to tell one campaign from another. For example, if I was running a seminar on the 9th of December I might enter: Seminar 09/12

Start Date:
The date the campaign promotion starts. For example: 2/11/09

Budget:
The amount you're prepared to invest in promotional costs. For example, the amount you'll invest in advertising, copywriting, photography and whatever else you'll need. Example: £500

% ROI:
The desired return on your campaign budget. Example: 200%

Target Revenue:
The amount of your budget plus the return on that money. Example: £1,500 (£500 + £500 x 200%)

Average Income Per sale:
The amount you expect to make, on average, per sale from this campaign. Example: £150 and ticking (i.e. checking) the Net box

Sales Required:
The number of sales required to achieve the target revenue. This is the target revenue ÷ the average revenue per sale. Example: 10 (£1500 ÷ £150)

Appointments Per Sale:
The number of appointments needed, on average, to get 1 sale. If you don't know, start with a guess. Example: 4

Leads Per Appointment:
The number of leads needed to get one appointment. If you don't know, start with a guess. Example: 4

Visitors Per Lead:
The number of visitors needed to get one lead. Example: 28

Visitor Target:
The number of visitors needed to achieve the target revenue. This the visitors/lead x leads/appointment x appointments/sale x sales required. Example: 4,480 (28 x 4 x 4 x 10)

Budget/Visitor:
The amount of money I can afford to spend on each visitor. This is the budget ÷ visitor target. Example: £0.11 (500 ÷ 4480)

You should now be looking at the initial information you need to start your first campaign. As soon as you've completed the initial section of your Campaign Plan, you're ready to move onto part 6 in this series - Target Marketing.

Looking for something? A whole new way to search...

2009-11-29T13:17:00.004Z

I recently found a new search engine. This engine doesn't try to crawl the whole web, instead choosing to focus on social media sites. This tight focus allows it to return almost real-time information from sites such as Twitter.

This can be enormously useful at times, and I've just had occasion to be very grateful for this new engine. I wanted to get some new information about marketing with Facebook. Google, Bing and Yahoo all returned articles from their favoured sites. The same sites they always return with disheartening regularity.

This new search engine (Bliipa) returned an article published yesterday. I doubt I would have found this article had I used Twitter's own built-in search tool, as it gives prominence to the most recent tweets first. And in this category, there are too many tweets for it to show up a day later.

There's nothing wrong with the way the major search engines, or Twitters own search tools work. But they do sometimes make it harder to find what you're looking for.

Bliipa's focus on social media sites offers a greater degree of discrimination than other engines in this case. And pointed me at a wonderful article. Take Bliipa for a spin, and see what you can find.

Objectives: The web marketing process (part 4)

2009-11-27T18:12:00.009Z

This article is part 4 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 3 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

What can this Information Tell You?

In our example from parts 3, we expect to achieve the campaign target if we're able to send 1,980 people to the web site. But how likely is this?

Most business web sites already get visitors. Let's say our demo site gets 20 visitors per day, and that we plan to run our first campaign over a 30 day period.

That gets us 600 visitors that cost nothing. This means we have to find another 1,380 visitors from somewhere.

We have £1,000 to spend, which is a budget of 72 pence per lead. It might be possible to generate all 1,380 visitors using Google AdWords. It's worth checking with Google's KeyWord Analysis Tool to see whether or not this is likely.

The point is, we now know how much we can invest per lead. In the case of Google AdWords, you can set a maximum bid of 72 pence. You only pay per click, which ensures the campaign will come in on budget.

If your ratios are too conservative, you'll beat your target ROI. If they're too optimistic, you won't achieve your target. Once the results are in, you can use the hard data you've collected to adjust the ratios you're using.

Over time, you'll find you get better and better at accurately predicting the outcome of a campaign.

You can even use this data to predict whether or not any given advertising is likely to pay off. This alone can save you thousands of pounds by telling you when advertising is too expensive for your particular campaign.

Doing the Math

The campaign budgets and ratios I've described here can easily be tracked using a spreadsheet. In fact, the maths is so simple it can easily be tracked on paper. Another alternative is to use a campaign calculator.

A better approach is to create a plan for each campaign you do. In part 5, you'll find a handly campaign plan you can fill out and use as a basis for your next web marketing campaign. It contains everything you need to plan the Objectives phase of a campaign.

Backlink Builder - The uber useful SEO tool

2009-11-26T11:58:00.002Z

There are 3 main tasks in SEO. They are research, content optimization and backlink building. The last (backlink building) is by far the most difficult. It requires a combination of dogged determination and endless patience.

One of the main challenges is finding places willing to link back to your site. It can take hours (literally) of searching to find a single site that...

Will publish a one-way link to your site
Is actually worth getting a link from

Fortunately, help is at hand. A handy SEO tool called Backlink Builder does much of the hard work for you. Simply enter a keyword phrase into its Keyword box, and click the Submit button.

Backlink builder then searches a wide variety of sites that accept new links, and are willing to do so using the keyword you specify (i.e. a contextual link). It then returns hundreds of candidates within minutes, saving you hours of "search and explore" misery.

Going Local with SEO

2009-11-25T07:06:00.002Z

There are times when a website owner is better off avoiding the most popular keywords. By focussing on geographically targeted local keywords, a business owner...

Saves money
Saves time
Is more likely to succeed

This Battersea Dentist is a case in point. They're better off competing for the modest keyword phrase Battersea Dentist than more contested terms such as London Dentist or cosmetic dentistry. Here's why...

The client has a limited budget
There isn't the funds to engage in link-building activity
People entering "Battersea Dentist" into search engines are likely to be very good prospects
Some people use this term will need a dentist immediately

In other words, this is a term appropriate to the client. They can compete for it, and are highly likely to secure new clients as a result.

As the competition for keywords grows, geotargeted locally-orientated SEO is likely to gain traction.

Measuring Social Media

2009-11-24T11:44:00.009Z

Measurement is at the heart of all successful direct marketing. The same goes for web marketing. If you can't measure it, how do you know it's working?

Social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) presents some interesting challenges when it comes to measurement. These challenges are generally thought to be unique to the medium.

This article on MediaPost purports to provide 100 ways to measure social media. It makes for interesting reading, and may well present a convincing argument to many. Anybody with a background in direct marketing, and a healthy disrespect for the way brand advertising is measured, will immediately recognise social media measures for what they are.

I do think you can measure social media. The things you can measure are the things you've always been able to measure. All you need is a way to track your content. And on the web, tracking can be automated from the initial content through to a sale. As a result, you can easily measure...

Number of visitors
Number of responses
Number of sales
Revenue
Costs
Net profit

Everything else occurs to me as an attempt to grab hold of smoke, and throw it in the eyes of the people paying the bill. That article I linked to above suggests a measure called buzz. But what does "buzz" actually mean? What does it tell you? How does it relate to profit? How is a "shift in buzz over time" useful in a financial sense? How do I relate it to the things that matter in business. Why is a "shift in buzz" a signal that my social media activity is helping the business?

I'm a sometimes crotchety direct marketer from way back, and all this talk of abstract measures remind me of "top of mind" and "share of mind". I think measuring "buzz" is a waste of time, useful only to ad agencies seeking to justify large bills and line managers with an eye on building an empire.

Objectives: The web marketing process (part 3)

2009-11-23T16:17:00.011Z

This article is part 3 of a series. You'll find part one here. And part 2 here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

In part 2 we looked at...

You have a budget of X dollars
You're looking to generate a return on that budget of Y percent
You expect to earn Z dollars per sale

You can use this information to work out how many visitors you need to get to your site to achieve your web marketing revenue target. Here's how...

Number of sales required:

If our revenue target is £1,100, and we expect to make £100 per sale, we need to make 11 sales. That's...

£1,100 ÷ £100 = 11.

Now we can take that figure, and estimate the number of appointments we'll need to achieve the desired return on investment.

Number of appointments needed:

Most of us probably have a rough idea of how many people we have to see to make one sale. If you don't know, start with a conservative ratio such as one in 10.

You can then adjust it as the results come in, and you get a better idea of how many appointments your company converts. In the case of our example, let's go with a conversion rate of 1 in 3. So we expect to make 1 sale per 3 appointments.

That means we need 33 appointments to reach our target ROI. Why? Because we need 11 sales, and we have to see 3 people to get 1 sale.

11 sales x 3 people = 33 appointments in total.

The next step is to find the number of leads needed to generate 1 appointment...

Number of leeds needed:

We now know we need 33 appointments to achieve our desired ROI. Let's look at how many leads we need to generate, to reach the required 33 appointments.

If you don't know your current leads to appointment ratio, use a conservative one in 10.

For the purposes of our example, let's go with one in 3. That is, we need 3 leads to make one appointment.

This tells us we need 99 leads to reach our target ROI (3 leads x 33 appointments).

From this figure, we can work out how many visitors we need to send to the web site to achieve the desired ROI in your Internet Marketing campaign.

Number of visitors needed:

The next ratio we need to know is the number of visitors required to generate 1 lead.

If you don't know this ratio, use a conservative one in 100. For the purposes of our example, let's go with 1 in 20. That's 20 visitors to get 1 lead.

This tells us we need to send 1,980 visitors to the site to achieve our campaign target of £1,100 (99 leads x 20 visitors).

The Ratio Recap

Let's take a look at our objectives and ratios from scratch...

We set a campaign budget of £1,000.
Our target return on investment is 10%.
Our campaign objective is to earn £1,100.
Our average income per sale is £100.
This means we have to make 11 sales to achieve the campaign objective of £1,100.
We expect to convert 1 appointment in 3 into a sale. So we need 33 appointments to achieve the campaign objective.
We expect to convert 1 lead in 3 into an appointment. So we need 99 appointments to achieve the campaign objective.
We expect to convert 1 visitor in 20 into a lead. So we need to send 1,980 visitors to the site to achieve the campaign objective.

Your ratios may start out as guesses. Once you've completed the first campaign, you'll have real ratios for the next lead generation campaign. Over time, your ratios will become more and more accurate. This is why I describe the web marketing process as a virtuous circle.

In the next part, we'll look at why this information is useful and what it can tell in advance of campaign (i.e. how it can save you money and eliminate mistakes).

I didn't mean that!

2009-11-22T18:32:00.005Z

Human beings do it all the time. We say one thing, and mean another. Of course, it's not usually a problem. Whether intentional or not, there are times when every one of us has fallen fowl of the ability to assemble words that can be taken the wrong way.

It can even be funny. Consider the unintended humour in these signs (all seen by me in various places around the world)...

No standing at any time (a no parking sign)
This door is alarmed
Do not use lift (elevator) in case of fire
Cyclists use left shoulder

Unintended humour can also be a problem if it crops up in your advertising. Especially if it has you insult your target market, or lead to a PR blunder.

The only way to avoid such mistakes, is to have several people check your copy before it goes. And these people must be in your target market. That way, you avoid making a mistake through ignorance (e.g. not knowing a particular word has a different meaning among your target audience).

You'll also help your cause if you make sure every sentence you write contains only one sentence. Keep your eyes peeled for sentences that feature semi colons, or more than 2 commas.

Objectives: The web marketing process (part 2)

2009-11-20T19:09:00.017Z

This article is part 2 of a series. You'll find part one here.

Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

The key to success in web marketing is the objectives you set. As the saying goes, if you set out to achieve nothing, you'll probably succeed. I'm the sort of person who considers such sentiments to be nice in a theoretical way, but of little practical use. Especially when I'm busy.

Fortunately, in the web marketing process there are concrete benefits to be had from your objectives. The main benefit is that you'll make more money. Here's why...

You know exactly how many visitors you need to get to your site to reach your profit target
You know how much money you can invest to reach your profit target
If the amount you can invest won't deliver your target, you don't spend
If the amount you can invest delivers more than your target, you can reduce the investment (e.g. if it's needed for other things)
As your ratios improve (over time) you'll develop the ability to determine, in advance, whether or not any given paid advertising is likely to return a profit
You find out where you need to promote to best reach your target audience (get more from every dollar you invest)

I suppose a cynical person may feel it all sounds too good to be true. Let's get started, then you can see for yourself that setting objectives within the web marketing process is both useful and practical.

Your Campaign Budget:

First things first – how much money are you prepared to invest in your next marketing campaign?

If you're brand new to marketing, you may not be sure what you're willing to invest. In some ways, it doesn't really matter for your first campaign, as long as you can afford to lose the money.

The plain fact is, when a person starts out in web marketing, there's a good chance the campaign will make a loss. Consider any such loss to be an investment in your web marketing education.

For now, it's far more important that you pick an amount you can afford. Don't waste time trying to figure out what the 'correct' amount to invest might be.

Your Desired ROI (return on investment):

I take the view that marketing campaigns are investments. I expect them to deliver a return, and I like to set a specific target ROI. Here's how that looks using example data...

Campign budget: £1,000
Desired ROI: 10%
Target revenue: £1,100

As you can see, in this example I'm aiming to turn £1,000 into £1,100. Most of my campaigns run for 30 days, so that's 10% per month – a lot better than the return offered by my bank.

Average Income per Sale:

The average income per sale is the amount of money you expect to earn, on average, from each product sold during the campaign.

If possible, use your company's net profit on the product being sold. This net profit figure should exclude the cost of the campaign itself. Why? Because that's already covered by the campaign budget.

Let's Recap:

You have a budget of X dollars
You're looking to generate a return on that budget of Y percent
You expect to earn Z dollars per sale

With these 3 figures, you can work out everything you need to know about your campaign. In particular, you can find out how many visitors you need to visit your web site to achieve the target ROI.

Sound good? In the next instalment, we'll take a look at how to do just that.

SEO Case Study - Pension Cash

2009-11-19T13:09:00.009Z

The term pension cash attracts around 8,000 searches/month here in the UK. It's a lucrative term at the moment, due to an upcoming deadline that pushes up the age a UK resident can withdraw tax-free money from their pension.

Independent Financial Advisers 1stFF asked me if I could get them to the top of Google, so they could reach people interested in withdrawing pension cash. 1stFF CEO Yash Tosar is especially concerned about people who like the idea of tax-free money, and didn't understand the implications of simply helping themselves.

In other words, he's on a mission to save UK pension-holders from themselves (and a certain kind of financial adviser).

So I started the process, and had a look at whether or not anybody in the UK was actually using Google to find out about withdrawing cash from their pension. They are, and the aforementioned term 'pension cash' is the term we settled on (i.e. tight focus).

The company's main site had a few issues in SEO terms, and we opted to set up a separate sub-domain that included the main keyword phrase. In this case: pension-cash.1stff.com.

This wasn't necessary for SEO purposes, but for something else the site has to do (lead generation). I wanted to implement something special (not yet live) that wasn't possible on the company's main site. This required a special CMS that has advanced tracking and lead generation features built in.

Of course, in SEO terms it doesn't hurt to have a domain that includes your main keyword phrase. Having said that, it's initially easier to push an older site up Google's results pages.

I've literally just removed the robots.txt file that tells Google not to index the site, and added it to my Google webmaster account. As I write this, the site should appear in Google's index sometime over the next 2-5 days.

To help Google index the site correctly (i.e. the way I want it to), I've done the following...

Selected a specific keyword phrase for each of the main pages
Included the keyword phrase in the title of each page
Included the keyword phrase in the headline (h1 tag) of each page
Included the keyword phrase in the meta keyword list and description tags
Used a keyword density tool to ensure the main keyword phrase appears in sufficient quantity, and that the meta keyword tag contains useful words from the page's content (versus a pointless wish-list)
Used internal contextual links to reinforce the main keyword phrase I want associated with the site's main pages
Established 5 external inbound contextual links to reinforce the main keyword phrase I want associated with the site's homepage (pension cash)

As the term pension cash attracts over 8,000 searches/month in the UK, this won't be enough to get the site into the top 3. Especially as Google will deem it to be a brand new site. I'll have to establish more external inbound contextual links, and add more content to the site over time.

Never-the-less, the site is starting off on the right foot.

The Web Marketing Process (part 1)

2009-11-17T15:09:00.019Z

This is part 1 of a series of articles. Get live updates as each new part is released: Follow on Twitter.

The Web Marketing Process contains 5 steps, each working together to deliver ever more profitable campaigns. The 5 steps are..

Objectives
Visitors
Leads
Follow up
Report

The web marketing process is a virtuous circle. Each step contributes something essential to the one that follows.

The 5th step contributes crucial information that feeds back into step one of the next campaign.

The web marketing process is the key to success that drives all wildly successful online marketing campaigns. And it's the best way for you to build an enormous competitive advantage. Let's take a look at each step now...

Step One: Objectives

In step one, you state your desired return on investment (i.e. profit). You then work backwards to determine how many visitors you have to send to your site to achieve your target. I'll explain how to do this in a future blog entry.

You also define your target market(s) in step one. This information is essential to the success of step two (and the rest of the campaign).

Practical target marketing also pays off in step three, and is the subject of a future article in this blog.

Step Two: Visitors

Getting visitors to your site is essential to your web marketing success. The questions you'll need to answer are...

What sort of visitors do you want?
Where do they hang out on the Internet?
Where do they hang out offline?
What's the best source of visitors for this specific campaign?
How much money do you have to play with?
What can you do if you don't have enough money?

This is where proper target marketing really pays off. As you can see, there's a lot to getting visitors to your site. I'll look at a number of different ways to get targeted visitors to your site, including SEO marketing, in a series of future blog articles.

Step Three: Leads

Getting visitors to your site is essential, but it's not an end unto itself. The web marketing process is about making money. To do that, you have to convert visitors into leads.

Put another way, step three is about lead generation. The key components in lead generation are...

Landing page
The offer
Copywriting
Conversion

There's a lot more to lead conversion than meets the eye. Once again, I'll take a specific look at the tips, tricks and techniques of lead generation in a future article.

Step Four: Follow up

Now that you have leads, it's time to work on the sale. This involves follow up. For most businesses, a systematised customer relationship management (CRM) system is worth its weight in gold.

Naturally, it all works far better if you're following a plan that started way back when you first defined your target market. What's more, your offer and call-to-action (conversion) in step three ought to be integrated with and support your follow-up process.

The end result of the follow up process must be either a 'yes' (i.e. a sale) or a 'no' (i.e. no sale). You can't progress to the final step until you've forced each prospect to make a decision.

Step Five: Reporting

The web marketing process doesn't end with the sale. This is a virtuous circle. The fifth step is designed to provide essential information for step one of your next campaign.

In particular, you're going to want to know whether or not you achieved the profit and visitor targets you set in step one. In addition, you'll need to look at the following...

The results of any split testing (e.g. an A/B test on your offer, or copy, or call-to-action)
The actual ratios achieved in steps 2 and 3 versus the ones you used in step one
Anything else you were testing (e.g. different visitor sources)

This data is then fed back into step one, and used in the next campaign. Over time, your ratios become incredibly accurate. It becomes possible to predict, accurately and in advance, whether any given advertising is likely to deliver your profit target. This alone is an enormous competitive advantage, and will save you thousands of dollars.

That's the power of the web marketing process. You'll find specific and detailed information about each of 5 steps in an upcoming series of articles. They're to be published right here in this blog, and the first is due out soon.

How to do SEO Keyword Research

2009-08-11T19:15:00.005+01:00

Search engine optimisation starts with keyword research. Your goal is to find the best possible keyword phrases, and optimise your site to index effectively for those terms.

What is a Keyword?

A keyword is a term entered into a search engine by people looking to find a specific type of website. For example, a person entering the keyword phrase 'sewing machines' is looking for a website about sewing machines.

The first stage in keyword research is to find out which terms people are entering into search engines when they're trying to find a site like yours. This is achieved with the help of a keyword discovery tool.

Make your Keyword Shortlist:

Some people try to optimise their site for every possible keyword phrase. This can't work, because of the way a search engine works.

The second stage in keyword research is to make a shortlist. Your goal is to find 3-5 keywords, and optimize your web page for them. There are many reasons why you might prefer one keyword over another...

More people enter it into search engines
Fewer people enter it into search engines (i.e. easier to achieve the #1 spot)
It will attract more targeted visitors
It's a term known only to insiders, and these are the people you want to reach

The more focused a web page is, the easier it will be to create a shortlist.

One of the most useful tools for creating a shortlist is Google's Keyword Analysis Tool.

This tool tells you how many people are searching on your keyword phrases, and how expensive it is to buy clicks in AdWords for those terms. It can also handle multiple keywords at once.

Once you have your keyword shortlist, it's time to optimize your site content. Find out how to optimise site content in The DIY Guide to SEO.

Web Marketing Talk - Brand New Internet Marketing Forum

2009-08-03T21:20:00.001+01:00

Be among the first to register with the newest web marketing forum on the Internet. Web Marketing Talk discusses web marketing, SEO, lead generation and social media marketing, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Whether you're interested in building a reputation, helping others, or getting your questions answered - Web Marketing Talk is the place to go.

68 Lead Generation, Social Media Marketing, SEO, Copy Writing and Web Marketing Articles

2009-08-02T09:28:00.003+01:00

This article marketing page contains 68 original articles (by me) about Internet marketing, copywriting, lead generation, search engine optimization and social media marketing.

Here's a sample of the topics on offer...

Is there SEO value in Social Bookmarking?
How to charge more for your product or service
How to overcome human inertia in lead generation
Get more sales from ad copy
Press Release tips
Online marketing with social media
Lead generation's deadly sins
The power of 'you' in online advertising

Click through, have a look around, and bookmark the page.

The DIY Guide to SEO

2009-07-29T15:41:00.033+01:00

NOTE: The DIY Guide to SEO is now available to the public, and even has its own website. Click here.

The DIY Guide to SEO covers absolutely everything you need to know about search engine optimisation...

How to get to page one as fast as possible
Where to find the best free SEO tools on the web, and what to do with them
How to alter your site's structure and content to perform in search engines
Best of all - this in-depth guide shows you how to get good quality SEO backlinks

The DIY Guide to SEO gives you deeply practical information. It doesn't gloss over key tasks with a few vague tips. And it eliminates all the fluff and padding normally found in these things. It gets right to the point, and delivers the SEO information you need to know.

So how can you get your hands on a copy? Click here, fill out the form, and ask me to send you a copy as soon as it's published (14 August, 2009).

How to get in-depth attitudinal information about your target market totally free of charge

2009-07-26T09:37:00.004+01:00

Target marketing is the critical success factor in any promotion. Your ability to get attitudinal information about your desired audience greatly improves your odds of running a successful campaign.

It's now possible to get hold of such information free of charge. What's more, you can go as deep as you like (the deeper you go, the more powerful your promotion will be).

This article explains how to get attitudinal market research data on your desired audience.

SEO Case Study: The outplacement strategy

2009-07-24T13:51:00.011+01:00

Recently I was asked to get an Outplacement site to page one of Google. After a keyword and competitor analysis, I judged it was possible to get to position #6 on page one for this term.

There is a lot of competition for the main keyword (outplacement), and getting to page one will be a real challenge. Here's a run-down of the strategy...

The Strategy:

The current economic environment means there is a lot of demand for this service, and that's reflected in the competition for the term in Google. What's more, the site itself contains only 2 indexable pages.

The amount of competition, lack of content, and the fact the site is a sub-domain of the main cimpany site work together to create an interesting challenge.

The site already has a Google sitemap, and is registered to my Webmaster account. It also appears in Google's index. There are now enough one-way contextual back links for me to know that getting to page one for a term like 'outplacement' requires some work.

The Solution:

This brings you up-to-date with developments so far. The solution for this Outplacement site is to...

Hunt down and obtain as many high-quality back links as possible
Create 6 new pages for the site and put them live over a 12 day period (one per 2 days)

The process of finding good quality sites to obtain back-links from is much easier when you have a resource that does all the hard work for you. The one I use is free, and can be found here.

Generating 6 pages worth of content isn't difficult either, at least in terms of what can be added to the site. Examples of potential additional content are...

Tips for coping with redundancy
One or more case studies that illustrate the process and its benefits
A comparison of the different types of outplacement provided
A free downloadable resource pack for companies thinking about outplacement
Tips for how to handle outplacement (e.g. 10 outplacement dos and don'ts)

In this particular case, I can't simply generate content and add it to the site. The company has to decide if they're happy to go ahead with this approach. Then the content has to be approved. Such is the reality of SEO for a third party.

The way forward is crystal clear. Search engines don't currently believe the site has much to offer. More content is require before the site will move up the search engine results pages. And one-way inbound contextual links are needed to add to the sites PageRank and trust.

Are you interested to hear what a Google insider has to say about PageRank and trust? Take a look at this useful blog entry by Matt Cutts.

Everything you need to know about Inbound Links for SEO

2009-07-24T07:23:00.026+01:00

This article has since been incorporated into The DIY Guide to SEO, an in-depth explanation of the entire SEO process.

Most of us have some awareness of the importance of external inbound links in SEO (Search Engine Optimization). As a general rule of thumb, inbound links are good.

From the search engine's perspective, a link back to a page on your site is a vote of confidence in the content it contains. The more 'votes' you get, the better your site must be.

When a search engine is assessing the relative value of a site, it looks at the number, reciprocation, quality, speed and context of inbound links.

The Number of Inbound Links:

There are 2 factors to consider when looking at the number of inbound links...

Overall volume
Number of individual domains

A single site might generate a vast number of links back to yours. These links will all originate from the same domain (the main part of a site's URL - for example: asureimage.com). Having a large number of links from a single domain isn't going to help much. What you need is a large number of inbound links from different domains.

You can find both the number and quality of inbound links to your site with this free backlink analyser. The resulting list makes for very interesting reading.

Reciprocation:

If I link to your site and you link back to mine, it's clear that something is up. Either we've made a deal, or you're using a link exchange program. Search engines discount the value of reciprocal links.

Swapping links isn't the way to get to page one of Google. It's a much better idea to focus on securing a one-way inbound link from a quality site.

The Quality of Inbound Links:

Not all inbound links are created equal. For example, Google assigns a PageRank score to every site on the Internet. The higher the score, the more value a link conveys.

There many ways to find out what a site's PageRank score is. My favourite is via the Google Toolbar. Click the link, and install it to your browser. Then activate the PageRank score in the options...

Click the 'Settings' menu on the far right-hand side
Select 'Options'
Click the 'More' tab and check (tick) the PageRank option

Once it's up and running in your browser, you'll see the PageRank score displayed for every individual web page you visit.

Contextual Linking:

In addition to the quality of an inbound link, search engines also assess their context. This context is taken from the link's anchor text (the clickable text in a link). For example...

This isn't a contextual link
This is a contextual link

The first example isn't contextual, because the clickable text doesn't relate to the page it links to. The second is contextual, because it relates directly to the content of the resulting page.

You can shape Google's view of what a page is about by paying attention to the anchor text in a link. If it contains an important keyword phrase, Google will start to associate that phrase with the page. Naturally, the page you're linking to must also have that keyword in the title, headline and content.

This is where focussing on a single keyword pays off. Rather than trying to get a site or page ranked highly for several keywords, pick one and use it to build inbound contextual links. It's important you include a variety of non-contextual and alternative links too. Your link building must appear natural to search engines.

The Speed of your Link Building:

If your site picks up 1,000 inbound links overnight, search engines will regard that as suspicious. This is why it's essential that your link building take place over a period of time. That way, it will look like people out in the world are linking back to your content (i.e. growth appears natural).

This is almost certainly a reaction to link farms and other such sites that promise to get you many links in a short space of time. You're better off doing this yourself, adding one new quality inbound contextual link each day for 2-3 months.

How to find sites that can give you Quality Inbound Links:

The main challenge in securing quality inbound links is finding good sites. This free backlink checker does an excellent job (they could easily charge money).

Simply enter the keyword phrase you're interested in, and click the button. It searches the web and returns a list of likely candidates (i.e. fit the keyword phrase and appear to allow you to add a link back to your site). You can then visit any site you're interested in by clicking it's link.

Not all these sites will be suitable, but a surprising number are. It's likely there will be too many to deal with all at once, so save the web page to your desktop. That way, you can work through the list over time, adding one new inbound link per day.

NEW INFO: You can take this strategy one step further by entering a targeted keyword in Google, and note down the URLs of the top 3 sites. Then visit Backlink Watch and enter these URLs. It will display a list of sites from which you can get back links, and that are already helping your leading competitors.

Target Marketing - The Critical Success Factor

2009-07-23T22:25:00.012+01:00

Every now and then I'll meet somebody with a fairly low opinion of marketing. Such people seem to love nothing more than sharing their cock-eyed view of the world.

Recently I had the 'good' fortune to be trapped with just such a person. He proceeded to tell me that targeting was a load of rubbish. His particular approach to marketing is as follows...

My product is marketed at everybody
I don't want to risk losing a sale by excluding someone
If they're alive and have money in their pocket, they're in my target market

This person is certain he's never made a profit on any advertising he's ever bought. Naturally, he blames the advertising rather than himself. Naturally, he has no data to back up his claims. And naturally he thinks marketing is a scam.

What's interesting to me about this person is how his comments about target marketing illustrate why his advertising efforts have failed.

His unwillingness to consider the purpose of a target market is the very thing that makes his advertising ineffective. The plain fact is, ad copy can't be powerful if it isn't written with its intended audience in mind.

The things you need to say to get a 50 year old excited about your product are different to those needed when talking to teens.

Knowing who your target market is makes life much easier. Here's a list of everything it can tell you...

Where to advertise:
If your target market consists of single parents, you can use Google to find the sites they already visit
How to write copy:
If your market is young urban teens in the UK, it's useful to write the way they speak
What to offer:
Once you know where they hang out online, you can observe what they're interested in. This research will help you construct a powerful offer
How to set the price:
Find out what they're already buying, and price accordingly
Affiliate opportunities:
In your online travels you'll come across plenty of sites that market complimentary products. Touch base, and discuss joint-marketing opportunities. Twitter can help you find and build these types of relationship
Social media:
Some target markets are very active in certain social media. This can help put you in touch with your market, and is an excellent way to observe your market and gain a deep understand of what motivates them
Lead generation:
Lead generation only works when you have powerful copy and a compelling offer. Without a clearly defined target market, lead generation will fail (as will direct sales)

The importance of target marketing can't be overstated. Every marketing activity ought to flow from target market. When the audience is well defined, and properly understood, everything seems obvious and simply falls into place.

Relationship and Referral Marketing with Twitter? Here's how...

2009-07-22T14:02:00.013+01:00

A client and I have been discussing the use of Twitter in online marketing over the last week. Today, this client came up with a brilliant new way to put it to use. Here's a quick run-down on the background...

One of their target markets is brides (they provide wedding entertainment for receptions and/or parties)
We ran an experiment to see whether or not it's possible to find brides using Twitter
While we attracted many companies seeking the same market, Twitter didn't send us many brides (i.e. they're not using Twitter to look for information about weddings)

I was discussing the outcome of this experiment with Claire Park of Incognito Artists, and we both agreed that Twitter wasn't likely to be a useful source of leads. Despite this, there are 2 things Twitter did well...

It was a quick and low cost way to test the potential of the market
It built a list of potential future alliances (i.e. complimentary suppliers)

1. Market Testing with Twitter

Twitter isn't a replacement for full-blown market research. What it offers is an approximation of likely behaviour over a very short period of time (48 hours in this case), at no additional cost.

What is obvious from the followers we picked up, is that many complementary businesses are using Twitter. And that it probably is a useful tool for building alliances. It was Claire that spotted the opportunity to use Twitter as a way of developing mutually beneficial relationships as follows...

The company's Twitter page attracts followers over time
Most of these followers will be companies looking to supply complimentary services to the same market segment
We make contact with these companies, offer to post a free tweet on their page, and ask if there's anything special they'd like us to post
We retweet when they post something useful or interesting

This use of Twitter can be further refined to ensure we pick up the right companies...

Schedule tweets to go out only during UK business hours
Tweets are crafted to include the targeted company's name and the primary keyword relating to that topic

The objective then, is to use Twitter as a means of forging a relationship with those company's likely to be in a position to refer their clients on to Incognito Artists. As a supplier of wedding entertainment, this company is often one of the last to be booked. Everybody else in the supply chain is generally called up first. And that makes almost everybody a potential source of referrals.

To put it another way, Twitter can be used as a B2B relationship marketing and referral tool.

9 Brilliant Sites for Article Marketing

2009-07-21T21:05:00.011+01:00

Of all the people that can make use of article marketing, it's the DIY SEO crowd who stand to gain the most. In particular, article marketing offers these 2 key benefits...

You get inbound contextual links
You send visitors direct to one or more web sites under your control

The first benefit is of particular significance to search engine optimisers. Not only is a contextual link one of the most powerful tools in our toolbox, it will sit on a highly focused web page that contains content directly related to the web page it's linking to.

The cherry on the top is that the page itself will be allocated to a relevant category. The title tag and page name may also conform to best SEO practice (especially if you construct your headline carefully).

All these factors work together to make it highly likely your article will be index well for several long tail keyword searches. And if you want to, you can add it to a virtuous SEO circle and derive additional benefits.

The plain fact is, article marketing and SEO work well together. If you can put together half-decent copy, article marketing is something worth investigating. And to get you started, here are 9 of my favourite article marketing and content sharing sites...

Ezine Articles
Buzzle
Easy Articles
Go Articles
Junta42 (content sharing)
DropJack (content sharing)
Article Alley
Delicious (content sharing)
Technorati (blog search engine)

Even better, here's another content sharing site I've thrown in as an extra bonus: Stumble Upon. 'Stumbling' is a fantastic way to discover new content on the web, and share you own articles (or videos or photos) with others.

Each of these sites has something unique to offer you. For example, Ezine Articles attracts high Google ranking, and a lot of visitors every day. Go Articles gets your content online quickly. Junta42 and DropJack will send you traffic.

Content sharing sharing sites help you to tell others about the article you've just written. These sites tend to rely on voting, and it's possible to work in conjunction with others to get more attention for your articles (and give your virtuous SEO circle a boost).

How to Create Link Bait

2009-07-21T17:14:00.008+01:00

Link bait is the creation of something so useful, funny or important that other people want to link to it. It might be...

Information
A video
A slide show
A photo
A resource

Link bait is useful in SEO, because it's a way to attract external inbound links. Most links to your site won't have sufficient PageRank to make a significant impression on your Google ranking (unless you're nowhere near the top). But every now and then, the right kind of link bait will attract a link from a significant player.

That one link can make all the difference, and see your site shoot up the listings.

The question is, how can you create something that is link worthy? If you're good at creating information, work on an article. Not just any article, but one of enormous interest to your target market. Something thorough, comprehensive, and too complex and awesome to copy.

If you're a videographer, get your camera out and start working on something useful to your target market. In this case, your target market is people who might link to you. This video has to be good, and feature something other people will feel compelled to share.

If you're a whizz on Power Point, create the presentation to end all presentations. Then upload it to Slideshare. This presentation has to wow everybody that looks at it. Be sure to include many things that surprise and delight your intended target audience.

If you're a talented photographer, perhaps you have or can take a photo that gets people talking. This is definitely the road to go down if you're marketing to other photographers. Use a service such as Flickr to display the photo.

Can you create a web utility (i.e. resource) of use to the people you're targeting? If you create something spectacular, people will tell others. If it's a web-based application, that's even better. It will sit on your site, and others will have no choice but to link to it.

Remember, whatever you produce, it has to be so good that people want to share it.

Can You Help Start the Ball Rolling?

Now that you've created your link bait, it's time to get the ball rolling. Popular bloggers are the key to getting the word out.

Your objective is to get links from influential Bloggers that already have the very audience you're hoping to reach. You want these Bloggers to link back to the web page that contains your creation. Here's how...

Make a list of every Blog that focuses on your target audience. You can find them by typing appropriate key words into Google, Bing and Yahoo Search. Note down the top 6 blogs
Visit each Blog on your list and see what their PageRank is. Install the Google toolbar to find each Blog's PageRank. Eliminate the half with the lowest PageRank, and find the name and email address of the remaining Blog owners
Email each Blog owner individually, describe what you've created, who it's aimed at, and what it does. Do not describe it as 'link bait'. Include a link to your creation, and invite the Blog owner to review it and/or respond back to you with an opinion
Visit these Blogs and see whether or not you've succeeded in getting linked. A link from even one of these sites is worth the effort in terms of the trust it earns you with Google. You'll find more people visiting your site, and so linking to it

You can probably come up with several other lists of Blogs by varying your key words. It also pays to use Google's Keyword Analysis Tool to find the most frequently searched key words.

The more searches there are, the more link juice you'll get flowing in your direction.

Is Social Media Marketing a House Built on Hype?

2009-07-21T09:27:00.012+01:00

I read a very interesting article in Online Media Daily that asked the question "Do social media 'experts' overestimate their abilities?"

Now I simply must make something clear. I very much enjoyed the article, but take issue with some of the observations made. So the following may come across as a bit of a rant. Nether-the-less, I want to stick up for those of us in marketing who prefer reality over fluff.

The article has particularly interesting comments to make about the ability of social media experts to measure the success (or failure) of their work. And notes the lack of confidence expressed by advocates for social media marketing. For example, a survey of social media experts found their own confidence in their ability to measure results is 4.5 on a scale of 1-10.

That embarrassingly low score is then described as 'ambitious'. In other words, they're even worse at measurement than they think they are.

The article then goes on to play down the usefulness of the metrics we online marketing types typically rely on (e.g. click rates, registrations and impressions). I'm a direct marketer by trade, and this derision of a metric that measures what actually happened gets me all hot under the collar.

The article suggests that social media marketing folk ought to turn to measures that deal with opinion, mood and preference over reality (my choice of word).

In my experience, the very market research being recommended is where all of marketing's fluff and nonsense is typically found. Perhaps I'm too one-eyed and narrow of vision to understand such high and lofty principles as 'engagement beyond activity'. And I'm instantly suspicious of a phrase like 'sentiment map'. I tend to regard it in much the same way I would something squishy I'd just found on the under-soul of my shoe.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with relying on the results of actual behaviour (e.g. filling out a form and subscribing) over claimed behaviour. Or worse, intended behaviour. And the thing I detest most of all, is opinions garnered from focus groups. Here in the UK we have a term for the sort of people who have nothing better to do than take part in focus groups. We call them chavs.

There we go. Rant over.

Userful Search Engine Information about Bing - from Microsoft

2009-07-20T07:29:00.004+01:00

Have you ever wondered how SEO gurus and Bloggers get hold of their inside information? Sometimes it comes from in-depth Internet forum discussions that take place in the wee small hours. A lot of SEO information is discovered through testing. But not always...

From time-to-time, a search engine owner will release a document that gives significant clues to how one might go about SEO. The latest such document is from Microsoft, and naturally enough looks at Bing. Here's a link to download the document, and some other resources you might find useful...

Download the PDF
Bing virtual press kit (a variety of interesting resources)
Article about Bing's webmaster tools

It's also worth taking a look at the official Bing Search Blog, which keeps you up-to-date with the latest developments.

7 Social Media Sites to use in your Internet Marketing

2009-07-19T18:17:00.011+01:00

Social media marketing has revolutionised online promotion, and provided a whole new channel to...

Promote your product or service
Provide customer service
Bring people to your web site

There are literally hundreds of social media sites, but today I want to reveal the 7 that you should start using immediately (if you aren't already).

While each has its individual advantages, we marketers are generally interested in the people they attract. And these 7 sites attract an enormous number of people. The 7 sites are...

You Tube - upload and share video content
Twitter - see this awesome Twitter marketing strategy
Facebook - excellent online marketing resource that uses Facebook
Flickr - the #1 photo sharing site
Technorati - the search engine for blogs
Stumble Upon - share your favourite web pages with the world
Delicious - my favourite social bookmarking site

So how can you use these social media sites for marketing? Here are 50 ways you can use social media to support your Internet marketing efforts.

And finally, here's a free bonus social media site - Squidoo. This brilliant resource makes it easy to create engaging and informative web page in minutes.

Your page can then be put to all sorts of useful tasks, including a way to create links back to your site (for SEO), and to support your social media marketing activity.

The Complete Guide to Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

2009-07-18T19:06:00.027+01:00

NOTE: This blog entry inspired an SEO ebook (The DIY Guide to SEO), and this awesome SEO resource to support it.

Do you want to get your site listed on page one of Google, Bing or Yahoo Search? Then take a look at this in-depth guide to SEO...

Find the best key word for your product, service or site
Work on your content
Get contextual links
Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, Delicious and Squidoo
Build your virtuous SEO circle

1. The Best Key Word

While everybody else is stuffing dozens of key words into their homepage, take a step back and relax. google isn't going to list your site on page one for any of those keywords unless it has good reason. And it's very hard to give it 'good reason' when you're chasing dozens of terms.

If you're a DIY operation, it's far better to pick the best key word and focus on building content, contextual links and a virtuous circle. That gives you a much better chance at getting on page one.

How do you find the best key word for your product, service or web site? You can use one of the many key word research tools listed here. Or do what I do, and stick with Google's own key word analysis tool. It contains all the information I've ever needed, and is well documented. You'll find advice on how to research keywords for SEO here and here.

What about Bing and Yahoo Search? This article covers Microsoft's research and analysis tools, while this does for Yahoo. And if that's not enough, try this site (packed full of useful SEO tools).

2. Work on your Content

You'll find a lot of help and advice about how to shape page content for SEO here and here. If you're a blogger, you'll find more specialised search engine optimisation info here. Meanwhile this page provides useful information about common search engine marketing mistakes.

The main points to be aware of when it comes to creating content for SEO purpose are...

The title tag must contain your most important keywords
The content of your meta description and keyword tags do matter
Include your #1 key word in your page headline
Use the H1 tag to indicate your page headline
Include your #1 key word in your first paragraph
Use natural language. Don't force keywords into sentences

You'll find a very useful, thorough and detailed SEO report on this site. The first report is free, and I strongly recommend you run it on your site's home page. Over the course of 50 pages, it explains what's missing, what's holding your site back, and what's needed to get you to the top of search engines.

The creator of the above report also publishes a short book packed full of the exact information you actually need to know. I really like this book because it leaves out 150 pages of fluff typically found in competing titles (time is money - who wants to wade through pages of fluff?). It gets to the point, and focuses on the important stuff. You can pick up your copy here.

3. Get Contextual Links

Click the link to find out what a contextual link is, and go here for more information about the use of internal contextual links. These two articles also explain how contextual links work.

Google uses contextual links to help decide which web pages will rank highly for a given keyword. If you create a web page about stamp collecting, when you link to it from other pages on your site, the phrase 'stamp collecting' should be clickable. It's this clickable text that makes a link contextual.

For example, look up two paragraphs and you'll find two links. The first is contextual for the keyword phrase 'contextual link'. As a result, it's delivering some SEO benefit to the web page it links to. The second link isn't contextual.

The main purpose of external inbound contextual links is to obtain link juice, and build PageRank. These advanced SEO concepts are essential, so click the links and find out what they mean. Then take an in-depth look here.

NEW INFO: There's a lot more to inbound links than the contextual link. Take a look at this extensive article on link building for SEO.

4. Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, StumbleUpon and Squidoo

These 6 social media tools make for an excellent marketing team. Here's a quick look at the potential uses for each of these from a search engine optimisation perspective...

Blogger:
You can create a Blog within minutes, and start publishing content immediately. It's a simple way to get content on the web, and start building your reputation. Your blog should have a specific topic based around your primary key word (see point #1 above). You must promote it, and build PageRank for your Blog. Then you can send link juice to your main site.
Twitter:
If you don't have a Twitter account, get one now. Twitter is an excellent way to get visitors to your site. Your aim is to pick up followers, and have them retweet your posts. I've created a page that explains how to build targeted followers and get traffic with Twitter in detail. Spend time with it, and explore the links I've included. This system works really well. I suggest you follow me on Twitter, as I post links to a lot of useful SEO, Internet marketing, lead generation and social media marketing information on my Twitter page.
Facebook:
If you don't have a Facebook account, get one now. Once you're on board, scroll down the left-hand column and click the 'Create a Page for My Business' link. Follow the instructions to build your page. I'm going to explain how to take advantage of this for significant SEO benefit soon, via my own Facebook business page. Click this link, then click the 'Become a Fan' button. I post links to the web's best SEO, Internet marketing, and social media marketing information on that page.
Delicious:
Get yourself a Delicious account, and start posting links to all the pages under your control that offer people in your target market useful information, tools and resources. Watch this video to get ideas on how to use Delicious for SEO link building.
StumbleUpon:
StumbleUpon sends visitors to your site, and can provide SEO benefits as well. Check out my lead generation StumbleUpon page, click the 'friend' button, and sign up (it's free) if you don't already have an account.
Squidoo:
Take a look at the information on this page and find out how to get SEO benefit from your Squidoo page. Then get yourself a Squidoo account and set it up using the information you've found. It's also worth taking another look at my Squidoo page above (the one linked to from the Twitter section).

5. Build your Virtuous SEO Circle

Tools such as Twitter, Blogger, Delicious, Facebook and Squidoo can be used in conjunction with your own site to build a virtuous circle. It's purpose is to help you build PageRank over time, and then let it flow out (via link juice) to other sites in your circle.

It's also a way to maximise the facetime you get with each visitor to your site. They'll eventually leave your site anyway, so why not send them to another of your sites? That way you double your chances of achieving your objective for that visitor (e.g. to capture their contact details).

Here's more information about how to create an SEO virtuous circle, and even more information.

What's Next?

Assuming you've read everything in this Blog entry, and followed the links I've posted, you've taken in a lot of information. Rather than seek out even more (and there is more to learn), I suggest you start practising.

I learned a lot more by trying out ideas than I did by reading about them. Don't get me wrong, obtaining new information is important. So is practical experience. In particular, I find trying out ideas helps me to understand them better. And to establish them firmly in my mind.

One SEO tool I haven't included here is article marketing. If you're good at writing, this is something you definitely need to look into. Click the link and take a look at the article.

It's also well worth requesting the ebook The DIY Guide to SEO. It goes into far more detail than is possible here, including a in-depth and deeply practical explanation of how to build good quality back links. Click the link, and take a look.

Why does online marketing beat offline?

2009-07-18T12:05:00.007+01:00

My marketing career began in the early 90s, as a direct marketing grunt for a financial services company. Back then, most people had never heard of the Internet, and it wasn't something marketing people talked about. Every marketing activity was offline.

In 1999 a friend and I started an Internet ad site. I began working full-time for the business in January 2000. From that point on, every single marketing campaign I took part in happened online. For me, the world of marketing transformed completely in just 3 short years.

Now it seems that every business is moving its ad spend online. Even in a recession, the data shows Internet marketing spend continues to outstrip offline. The question somebody from 1990 might ask, is why? Surely offline advertising still works?

Well yes it does, but it can't possibly hope to compete with the benefits of online marketing. Consider the disadvantages of offline advertising...

Offline isn't automated, so tracking is manual. Of course, you can direct people to a web site. But you can't be certain everybody has access to the web so must also provide a manual response mechanism (which will probably cost money)
Almost everything about offline costs money. Online you can dilute your ad costs with free promotion techniques
It takes longer. Some things take a while online (e.g. waiting for articles to be approved). But most things happen straight away
It's possible to test multiple concepts and pick a winner within 24 hours. This used to take weeks offline. What's more, if you have sufficient social media marketing leverage, you can run your testing at no cost to you (this web page explains how to get free traffic with Twitter)
You can't change it once it's done. If you print 5,000 fliers and then find an error, you either live with it wear the cost of replacement. Web content is real time (apart from the lead time on article marketing of course), so is easy to change. And it costs nothing to do so

Faced with these issues, it's tempting to wonder why anyone would bother with offline promotion. Surely the web has it beat every which way you look? Of course that's not true. There are reasons to go offline...

Some markets still aren't well represented on the web
Some media is still better offline (e.g. paper magazines are easier to read and more convenient)
The web isn't absolutely everywhere (e.g. billboards - though this is changing)
Most people still listen to the radio while driving

I doubt offline marketing will die out completely. There is still a place for brochures, business cards, news papers, magazines, TV, radio and signage. I do think offline will continue to decline, and online will get ever smarter and more innovative.

I also think we've barely scratched the surface of what's possible with Internet marketing, as the social media marketing revolution has demonstrated.

New Internet Lead Generation and Online Marketing Resource

2009-07-18T09:58:00.002+01:00

I've created a new resource that provides an index into lead generation, web marketing, lead conversion and social media marketing articles, video, information, news and content. You'll find it here.

Take a look at it, and become a fan. That way you'll automatically receive new content as its added (fresh content added daily). It's a great way to keep on top of the latest info and developments. As is this Twitter page, which is updated at least once every 50 minutes with links to the best marketing content on the web.

The Google Dance (SEO's emotional roller coaster)

2009-07-17T22:40:00.008+01:00

Earlier today I was ranked 2nd to last on page 2 of Google for the key word phrase 'lead generation'. 8 hours later, and I'm 7th on page one. Earlier in the week I was 8th on page one. So what gives?

Professional SEO experts refer to this as the Google dance. It's a difficult thing to explain to clients, especially if they tend to believe...

We deserve to be on page one, so any work you've done to get us there is incidental
We've fallen off page one! What did you do?

Ah the joys of the lonely search engine optimiser, as s/he patiently goes about his/her business.

Of course, the Google dance is totally out of your control and mine. It happens when Google is rebuilding its rankings. Sites tend to jump up and down the listings during this time. It's nothing to worry about, and your only option is to wait for it to stop and see where you end up.

If the fall is permanent, you have some work to do. If you've risen in the rankings, you can relax for a while - or start work on getting even higher next time.

Twitter - Why you shouldn't follow everybody that comes along

2009-07-17T09:17:00.007+01:00

One way to build your Twitter followers very quickly, is to follow everybody that follows you. And to find as many people as you can, and start following them (a large percentage will follow you back).

My view is, this is a mistake. In particular, I see 2 fatal flaws in this approach...

Your Twitter followers won't be anything like a target market (because it contains anybody and everybody)
Most people who follow you back do so via an automated system, and may never see your tweets

These two facts make your Twitter followers a less responsive (i.e. less useful) list from the perspective of the product or service you're trying to market. Here's an alternative approach to get Twitter followers.

Once you have at least 100 genuine followers who are in your target market, Twitter can be used to send targeted visitors to your site. Click the link and find out how.

SEO is useless without lead generation

2009-07-17T07:40:00.006+01:00

Search engine optimisation, pay per click advertising, social media marketing and other activity designed to send people to your web site is completely useless without lead generation or online selling. Here's why...

Lead generation converts the mild and unproductive interest of a casual visitor into a serious business enquiry (i.e. a person prepared to receive more information, take a phone call, or meet with you)
Online selling converts a casual visitor into a client

Without a dedicated lead generation process or online selling system set up and working on your site, your visitors will look around for a few minutes and then move on. You will be left with no way of contacting these people, and will probably never hear from them again.

In other words, without a lead generation process and/or online selling system - your marketing activity is wasted (as is the money you spent).

Generating leads and/or sales isn't something that happens automatically. People don't wake up thinking 'I want to be somebody else's lead today'. The lead generation process has to be planned in advanced, implemented correctly, and refined over time through testing and analysis of past results.

The same is true of an online sales system. From time-to-time, a sale might fall into your lap. Most times, it requires serious effort on your part. That's why a shopping cart isn't enough.

An in-depth look at the lead generation process

2009-07-16T20:17:00.003+01:00

Lead generation is one of those things that everybody thinks they know, but few understand in depth. Now there's an article that covers the entire lead generation process from start to finish. I recommend you take a look.

In particular, it's worth pondering the concept of lead generation as a virtuous circle. That's probably the last thing people think about when contemplating lead generation, yet it's easily its most powerful aspect.

The life-blood of SEO, Internet and social media marketing

2009-07-16T12:36:00.005+01:00

Leads are the life-blood of every business. Without leads there can be no sales.

Lead generation is the process of deliberately setting out to find people who are interested in your product or service, and ready to say 'yes' to one of the following...

More information
A phone call from you to them
An appointment with you

That's lead generation. So what's is Internet lead generation?

Internet lead generation uses the web to find people ready to say 'yes'. It also takes advantage of the nature of the web to improve the overall lead generation process. The main way it achieves this is through automation. In particular, a web site can...

Ask questions and make decisions based on the answer
Link to external content where required
Provide additional content to support lead conversion (e.g. video testimonials)
Track and measure absolutely everything - automatically
Produce real-time reports on demand
Send visitors to your landing page (in many ways the Internet is your list - see this Twitter page for an example)
Follow up leads automatically
Respond in real time (e.g. instant fulfilment of digital products and services)
Integrate with traditional offline lead generation activity

If you're starting to get the feeling the web offers you lead generation on steroids, you're absolutely right.

The Internet offers lead generators so much more than we ever had before. Direct marketing has never been as powerful as it is now. If you're not using the full array of Internet marketing and social media tools to promote your business, you're missing out.

Is there a place for Squidoo in your online marketing?

2009-07-16T03:35:00.004+01:00

Squidoo is one of those odd Internet sites where it's sheer usefulness to Internet marketing and lead generation isn't necessarily obvious. Yet Squidoo does offer you and I several useful benefits...

You can set up a web page very quickly (Squidoo refers to a web pages as a lens)
Your web page is likely to be indexed by Google, Bing and Yahoo
There's no limit to the number of pages you can set up
It has plenty of built in modules and tools
It connects to other social media tools
There are ways to promote your page within Squidoo's own network

Each page you set up works best if you focus on a particular topic. For example, I set up a Squidoo page that describes how to use Twitter to get visitors to your web site. It took just 8 minutes to create this page and put it live for all to see.

Not only was it easy and fast to set up, it links to several articles I'd already written and placed elsewhere on the web. So Squidoo has a role to play in a virtuous SEO circle I'm creating around the concept of using Twitter as a source of traffic for lead generation. What's not to love about that?

Twitter owns Internet marketing - here's how to get your slice of the pie...

2009-07-15T20:54:00.013+01:00

There's no doubt about it - Twitter is an excellent way to generate leads. My own testing has found that a single Tweet is good for an average of 3 visitors per 100 followers (varies with content, time of day, day of week). That's an interesting statistic, isn't it?

What it tells me is I need to get as many people following me on Twitter as I can. The question is, do I want quantity over quality? If I pick up 1,000 highly targeted and responsive followers, am I better off than somebody with 10,000 followers of assorted quality and responsiveness?

I think I am, which is why I don't automatically follow people who start following me. This costs me followers, and slows down the speed at which I pick up new ones. It's very much a 'slow and steady wins the race' approach to Twitter - and I'm satisfied it's working for me.

My Twitter page has one objective - to be the Internet's best index of links to information, tools, video, resources and news on these topics...

Internet marketing
Lead generation
SEO (search engine optimisation)
SEM (search engine marketing)
Ad copy writing
Web promotion
Article marketing
Market research
Social media marketing
Social media optimisation

I post a new Tweet every 50 minutes (often even more frequently), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Follow my Twitter page, and you'll have access to the best of this material from right across the web. It's an excellent way to find this stuff.

Do you want to get your piece of Twitter's Internet marketing success? You might consider copying my strategy in your own area. For example, a singer might post Tweets of interest to the people in his/her target market (i.e. those interested in the style of music s/he produces).

As the number of followers grows, so does the potential audience for the singer's own product.

It's a simple strategy, but one that's not so easily copied. There's a lot of work involved in tracking down 28-29 pieces of content, and then scheduling it to be posted. If you're like me, then you're asking yourself whether or not it's worth it. Yes it is, and I've posted my own economic justification in this article (long story short - I save £400 - see the article to find out why).

I use TweetLater to help with this task, as it allows me to set up tweets in advance so they go out every 50 minutes - whether I'm online or not.

Lead generation at its most basic

2009-07-13T13:29:00.003+01:00

Internet lead generation can get very complex, and I decided to distil it down to its most basic elements. When you do this, it turns out there are only 4 things you absolutely must do in online lead generation. They are...

Get a person to visit a landing page
Explain why talking to you is in that person's best interests
Ask the person to become a lead
Follow up

Each of these steps can have dozens more refinements. For example, step 2 is a whole lot easier if you've thought about your target market, what they're looking for, and why they might want to talk to you (i.e. how you can help the people who visit your landing page).

Despite this, the fact remains that lead generation is a fairly simple process. In my opinion, removing the refinements will help a beginner understand what they specifically have to do to generate prospects.

Want to know how to get your site to the top of Google? You need this book...

2009-07-11T20:36:00.006+01:00

Search Engine Optimisation isn't easy. There's a lot of ground to cover, and plenty of misleading information on the web that won't help get you to the top of Google (quite the reverse in fact). That's why it pays to invest in the work of a leading authority, such as Marc P Summers.

Marc runs SEO seminars in the UK, and has taught thousands of people how to get their site onto the front page of Google. And now he's written a fantastic how to book on SEO.

This book brings together in one place absolutely everything you need to know to make sure your site gets to where you want it to be - page one of Google.

I know Marc personally. He is an SEO professional, and makes his living training people in SEO. This book benefits from years of experience, both in search engine optimisation and in the problems people face trying to understand how to do it.

Mark is the real deal when it comes to search engine optimisation. That's why I thoroughly recommend his book to you. Click here and get it now.

The most useful Twitter site on Earth (for online marketing people)

2009-07-11T17:38:00.005+01:00

Twitter is the source of all things good (well, most things), and this new Twitter page is no exception. It's currently adding around 100 new followers per day despite following only 2 people itself. There's a reason why it's proving so popular.

If you're looking for a constant source of new information, news, research and opinion about any of the following...

Online marketing
SEO (search engine optimisation)
SEM (search engine marketing)
The use of social media
Search engines in general
Market research
Article marketing
Advertising (including pay per click)
Viral marketing
Copy writing
Lead generation

...then you must follow this Twitter page. There are so many useful sites and resources on this page, it's worth digging back through the archives to see what you've missed. Start following it now.

Here's one way Bing might beat Google at search

2009-07-11T09:49:00.006+01:00

NOTE: The following is speculation on my part. I have no insider-knowledge of Microsoft's plans. I'm simply thinking aloud here on my Blog. If you're a Microsoft lawyer getting all worked up about my speculation, sod off and find something useful to do with your life.

A friend and I were at a Google event a few weeks back, and discussing the problem facing Bing when it comes to beating Google at its own game. Sure, Bing is a great search engine. But so is Google, so what's going to make me switch?

At the time, neither of us could think of a single thing. Later on, I started thinking about what a company like Microsoft could do with a truly great search algorithm. Suddenly the penny dropped, and the scales fell away from my eyes.

Microsoft just happens to own the world's most used operating system, and it contains an adequate search tool. That search tool can be made to operate from the desktop, and there's no reason at all why it should be limited to one's own computer. What if my Windows search tool and Bing were one and the same? There are plenty of times when I fire up a browser simply to check my facts.

If the search tool built into Windows was able to search the web (i.e. Bing on the desktop), I might never visit Google again. Especially if Microsoft built it right into the desktop, so it was always available (i.e. the path of least resistance). Then Google might have a problem.

'Ah,' you might say, 'but Google has its own operating system under development.'

Well yes, it does. But so what? Apple also has its own operating system, hardware and a dedicated group of very determined evangelists. Despite all this, the overwhelming majority of people manage to make do with Windows. It's hard to imagine Chrome having any impact at all, and for the same reasons NetBook owners either selected Windows in the first place, or returned the Linux version and switched.

Tell a story (copy writing technique)

2009-07-08T20:01:00.004+01:00

Need a way to spice up your ad, brand, promotional or sales copy? How about something new and interesting to add to your Blog? Here's a great tip: Tell a story.

What kind of story? It depends on the circumstances...

If you're traying to make a point, create a story that illustrates the point. For example, don't just tell people how healthy an energy bar is - include a story that clearly shows the benefits of using it the way your target market expects it to be used.
If you're trying to explain how useful a meditation technique is, give a personal testimony of the benefits you've received.
If you've personally benefited by following a particular sales technique, tell a before and after rags-to-riches story that highlights the difference the new approach makes.

If you receive a testimonial from a client, call the person on the phone and get more details. See if you can build a story around the client's experiences.

Your story should aim to be interesting. It can't merely be a one-sided pitch for your product. It will be interesting if it includes drama, action, comedy or fun. Introducing a few surprises, or even a plot twist can spice things up. Maybe there's room for a protagonist and antagonist?

Whatever you do, a well-told story is inherently more interesting than most ad copy will ever be.

How to pick up genuine followers in Twitter

2009-07-07T19:40:00.002+01:00

There are several ways to get people to follow you on Twitter...

Start following everybody you come across. Most will follow you back
Set your account to automatically follow anybody that follows you
Use an automated third party tool to follow anybody that posts one of your chosen key words

The problem with all these techniques is they result in machines following machines. No human interaction is required, any marketing potential is lost. Next time you come across somebody who has 10,000 followers, and who is following around 10,000 people in return, feel free to be less than overwhelmed.

I use a different technique to pick up visitors. It's a lot slower than the automated techniques described above, but it results in a better class of follower. Done right, this technique delivers 25-50 new followers per day. Automated tools and churn mean half of these are actual genuine followers that will stay the course.

NOTE: If you have plenty of time on your hands, you can pick up more followers than I am.

Here's my technique...

Work out who your target market is (i.e. who do you want to follow you)
Figure out what that market is interested in
Use a search engine to find 20 pieces of content (e.g. articles, tools, downloads, ebooks, photos, video) per day that relate to that content (in my case I create my own content, and I recycle it from time-to-time)
Use TweetLater to schedule Tweets to go out during the day
Each Tweet contains a link to a specific piece of content, along with key words that refer to the content and that are likely to be searched on by your target market

People in your target market will search for tweets that contain key words they're interested in. If your tweet has just gone out, they'll find it. And many will start following you. The more followers you get, the more people will want to follow you (human nature).

Don't follow any body back. This is important. Most automated machine-based following systems will unfollow you if you don't return the follow.

I set up my content well in advance. I like to have at least a weeks worth of tweets ready to go out. This means I can take time out if I want to (e.g. if I'm very busy, or go on holiday).

I recycle tweets from time-to-time, especially when it links to content I've created.

Keep this Twitter account focussed on the target market. If you want a more general Twitter site, get a special account for your focussed page. That way, you won't need to follow any body.

Should you worry if a competitor bids for your key words in AdWords?

2009-07-06T17:53:00.004+01:00

It can be annoying, frustrating or downright infuriating. You enter the name of your company into Google, only to find your competitors show up in the search results. The question is, should you worry?

As always, the answer is somewhat complex.

No, you needn't worry if...

They're bidding for your company name, and it doesn't attract many searches per month. I have a client in this situation, but I know the company name attracts fewer than 100 searches per month.
They're bidding for a key word anybody in your market might use. It's not your key word. Any anxiety you might feel when somebody else makes use of it is irrational and pointless (you may was well shout and scream at the weather for all the good it will do).
They're bidding for your company name, and it attracts a lot of searches per month. As long as your site is set up correctly and your domain name is your company name, you'll always show up in the top spot in Google's organic search results (i.e. the left-hand side). Any money they're spending to show up in the paid listings is bidding up the price, making it increasingly expensive for other competitors to bid for that position.

Yes, you should worry if...

They're bidding for a trademark or copyright phrase. Talk to a law firm and see what can be done.

It's small companies that will experience the greatest impact from severe competition for specific key words. The plain fact is, well-healed companies can invest a lot of money in search engine optimisation (SEO) and AdWords, making it easy for them to dominate Google's search engine results. What's more, it's likely Google gives preference to large companies (i.e. page rank, trust).

If this bothers you, there's little point letting it get you down. There are always ways to compete, and it's worth talk to a lead generation expert to see what can be done.

Shock! Horror! People go online to socialise...not shop

2009-07-06T16:51:00.005+01:00

A survey of Internet usage by Rudder Finn has found that only 1/3rd of people go online to shop, and even fewer to compare prices. So why do people go online?

92% say they're there to socialise
86% to share
76% to have discussions

Commenting on the results of the survey, Michael Schubert (Chief Innovation Officer at Ruder Finn) said "...for many years the Web was characterized as a 'task-oriented' medium whose most direct appeal...was accelerating the purchase process. But [the] path to purchase is a lot more complicated..."

Based on my experience with Internet lead generation, I have to agree. Simply asking somebody for their email address, and promising to send them a free report no longer works. Lead generation requires a much greater degree of sophistication than it once did.

Find out more about my approach to Internet lead generation and online marketing strategy here.

Why pay to advertise online?

2009-07-03T11:43:00.008+01:00

It's a question many people are asking, and for good reason. Let's consider the arguments...

Online advertising is easily switched off
Online advertising is expensive
It's difficult to get accurate demographic information (i.e. targeting is difficult)
An advertising provider can easily send fake clicks/visitors to your site
Web users resent advertising
There are interesting new alternatives that aren't met with the same resistance

This last point is especially interesting to those of us who think deeply about using the Internet for marketing purposes. The rise of social media has changed the conversation. We might once have wondered How can I advertise on Twitter? Now we're thinking How can I use Twitter to attract people to my site?

In essence, there is a school of thought that views advertising as a hangover from the pre-digital dark ages. A newspaper or television station isn't geared up to accept public content. These traditional forms of media will actively resist content supplied by businesses.

Social media is different, and can be used by companies in any number of ways. Advertising doesn't even enter the conversation. Why bother renting 700 x 200 pixels, when you have an entire web site under your control? All you need is a click, and there are plenty of ways to get them. It can be as simple as having a tool like TweetLater monitor all Tweets for your company, product or brand names, and email you you show up. This can help stave off PR disasters, allow you to join in productive conversations, and provide invaluable market research.

I tend to find myself in the camp that sees advertising as a thing of the past. I don't think it can survive, and if I were running Google right now, I'd be looking for an alternative income stream.

How to get external inbound contextual links

2009-07-02T13:33:00.004+01:00

The holy grail for most people seeking better search engine performance is the contextual link. And in particular, the external inbound contextual link. They're not as easy to secure as some people will have you believe, especially if your site isn't currently ranked well in Google.

The ideal contextual link is one that appears on a web page with high page rank. The odds that you'll secure such a link are quite small, but there are 3 ways you can get linked from sites that have high page rank (the next best thing)...

Write a unique article and have it published on a self-publishing site
Add comments to other people's blogs
Help people in forums that allow you to add a contextual link back to your site from a signature

Unique Article:

A unique article is one you wrote yourself, and that doesn't appear anywhere else on the Internet. This technique won't work with duplicate content.

Write an article relevant to your site's content, and add one contextual link back to your site. Submit it to a self-publishing site such as Ezine Articles.

Commenting on Blogs:

Find blogs that are updated frequently (2 or more times a week), and that deal with a topic relevant to your site. Look for a suitable article, and add a comment. Include a contextual link back to your site.

Make sure the Blog doesn't add a nofollow tag to your comment. You can find a list of blogs that don't add the nofollow tag here.

Being Helpful:

If you know a lot about something, find a suitable discussion forum and start being helpful. Each post you make carries your signature. Most forums allow you to add a contextual link to your signature.

Be Sensible:

Take your time with these strategies. One contextual link per article, comment or post is all you need. The more you jam in, the greater the chance you'll be seen as a spammer. If that happens, all your hard work will be undone.

If you're commenting on a blog entry, it must add something to the discussion. If it doesn't, it will be seen as spam and be deleted (i.e. offer no SEO value). The same applies to forum posts. If you have nothing to say, move on and wait until you do.

If you're going to pursue this strategy, I recommend you read this short article about links and SEO. And about the concept of creating an SEO virtuous circle.

Is it worth catering to mobile web users?

2009-06-09T13:40:00.004+01:00

It's now possible to surf the web using mobile devices, and online marketers have pondered whether or not it's worth catering to the constraints imposed by the tiny low-resolution screens typically found on such devices.

An article in MediaPost has some sobering statistics that help answer that question, at least with respect to web developers considering which platforms to support. To cut to the chase, the medium still has a long way to go. The following point is especially telling in my view: Imagine Facebook...depending on what type of PC...someone was using for their success.

In other words, you may find you have to develop the same application for several platforms. Unless your market is a mobile niche, why would you bother?

PageRank and the use of nofollow

2009-06-09T07:45:00.003+01:00

There's an interesting discussion happening on Andy Beard's Blog about changes to Google's PageRank algorithm, and whether or not the nofollow tag still works to preserve link juice. If you're using nofollow in this way, you need to read this post.

Unfortunately, the exact nature of the changes and their impact is still unknown. I'll post about this again, once the impact of all this is better known. Stay tuned.

Weeding out the unsuitable

2009-06-05T07:39:00.004+01:00

An important element in lead generation, is weeding out people you don't want to talk to. This may sound harsh, but it's actually in the interests of both parties. For example, it's worth dissuading and/or eliminating people who...

Can't afford your product
Are still looking around and aren't yet ready to buy
Aren't looking for your specific version of a product
Are in direct competition with you and on the hunt for information
Couldn't make up their mind if their life depended on it (i.e. ditherers)

The lead generation process should identify such people, and given them the opportunity to opt out of the process. The methods for achieving this are...

The language used in the copy (e.g. 'are you ready' versus 'would you like')
Multi-page lead generation copy providing natural places to opt out
Using questions to qualify and direct the prospect to the most suitable next stage
Providing the prospect with a good reason to answer questions that allow the system to eliminate the unsuitable before they're invited to contact you

The purpose of this approach isn't to be cold-hearted. It's to ensure your lead generation system frees you up to see people ready to talk seriously about your product or service. It ensures you maximise your time, and invest it in genuine customers.

The Problem with Selling in Lead Generation

2009-06-04T20:23:00.004+01:00

Lead generation is part of the sales process, but it's not selling. It's a little like petrol. Petrol is an essential component in the car, but it's not the car.

This may seem self-evident, yet I see plenty of evidence that a large number of people don't fully understand this distinction. The most common error I see in lead generation copy is an attempt to sell the product or service to someone who isn't yet trying to buy.

Let's take a look at lead generation from the lead's perspective. What is s/he trying to achieve? It's almost certainly going to be one or more of the following...

Information
Price comparison
Understand the product, service or market
Find the right seller
Find the best price or deal
Find the right social benefit

A lead isn't yet ready to buy. They may well be ready to talk (i.e. become a lead), but are unlikely to do so until they understand why it's worth talking to you.

Your lead generation campaign has only one job to do - it must focus on selling the value of talking to you.

What is it that you're selling in lead generation?

2009-06-03T18:55:00.006+01:00

I get to see a lot of different lead generation campaigns, spanning the entire spectrum from highly successful to abject failure.

When it comes to failed campaigns, there's one thing I see over and over again. The copy tries to sell the product. This has it focus on the product's features and/or benefits, rather than securing a response from the prospect.

Lead generation is not about selling a product or service. It's about selling the value of talking to you.

This is a key piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding what needs to be said in lead generation copy. And what has to happen to produce qualified leads from your marketing efforts. In particular, your promotion will have to...

Establish your credibility
Build trust in you
Demonstrate your expertise with respect to the product or service
Explain how talking to you saves time, money or otherwise delivers benefits

This approach produces entirely different copy, because it's about generating a desire to get in touch with you. What's interesting about such an approach, is it makes the eventual sale much easier.

How to turn a 'No' into a 'Yes' - lead generation technique

2009-06-02T18:11:00.007+01:00

Lead generation is the art of finding people ready to say yes. Most of my working life is about finding ways to get my client's web site visitors to initiate a serious business enquiry. In other words, to become a lead because they want to.

But what of the people who aren't ready to say yes? Is there a way to turn a 'No' into a 'Yes'?

The answer lies in understanding what 'No' really means. It could mean any of the following...

I'm a no for now, and a yes in future (i.e. not ready to commit today)
I'm a definite no for this, but am interested in a related product or service
I'm a yes, but don't have the money
I was merely curious, and will never be interested in this or anything related to it

Of these 4 different types of 'no', the first 3 imply there is still potential to do business. This is why it's always worth giving a prospect the option to click 'No'. For example...

A person answering 'no' to this question could easily be too busy to do this today, or be ready to get started but feel they don't have the money, or may have arrived at the site looking for confirmed appointments rather than leads.

By offering the prospect a chance to say 'No', we give ourselves another bite at the cherry. If a person answers 'No' to the above question, we can then ask...

Whatever they click on, you can then address that specifically. For example, if they click the 'Confirmed Appointments' option you might talk about a service offered by a highly successful affiliate, and offer to refer them. Assuming you get paid a referral commission, you can still make money from this prospect.

If the lead asks for a reminder, you can implement the following system...

Email a useful but short piece of information every 7 days (to keep your company fresh in their mind)
Email the reminder notice on day 28
Follow up with a call on day 29 to check they received the reminder notice

If the lead is interested in a low-cost way to get started, you might offer an easy-payment plan, or a cut-down version of the service at a lower cost.

In other words, by offering the option of saying 'No', you give yourself a second chance to convert the lead.

The Art of Persuasion

2009-06-01T20:23:00.001+01:00

There are a number of human traits we all share. One or more of these traits can be used to improve the results you get from your web promotion, lead generation, online marketing and Internet advertising activity. Continues in The Art of Persuasion.

Why does everybody get so excited about pagerank?

2009-06-01T14:44:00.007+01:00

A high Google PageRank score is greatly sought-after, yet its not the most important factor in a site's ability to rank well in search engine results pages. So why do people get so excited about PageRank?

Here's what Google has to say on the matter: PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results.

The key words in that sentence are 'more likely' and '500 million variables'. The implication is that site A will rank higher than site B if it has higher PageRank - all else being equal. But the various factors that go into a search engine result page are never equal. How can they be when there are 500 million variables to consider?

My viewed (based on experience) is that Google is more concerned with relevancy than its own scoring system. If site A is more relevant for any given search, it will appear above the less relevant site B in spite of their respective scores.

You can get your site onto page one of Google for a specific keyword phrase even if you have a low score. What matters is how relevant that page is to the given keyword phrase.

One of my servers is down - Twitter to the rescue

2009-05-30T22:08:00.004+01:00

The company that provides 5 of my servers had a massive power failure recently. Not only did it take out 2 of my servers, it also took the company's own site offline. They got an emergency page up, directing me to their Twitter page.

They used Twitter to keep me (and all their other clients) up-to-speed with their progress getting things back up and running.

This is an excellent use of Twitter. It takes an engineer mere seconds to post a 'tweet', and impatient clients such as myself feel like we're in the loop. It's amazing how much more reassured I felt knowing they were working on it, and seeing updates come through in real time.

This is one more reason (as if one were needed) to get your business on Twitter as soon as possible. Join here, and/or follow my Internet marketing updates on Twitter.

Are you using social media for online marketing yet?

2009-05-30T21:41:00.002+01:00

Online marketing research company Knowledge Networks has found that 83% of the web surfers aged 13-54 participate in social media. A full 47% of those do so every week.

That's an interesting statistic, and implies every company seeking to use the Internet to win more business ought to be using social media. But in what capacity? Can you actually use social media to win business directly?

Knowledge Network's reports that a mere 16% of social media users said they were likely to buy from companies advertising in social media. Of course, this tells us nothing. What people say they'll do when isn't the same as what they actually do - especially when they encounter something they want.

There's no reason to believe social media sites are different to any other kind of site. If an ad offers something a person wants, they'll click on it.

What are you really selling?

2009-05-30T17:36:00.004+01:00

One of the great challenges in marketing is to work out what you're really selling. For example, I'm a professional lead generator. Technically, I could answer with any of the following...

My years of experience in lead generation
An approach that turns a site's visitors into leads
A system that gets you serious business enquiries
People ready to say 'yes'

They all amount to the same thing, yet that last one is far more compelling to most business people. The problem with the word 'lead' is that it's abstract in nature. What is a lead, exactly? Isn't that something detectives look for?

The phrase 'serious business enquiries' is certainly better, but too remote to have emotional impact. What my clients want to do is speak to people ready to say 'yes'. So that's what I offer in my business.

The same principle applies to any business. Clients never buy the product or service being sold. They buy the beneficial outcome of using that product. As soon as you have a handle of what your clients are buying, rather than what you're selling, you have the crucial ingredient necessary for successful lead generation.

Article Marketing sends targeted visitors to your web site

2009-05-29T10:28:00.002+01:00

Do you have a web site, but don't get many visitors? Or maybe the visitors you do get show little interest in your product or service? Article Marketing will send well targeted high-quality visitors to your site. Even better, you can do it yourself for free.

You'll find a great overview of how to get started in article marketing here. In addition to the information in that article, you'll also need the following...

A source of inspiration for new article ideas
Plenty of practise at writing articles quickly
More useful information about article marketing

Sources of Inspiration:

In find my current clients are a wonderful source of new inspiration. Any time a client has a particular problem, or raises a specific challenge, it will inspire an article. For example, the challenges I faced doing SEO work for this contract catering company, and the 'newbie' questions they asked along the way, inspired several articles on this very blog.

Topical forums are another excellent source of article ideas. You'll tend to find both experts and beginners on forums. Beginners ask 'stupid' questions, and experts answer them. This provides great clues about what people want to know in your line of work. If people are asking, they'll certainly read articles about it.

What's more, once you've written an article on a topic, you can refer people to it. Not just once, but over and over and over again across multiple forums. If you get lucky, other people will start linking to it as well. And if you've included a contextual link in that article, it will deliver significant link juice to your site.

This all helps build your virtuous circle, pushing you ever closer to page one of Google.

You want me to generate leads for a sofa bed company?

2009-05-28T16:15:00.007+01:00

One of my clients is an Interior Designer with her own sofa bed range. I've been asked to find a way to generate leads (i.e. serious business enquiries) from the visitors she gets to her web site.

I'm used to working for people who sell by appointment. My job is to find people ready to say yes. It might be yes to a phone call, or an appointment.

As a general rule, sofa beds aren't bought that way. Most people visit a showroom, and see if they like the look of the various sofabeds on display. They'll want to see it unfolded, test it for comfort, and get a feel for how it's going to work in their home. Faced with the prospect of buying it 'sight unseen', it seems unlikely we'll sell many direct from the site.

Why? Because of doubt. Doubt about...

Whether or not the product is any good
Whether or not it will work in the room
Whether or not it's comforable
Whether or not it will physically fit
Whether or not the seller is trust-worthy

My client isn't an Internationally known furniture brand, or a recognised online retailer. Neither Ikea or Amazon have anything like the same battle with doubt on their hands.

So how does one go about eliminating doubt, and turning casual interest into a serious business enquiry? The answer lies in taking over the conversation the prospect is having in his/her head.

On arrival, visitors are asking themselves whether or not the site contains what they're looking for. My first job is to eliminate everybody not in the target market. I can do that by making it immediately obvious the site sells bespoke designer sofa beds, and nothing but sofa beds.

I can then take over the conversation by offering to help the visitor find the exact sofa bed they need. I'll use special software written for the purpose. It's not expensive, and simply asks the questions that have to be asked to help the prospect.

It presents the sofa bed that best matches the prospect's answers, and follows up with an offer to customise it to his/her fabric and colour tastes. The prospect is no longer thinking about whether to buy, and is instead thinking about their sofa bed.

Once the prospect has finished, the system will ask the prospect if the resulting sofa is what they're looking for? If they answer 'No', it gives the person a chance to start over.

If they answer 'yes', it will ask if they're ready for a free consultation with a professional Interior Designer to further ensure they've covered everything they need to get the perfect sofa bed. If they answer 'Yes', it collects their name, contact details and a best time to call.

In other words, that's how I'll run a lead generation campaign for a sofa bed designer.

The 'nofollow' Attribute

2009-05-27T11:04:00.008+01:00

The nofollow attribute was introduced by Google in 2005, and can be added to a link to deprive the destination of any SEO value. Many forums and article sites use this attribute to ensure you can't obtain any of their SEO PageRank by having your article hosted there.

If you're into Article Marketing solely for SEO benefit, it pays to check whether or not the contextual links you create have this attribute added to them. If they do, look to publish your articles elsewhere.

If you contribute to forums to receive SEO value, you'll also want to check and see whether or not your signature has 'nofollow' added to it. If it does, you're wasting your time (from an SEO perspective).

How to check for the 'nofollow' attribute:

You need to view the page source. That's the HTML code that makes up the page. If you're a Firfox user like me, you can do that by pressing Ctrl U. The page source will appear. Internet Explorer users need to navigate to the 'View' menu and click on 'Source'.

Find a link by pressing Crtl F (Firefox and IE) and entering this into the search box: href=

This will take you to the first instance of an anchor tag. Look either side of the href= and see whether the nofollow attribute appears: rel="nofollow"

Here's an example of a full HTML tag so you can see how it looks...

<a href="http://asureimage.com/" rel="nofollow">Lead Generation</a>

In the above example, the text 'Lead Generation' would be clickable in a web browser. Normally, this would be a contextual link back to my main site and provide me with link juice. Unfortunately, in this case the 'No Follow' tag tells Google not to transfer any link juice to my site.

Secrets of the SEO Masters #1

2009-05-26T19:46:00.003+01:00

The title tag is essential to SEO success. It's very useful to know how many people have placed a particular keyword in their site's title tag (i.e. how much competition you have). Here's how it's done...

Go to Google
Enter this search: intitle:keyword

For example, my keyword phrase is lead generation. I would enter...

intitle:"lead generation"

The result is 156,000 sites in Google's listings that have the phrase "lead generation" in the title tag. That's the number of sites I'm competing against.

How to find a powerful ad headline

2009-05-26T08:09:00.002+01:00

Recently I was having a conversation with somebody who had read you should write 200 different ad headlines for an ad, and then choose the most powerful. I think there are several flaws in this approach...

The odds are you'll end up choosing a headline you like, rather than one your target market responds to
It takes a long time to come up with 200 unique headlines
In the time it took to generate 200 headlines, you could have been testing different headlines against each other in real ads
The resulting data will tell you which headline gets your target market excited, rather than relying on your own opinions or those of others (i.e. objective results versus subjective opinion)
During testing you'll almost certainly make sales. Testing generates revenue, where as dreaming up ever more creative headlines doesn't
After testing, you have something you know for certain will work. After wasting your time on 200 headlines, you won't

In other words, why waste time being creative when you could let the target market tell you what works? And continue to make money along the way? That's how I approach ad copy.

Adding the second keyword

2009-05-25T13:17:00.006+01:00

Your initial SEO efforts should focus on a single focused keyword phrase. This strong focus makes it easier to get a page one search engine listing for your site when people enter the keyword phrase into Google.

That's exactly what I did for a client that wanted to get a brand new site listed on page one for the term perspex furniture. I'm happy to report that objective has been achieved.

When I did the initial keyword research on 'perspex furniture', I found there were more searches for the phrase 'acrylic furniture'. As a result, I've now started work on this term. I'd like to see my client listed in the top 3 for both keyword phrases.

Here's how to go about securing a second keyword once the first objective has been achieved...

Add the new search term to the title tag
Add internal contextual links back to the homepage that contain the new keyword phrase
Add external inbound contextual links back to the homepage
Add new pages to the site that specifically focus on the new keyword phrase

If the term you're after is heavily contested, give thought to creating a site specifically for it. That way, you can buy a domain name that includes the keyword phrase. You also get to create content that focuses exclusively on the topic in question.

Lead Generation Leverage

2009-05-25T02:06:00.005+01:00

I use the word leverage in lead generation to refer to an additional persuasive element introduced after the offer, and before contact details are collected. It goes like this...

A problem experienced by the target market is raised. I offer to solve it instantly, right there on the site. That's the offer.
My lead generation system asks the questions necessary to deliver the solution. The resulting data tells me a lot about each prospect.
My system delivers the solution (usually information).
Sometimes the information is complex, and expert help is required. Sometimes the information calls for implementation, and either expert help is required, or the prospect is too busy to do it themselves. Sometimes the answers given in step 2 reveal something the prospect hasn't yet done. The system offers expert help from industry insiders (e.g. to find and book the perfect venue in the case of a person looking to book corporate entertainment for an upcoming venue).
If the prospect says 'yes' to this help, I then (and only then) ask for contact details and a best time to call.

Contrast this gentle approach with ham-fisted attempts to grab your email address the moment you arrive on a web site. The site owner has done nothing for you, and made no attempt to find out what you're looking for. And now s/he wants to add you to his/her email newsletter.

My approach applies leverage at exactly the right moment, by offering prospects access to expert help to complete a task that has to be done. Which is why it works so well.

Back from the Dead - How to resurrect a failed site

2009-05-23T19:32:00.013+01:00

What would you do if somebody asked you to get a 2 year old site onto page one of Google for a specific keyword phrase, and then discovered the site hadn't even been indexed by Google under its own name. How is that even possible?

I'm happy to say, I've just watched the site jump onto page one for 'Contract Catering London'. And now I'm after the more useful phrase 'Contract Catering'.

It's worth pondering how a site can be overlooked by Google for two years in a row.

The previous hosting company played a part in this. They provided patchy connectivity, so the site wasn't always online. The client had tried to shift, especially when he lost his email for an extended period of time. He even had new hosting lined up, but couldn't get his domain pointed at the new company. I managed to sort this out thanks to excellent service from the new hosting company.

Then I turned my attention to rescuing the site from oblivion. The three main problems from an SEO perspective were...

The title tag
Page headline
Content

The title tag contained the company name surrounded by underscores, like this: _Centralbay_. I have no idea why, but it seemed to play a part in the site's exclusion in Google even under its own name!

Another issue lies in the fact the company name is a single word (Centralbay), yet it sounds like 2 words. I often found myself entering 'Central Bay' into Google. The solution was to add both versions to the title, and alter some occurrences of the name in the content so it can be found no matter which version a person enters.

The main page headline was a graphic, rather than text. I usually see this on sites produced by graphic designers. They want a particular font, have no SEO skills, but understand they can't have that particular font unless it's a graphic. Google doesn't read graphics, and I changed the headlines back to text enclosed in H1 tags. I also made sure the homepage headline contains the main keyword phrase.

The page content contained few useful words from an SEO perspective, and no internal contextual links. I've changed that, and as is often the case a couple of internal contextual links can do wonders when it comes to ranking for a particular keyword phrase.

Lead generation in a highly regulated market

2009-05-23T11:54:00.001+01:00

One of my clients is an Independent Financial Advisor working here in the UK. His current focus is on Pensions, which is probably one of the most highly regulated products in the history of humankind.

As you can imagine, regulation tends to put a dampener on lead generation activity. My usual approach to writing ad copy isn't all that useful when there's a stern-looking Regulator peeking over my shoulder and tutting into his tea!

Lead generation in a highly regulated market requires extra care, and a lot of creative thinking. As it happens, I've been in this situation before. Between 1995 and 2000, I was the Direct Marketing Manager for a New Zealand investment company. A large portion of my time was dedicated to finding new ways through and around the quagmire of restrictions the government enjoyed imposing on the industry.

In this case, my client is interested in talking to people able to withdraw cash from their UK pension. Up to 25% can be withdrawn, tax free, if the pension holder is over 50. As you can imagine, this is quite an attractive proposition for people with sizeable sums of money.

But there are several potential problems these people face, and they're often not even aware of the fact. And where there's a problem, there's a way to generate leads.

The approach I've developed essentially obtains the prospects interest by pointing out these problems in the form of questions (the trick is to do so in a way the prospect understands).

Most people in the target market won't have thought about such things as the future tax implications of withdrawing 'tax free' pension cash, how their actions will affect their standard of living after retirement, or what they'll do with the remaining 75%.

This gives me a way in, and allows me to generate leads using a 'smart' application I wrote last year. The application asks a couple of questions, and presents a custom report back to the prospect with information that explains the nature of the problem s/he could face.

This information can be fairly sobering. It quickly becomes clear that expert advice is essential, to ensure the prospect makes the best decision given the facts at hand. As this realisation dawns, my client is in the right place at the right time to provide that advice. Add some lead generation magic to overcome human inertia, and he'll find himself with an ongoing stream of serious business enquiries.

An SEO Conundrum

2009-05-23T02:57:00.001+01:00

One of my clients sells a range of designer sofa beds, and wanted to achieve better performance in Google. Her domain includes her surname (Bolton), which meant the site was showing up for the search 'sofa bed bolton'. But she is based in London, and needed it to show up for 'sofa bed london'.

I made the necessary changes to her content, and secured a number of contextual links. It should now show up on page one of Google for the desired keyword phrase, but it isn't. Yet an article that links to her site is showing up in position 3 on page one of Google. This provides the necessary clue. Perhaps Google hasn't yet reindexed the site?

This can be easily checked as follows...

Enter the following into google.co.uk: site:www.yourdomainname
Find the homepage in the list and look at the heading in Google's listing. This is the title tag, and if it doesn't show the latest title Google hasn't yet reindexed the site

That's what has happened in this case. The site changes so infrequently, Google hasn't bothered to revisit. I'm doing all I can to encourage Google to revisit, but sometimes these things take time.

SEO Case Study

2009-05-23T01:14:00.000+01:00

The Brief:

The brief was very clear. Get London Print Shop to the top of Google UK for the keyword phrase 'print shop'. It's a fairly straightforward brief, with plenty of competition for the keyword phrase. All things considered, I thought it was achievable.

The real challenge was getting the company above Google's huge (and annoying) 'Local Business Map'. That meant getting the site into the top 3, which included the site printshop.com and Wikipedia's 'Print Shop' page. Getting above a domain consisting of nothing but the keyword phrase is always tricky. And as for Wikipedia, I sometimes find myself wondering whether Google would still give them a top spot even if they ran nothing but blank pages!

To add to the challenge, the site has few pages and even fewer with useful text. Adding new pages also turned out to be more difficult than it should be. So all things considered, perhaps it's not as straightforward as it first seemed.

On the plus side, the site is well established and was already on page one in Google (in position 6). Its domain also contains both keywords in the URL.

Work the Content:

Once you know the keyword phrase you're indexing for, the next step in to work the content. In this case, I made the following minor changes...

Added the keyword phrase to the start of the title text
Inserted 2 new paragraphs at the top of the page in case Google included this in its listing (I didn't want the otherwise mundane 'Established in 1984' sentence appearing in the search listings)
Changed the description to list the company's main products in case Google included it in its listing (which it ended up doing)
I added a number of internal contextual links back to the home page to help Google index it for the keyword phrase 'print shop'

I created an XML Google sitemap, and registered it with my Google Webmaster Account. I also added analytics code to each page.

The changes I made to the content immediately shifted the site up one position in Google UK. I now needed to get more sites linking to the new homepage, and set about securing external contextual links.

I started with directories and classified sites. For the most part, these weren't contextual links. My main aim here was to have Google follow the links through to the new site, and reindex it.

In this case, the most productive provider of external inbound contextual links was article repositories. I was able create several articles about different aspects of printing (e.g. business card ideas, how to choose a good printer), and insert a contextual link at some point.

This shifted the site up to fourth, where it seemed to sit for a long time. Another round of articles on yet more sites did the trick, and as I write this it's in the #2 spot. I've managed to get it above Wikipedia, which is extremely gratifying.

The problem of human inertia

2009-05-22T21:18:00.001+01:00

All sales and lead generation ad copy has one aim - to overcome human inertia and get the click, from submission, reply coupon, email, phone call or sale.

It isn't easy to overcome human inertia, and this article explains why (in some detail). It looks at the nature of the problem, and how to resolve it for your product or service. Very valuable information!

What it means to specialise

2009-05-22T15:11:00.002+01:00

I've just been surfing the web, looking for ideas for an article about event planning. I found a site that has made a classic ad copy writing error. They've misused the term 'specialise', but giving their readers a list of 60 different things they specialise in .

It's as if they don't know the meaning of the word specialise: to pursue some special line of study, work, etc.; have a specialty.

The words and phrases you use in your ad copy mean something specific. Misusing them weakens the ad, especially when it comes to lead generation and sales copy. Consider the following example...

Here at Joe Bloggs Autos we specialise in...

Porsche
BMW
Mercedes
Audi
Opel
Mini
VW
Citroen
Renault
Fiat
Ferrari
Lamborghini
Lotus
Toyota
Lexus
Nissan
Mazda
Kia
Hyundai

Do you consider this Joe Blogg's ad to be credible? If you had a Ferrari, would you be more likely to trust Joe Bloggs Autos, or a specialist dealer who services only Ferrari?

Using emphasis powerfully in ad copy writing

2009-05-22T09:01:00.001+01:00

Emphasis is probably the most powerful tool in the ad copy writer's toolbox. This excellent article explains how to use it to maximum effect in your sales or lead generation copy.

Boost the power of numbers in your ad copy

2009-05-22T08:27:00.000+01:00

This well-written and highly readable ad copy writing article explains how to boost the persuasive power of numbers in your ad copy. If you need to write persuasive lead generation copy, web sales pages or even direct mail, you'll definitely want to see this.

Business networking Conversation Starters

2009-05-21T21:23:00.001+01:00

Conversation is the key to business networking, and it starts by showing an interest in the other person. Here are some of my favourite conversation starters and follow on questions...

What business are you in?
How did you get into that business?
What do you enjoy most about it?
What kind of people do you like to do business with?
I bet you have some stories to tell? Only ask if person is in an industry where this is likely to be true

These questions allow the other person to talk about themselves. At some point, s/he is likely to ask you what you do. This is your chance to shine. Consider the difference between these 2 answers...

I'm an online lead generation expert. I find ways to turn casual visitors into serious business enquiries
I get you the people who are ready to say yes

The first is a technically accurate, and encapsulates what I do. It's a more complete description.

The second doesn't fully explain what I do, but packs far more emotional punch. It provides an obvious follow-on question that most people will ask. It is more engaging, and generates more interest in my service.

I strongly recommend you develop a similar one-sentence pitch that speaks directly to the outcome your service delivers, rather than providing a technical description.