Category Archives: SEO

A cheat sheet for Google Analytics

Posted by: | May 29, 2013 | Featured, Google, Marketing planning

Internet general imageIf you have a B2B website, you should have Google Analytics installed. The free service provides meaningful insights into your site’s performance, helping you make improvements that will ultimately improve your business.

When you first open Google Analytics, you will most likely be very intimidated (and even highly confused)! Since Google Analytics was built with marketers in mind, there may be a steep learning curve if you try to analyze your website data on your own. If you’re lucky enough to work with a professional marketing company, they can do all the heavy lifting for you. They can analyze the data and present it to you in a straightforward way with recommendations for improvement.

If you’d like to dig around in your own Google Analytics account, the audience overview is a great place to start. It gives you an at-a-glance overview of the following basic metrics, based on your selected date ranges:

  • Visits: How many people visit your site?
  • Unique visitors: How many unique visitors come to your site?
  • Page views: How many pages are visitors viewing when they are on your site?
  • Pages per visit: What is the average number of pages viewed per visit?
  • Average visit duration: How long do visitors stay on your site?
  • Bounce rate: How many visitors come to your site and leave after a single page visit?
  • New visitors: What percent of total visitors are visiting for the first time?

We like doing a deep dive into our clients’ analytics on a quarterly basis (along with basic monthly check-ins, if required). These reviews help our clients measure business goals against their websites’ effectiveness, and offer them insights into how to improve their visitors’ experiences, as well as how to drive more traffic to their sites.

Do you know how your website is performing? What analytics help you the most? Let us know in the comments below.

Do I need SEO marketing?

Posted by: | August 9, 2012 | Best Practices, SEO

To a lot of us, it feels like SEO has been around forever. Even so, it is a fairly new concept when you compare it with other forms of traditional marketing. Some may mistakenly believe that their companies are doing fine without it, but even if you currently have strong sales, you can still benefit from SEO.

To understand how SEO can help your business, ask yourself these questions:   (more…)

Use short- and long-tail keywords for the biggest SEO splash

Posted by: | June 14, 2012 | SEO

“Show, don’t tell.” It’s a rule writers know by heart; specifics make your writing more persuasive and compelling. And that lesson doesn’t just apply to copywriting – details count when it comes to keywords, too.

Keywords generally fall into two categories: short-tail and long-tail, also known as broad and narrow keywords. Short-tail keywords are single words or short phrases that generally describe a topic, such as “Web design.” Long-tail keywords are longer phrases (typically between three and six words) that provide more specifics, such as “Chicago website design.” (more…)

Google’s Knowledge Graph: It’s all about discovery

Posted by: | May 17, 2012 | Google, SEO, Technology

Google is always evolving. Admittedly, some of my favorite innovations from the search engine giant are the interactive logos that appear every so often (did you see the zipper Google created last month in honor of Gideon Sundback’s birthday?).

Logo design aside, the company is trying constantly to create ways to search better, faster and more efficiently. There’s no stronger evidence of this inventive spirit than Knowledge Graph, Google’s latest and greatest in search result delivery. (more…)

Why SEO isn’t a magic pill

Posted by: | January 3, 2012 | Best Practices, Google, Search engine marketing

One pill a day is guaranteed to make you drop pounds fast without diet or exercise – at least, that’s what those slick banner ads want you to believe. You know the ones – a hot mom in a bikini, a tape measure wrapped around her whittled waist, vaguely alarming side effects listed in the fine print underneath her.

Thanks to common sense (and high school health class), most of us realize that downing a cocktail of questionable-sounding chemicals won’t guarantee weight loss. Yet some marketing companies lure in prospects with an equally dubious promise:

“Your site will be in the first page of search engine rankings if you hire us for search engine optimization, guaranteed.”

If an agency says this to you, run. Anyone who promises you a specific ranking is, well, lying.

Without a doubt, SEO is a valuable tool that you can and should use to boost your website’s rankings on Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines. SEO is not the magic bullet some agencies want you to believe it is, however.

First of all, it’s impossible to crack the codes that search engines use to generate their rankings. They’re complex, fiercely guarded and constantly changing. Google, for example, uses more than 200 factors to rank pages – and unless you’re Matt Cutts, there’s no way to know the exact formula. While you can take cues from what’s worked in the past, how can you be sure you’re going to win the rankings game when you don’t even know what the rules are?

In addition, traditional SEO techniques, such as incorporating keywords and inbound links into a site, are just part of the puzzle when it comes to nabbing a high search ranking. When Google revamped its ranking formula last year, the Internet giant revealed that the way users interact with a website would factor into the site’s search rankings. The search engine also considers whether a site’s content is trustworthy, substantive and grammatically correct when assessing its rank, according to this blog.

The lesson? Companies need to have quality content on their site, and they need to update it often to keep visitors coming back. It’s not enough to pepper your site with keywords once – giving your readers valuable and timely information, whether it’s a how-to article on your blog or posting a newsletter, is essential for breaking the first-page ranking ceiling. Of course, you also need to incorporate appropriate keywords into that quality content and review your keywords regularly to make sure they’re still relevant.

Sound difficult to you? Maybe, but it’s the best way to land and maintain a high search ranking. Instead of thinking of SEO as a magic pill – one that guarantees you that coveted top spot in the rankings – think of it as part of your overall diet and exercise regimen. With some time and effort, you’ll get the results you want.

Website planning – 4 questions to ask yourself

Posted by: | June 2, 2011 | Advertising Strategy, Design, General Business Practices

Customers ask us all the time, “What should I have on my website?”  There is no universal set of rules.  Each business has different needs, and part of our job is working with clients to figure out their unique needs. 

If you are thinking of creating your first website or evolving your current site, there are a few simple questions that you can ask yourself to get pointed in the right direction. 

Can I afford a website?

The first question that you may ask yourself is, “Can I afford a website?”  The question that you should be asking yourself is, “Can I afford not to have a site?”  In today’s connected world, websites play a central role in how you market your business.  When a consumer wants to learn more about a service or a product, one of the first things they do is perform an Internet search to start gathering information.

If you are not online, or your web presence is not up to par, you will ultimately lose business to your competitors that are.  If you want to build a great website, you will need to spend some money.  Don’t cut corners– If consumers think that your site is unprofessional, they will feel the same way about your company.

What will my website be used for?

Will your site just provide basic information?  If so, then the essential screens of home, contact us and a products/services page may fit the bill.  Will your sales staff use your website as a sales tool?  In that case, think about incorporating testimonials, case studies and a portfolio. Will you use your site to inform your customers and prospects?  Consider a blog as well as screens for news, events, media, publication and outside resources. 

The lists of uses for your website are endless, and so are the solutions.  You need to think like your prospects and anticipate what they will need out of your site. 

Who will my website audience be?

Is your target audience retired or nearing retirement?  If so, you may need to have a high-contrast site where visitors can select a larger type size.  What computer equipment will they likely have?  If your target audience consists of IT personnel with high-tech computer equipment, your website will be much different than if you are trying to communicate with mass consumers.  What is the education level of your audience?  If your audience has limited literacy and language skills, you must ensure that your copy is accessible to them.  The most successful sites communicate with their audiences on their audience’s terms.

How do you want people to get to your site?

Will you and your sales staff direct consumers and prospects to your site, or will you want them to find you through organic searches?  If you want them to find you, consider search engine optimization (SEO).  The surest bet for SEO is to make sure that your content is aimed at human beings, not search engine spiders.   The algorithms for search engine spiders are constantly changing, but they always take into account the distinction between sites with useful information and sites that only pander to search engines. 

Although there is a lot more that goes into the creation of a website, the basic takeaway is that you have to think like your end user.  Customers and prospects pay attention to a great website that speaks to them on their terms, while not-so-great sites get ignored.   Giving your audience what they need will ultimately help you achieve your sales goals.

SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY PART 3: Blogging your business

Posted by: | March 14, 2011 | Best Practices, Blogging, SEO

NOTE: This is the third part of a six-part series designed to help businesses jump-start their social media campaigns. Check out our earlier posts on getting started and LinkedIn.

Dust off your dictionary and brush up on your writing skills, because blogs are a b-to-b marketing boon. They’re an effective way to showcase fresh news about your company, position yourself as a thought leader in your industry and bump up your search engine rankings to boot.

You’ll find more than 100 million blogs on the Web these days, so how can you make sure yours will stand out? By focusing on informative (not salesy) content, good research and writing, and frequent updates.

Wow blog readers and crank up your SEO

Here’s the breakdown on blogs:

How to use them: You’ll need to set up your blog first, ideally on your company’s website to maximize the effect on your search engine rankings. A number of software programs will help you create a blog. Once you’re up and running, you’ll create short, regularly updated posts that will appear in reverse chronological order. Blog posts can include text, photos and video.

The goal: To share information about your company, show you’re informed about general industry issues and build relationships with repeat blog visitors, who can be customers, prospects, employees or industry colleagues. If your blog is built into your website, you can also aim to raise the ranking of your website in search engines by incorporating keywords into your writing.

Potential uses:

  • Drive traffic to your website
  • Share timely news about your company
  • Tell readers about upcoming events
  • Provide your takes on industry news and issues
  • Engage customers and prospects through contests with audience-relevant prizes

Time involved: Blogging can be pretty demanding time-wise. Plan to spend at least one or two hours crafting a good blog post, and plan to blog at least once a week. Add in the time needed to develop blog ideas and to monitor comments, and you’re looking at a significant time investment.

Money involved: Many software platforms are free, but you may need to pay someone to build the blog into your existing website. And if you don’t have enough time to keep up a blog yourself, factor in what it will cost to hire a new staffer or outsource your efforts.

Drawbacks: The time commitment is off-putting for some companies. You may also have to deal with negative comments on your blog.

Want more?

Read more 411 on blogging, including how b-to-b companies are doing it well.

Moving right along in our social media journey, we turn to Facebook — it’s not just for college kids anymore. Check back on Wednesday to get the scoop.

Google’s message for websites: sacrificing quality for SEO doesn’t cut it

Posted by: | February 28, 2011 | Search engine marketing, SEO, Websites

For those who think loading up their website content with SEO keywords is their golden ticket to the top of Google’s Web rankings, the search engine has some bad news.

Google announced late last week that it was revamping its rules for ranking Web pages, according to this article by the Wall Street Journal. The search engine says it developed the new rules to keep websites with content that’s ripped from other sites or doesn’t provide much value from landing in the coveted top spots for Google searches. Though Google fiercely guards its top-secret formula for Web rankings, it did divulge that it has added several new criteria for the rankings, including how users interact with a site.

While savvy marketers know that search engine optimization, such as incorporating keywords and inbound links, are an important part of designing a site that will rank highly in a search, Google’s new formula is a stern reminder that SEO isn’t everything. The key takeaway here? Quality counts.

Make sure your website offers relevant information that visitors will actually want, whether it’s in the form of a frequently updated blog, in-depth white papers or a search tool to connect people with your organization’s members. Sparkling writing never hurts either. Then sit back and watch your Google rankings rise.

Social media marketing is (almost) free

Posted by: | February 17, 2011 | SEO, Social Media, Social Networking Sites

Anyone can have a great social media program – if you have 22 people on staff to implement it.  That’s the message I heard at Wednesday’s Chicago Building Congress luncheon on social media, where one marketing manager discussed her company’s approach to social media marketing.

They do everything in-house, from creating a timeline and researching other companies to writing a policy on the use of social media.  To get their program running, they trained specially selected staffers how to blog, giving them authority to post on Facebook and Twitter without prior approval.  They also trained employees on how to use LinkedIn for sales.

The social media goals were the same goals most companies share:  to increase brand awareness, help with recruiting and improve their Google rank.  Their tools include LinkedIn for sales and general networking, two Facebook accounts (one general, one for recruiting), Flickr for photo storage to help editors select photos, YouTube for testimonials and case studies, and Twitter to tie it all together.

To drive traffic to their social platforms, they use traditional and new media, including newsletters, their website, postcards, brochures, speaking engagements, press releases, word of mouth and extensive cross-linking, such as including Facebook and Twitter accounts on their e-mail signature block.

That’s clearly a lot of effort, but the hard work paid off in more applications, higher Google rankings and more brand awareness.  The final point:  Most social media platforms are free, but they require an intense labor commitment, either from your staff or an outside firm.  The speaker worked on social media full time during the setup phase, and she still spends an hour a day on it.  No word on how much time the other 21 social media staffers spend, but a program that robust isn’t going to happen by itself.  My advice?  Start small with clear goals, add a platform at a time, link everything together, and review that before adding on.

UIC FBC Presentation Wrap Up

Posted by: | February 10, 2011 | Best Practices, conference, Events

UIC Family Business Council’s event yesterday was a huge success. A huge thanks needs go out to Art Lukowski, FBC president; Brian McIlwee, FBC first vice president; Judy Hogel, director; and Robyn Traub, program coordinator, for making this happen. With a record-setting number of attendees, we were able to share our insights into social media and offer some good tips to a large audience of small-business owners. After talking with many attendees, I feel that the panel achieved our goal of showing the importance of using social media to reach prospective customers.

We had a ton of great questions during and after the panel discussion. We ended up spending quite a bit more time on some of the services (I’m looking at you LinkedIn) than we had planned, but with the organic nature that the talk took on, that’s not a bad thing.

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