SEO: When Should You Begin Search Engine Optimization for a New Site?

Dear Rich,

I've seen you say that one should start SEO (search engine optimization) before the launch of a new site. How is this possible?

--Confused in Calais

Dear Confused,

Although you can perform SEO at any point before or after the launch of a Web site, I can think of three good reasons why it's better to start with SEO:

1. It's less expensive. A good keyword analysis (an important part of a healthy breakfast an SEO package) will drive your content and your copy; if you do it after the site is built, you're in effect doing the work twice.
   
2. It's market research. A keyword analysis may uncover some opportunities that you hadn't thought of yet; new topics to cover, even new services to offer.
3. It will help focus your social media strategy. You can take your optimal keywords and start working them into your tweets, your Facebook fan page, your YouTube videos and your LinkedIn profile...all things you can be working on while your Web designer builds out your new site.

There is some parts of SEO that can't be performed until after the site is launched, specifically a link building campaign. Obviously, other sites, blogs and directories won't want to link to a coming soon page; they'll be looking for something of value if they're going to be linking to you.

Rich Brooks
SEO for Small Businesses

Web Marketing Course for Entrepreneurs and Small Business

I can't believe that we're just one week away from the first class of Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Small Business over at the University of Southern Maine.

Well, actually I can, as I spent most of yesterday afternoon updating and revamping the search engine optimization content for the class. And I've blocked out plenty of hours this week to review the rest of my content and build out the social media component. But the "I can't believe" part stresses the fact that it's only a week away, and if you were planning on coming you've got to get a move on.

Who should go? Well, you should be in driving distance of Portland, Maine. (Yes, one of these days I'll create an online version, but not today.) Assuming that you can get to the campus, this course is geared to small business owners, marketers and entrepreneurs who are looking to build a Web presence to grow their business.

Topics will include search engine visibility (how do you out rank your competition,) email marketing, business blogs, social media, e-commerce, and building a Web site that will convert prospects into customers.

The course is held over four Monday nights, 11/10/2008 - 12/1/2008, from 6pm - 8pm at the Abromson Center on the campus of the University of Southern Maine (directions.) The cost is $205, but you need to pre-register for the class, so...

Register Now!

We'll be spending class time reviewing students' current Web sites (when applicable) and making on the spot recommendations to help you rank higher, drive more qualified leads to your site, and convert more prospects into customers. So what are you waiting for?

Register Now!

Rich Brooks
Oh Captain, Your Captain

Learn Internet Marketing in Maine This Fall

For those living in or near southern Maine who are looking to learn more about using Internet Marketing to grow your business, you may be in luck.

I'll be teaching a 4 class course on Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Small Business at the University of Southern Maine. I've taught this course a few times before, and it continues to evolve. This time around there will be more time given to social media and how you can use it to leverage your brand and connect with prospects and customers. We'll look at YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and more.

As in the past, we'll also spend time on what I consider the building blocks of Web marketing:

• Search Engine Optimization: how to improve your search engine visibility through keyword rich content and incoming links.
• Business Blogs: how a blog can increase visibility, improve rankings, and establish you as an expert.
• Email Marketing: how to build a subscriber base in a world that has too many ezines already.

And we'll look at traffic reports (analytics), podcasting, and building a Web site that converts prospects into customers.

Dates & Times: 4 Mondays, November  10-December  1, 6-8 p.m.        

Cost: $205 (8 contact hours/ 0.8 CEUs)        
Place: Abromson Center, 88 Bedford Street, USM Portland campus (directions)

Register Now!

Rich Brooks
Small Business Web Marketing Expert

How to Get a Small Business Web Site for Nearly Nothing

In today's Small Business section of the Wall Street Journal is an article called Creating a Successful Site for Almost Nothing by Vauhini Vara. (Link will expire soon for non-subscribers, so click now!) And unlike a lot of similar-themed articles for mainstream media, this one is pretty well researched and written. If you've never had a Web site before, following the instructions in this article is a great start.

You'd think this would make me nervous, being a Web designer and all. I mean, look no further than travel agents to see a job title that's been almost erased by free tools on the Internet. Do free and nearly free Web sites mean the end for your local Web designer?

Ummm...no. Although many travel agents closed their doors after Expedia and Travelocity became popular, others chose the value-added route and became wildly successful. Like any service professional, the best will focus on services that can't be automated or outsourced abroad.

Business owners who are looking for free and nearly free Web sites aren't my target audience. Cheap is not the same as valuable; in fact, the two are usually diametrically opposed. As the article states,

[The hosting companies that offer free hosting] often make money by charging for premium services or running ads on your Web pages.

I mean, what business would have free ads on their Web site? Probably the same ones who hand out business cards that say "Learn how you can get your 50 free business cards by calling..." It doesn't reek of professionalism.

Now, when I started out I designed my own business cards and printed (yes, printed) my monthly newsletter on my dad's printer/copier to save money. I remember the startup days. But if you're a serious business, you shouldn't be trying to create a free Web site, you should be trying to build an effective Web plan that includes search engine optimization, email marketing, blogging and maybe even a social media strategy.

Rich Brooks
Small Business Web Sites and Internet Marketing

How to Keep Visitors at Your Web Site

Are you getting people to your Web site just to see them click away before visiting a second page? Do you have a very low conversion rate for traffic?

If so, there's a good article over at MarketingScoop called Why You're Losing Traffic and How to Make Them Stay.

The percentage of people who only visit one page on your site is called your bounce rate. Bounce rates vary between companies and industries, but lowering your bounce rate by just a few percentage points could result in thousands of dollars of new revenue.

There are lots of reasons why people click away from your site; the most prevalent is probably that they followed a link and after looking at your site, determined you didn't offer what they needed. Not much you can do about that, but this article lists seven things you might be doing wrong on your site.

In my opinion, the most important is #3: Giving Web Visitors Too Many Distractions. I see this time and again on Web sites where site owners try and promote 20 different items. Terrible idea. You're just giving you site visitors paralysis as they're overwhelmed by options and the fear that they will make the wrong choice.

For the other 6 ways you may be driving away traffic, be sure to read Why You're Losing Traffic and How to Make Them Stay.

Rich Brooks
Baby Please Don't Go

How to Drive Qualified Leads to Your Web Site

SEO is sexy.

Not in the way that makes one feel "randy", but in the way that it attracts the most attention when it comes to driving more traffic to your Web site.

However, there are many other effective methods to driving qualified leads to your Web site, including email marketing, blogs, article marketing, social media and more. There's even traditional offline methods as well. (Yes, some people still watch TV and read the newspaper.)

If you've been wondering how to drive more qualified leads to your own Web site, I invite you to the next session of flyte school: Building Traffic At Your Web Site.

This seminar will be held at flyte's offices in Portland, Maine. (Yes, I'm still working on Webinars! Get off my back!)

Date: 3/12
Time: 12 noon - 1:30pm
Cost: $50 (includes lunch)

Registration is required as we cap the class at 10 people. Don't be left out, register today!

Rich Brooks
"Professor"

12 Web Marketing Ideas to Jump Start Your Business

You know those "new" episodes of your favorite TV show when a character gets hit by a car, and then all their friends gather by their bed side and retell their favorite stories through a series of clips?

Welcome to my clip show.

Here's a quick list of the 12 articles we published in flyte log, our monthly Web marketing ezine:

• Your 2008 Web Marketing Plan
• How to Use Social Media to Reach New Customers
• Business Blog Success: 10 Tips for a Profitable Blog
• Increase Your Search Engine Visibility: Three Things You Can Do Today
• Nine Indispensable Online Tools for Your Web-Based Business
• Four Tips to Maximize Your Email Marketing Results
• The Secret to a Web Site That Sells
• Six Blogging Myths That Are Holding You Back
• The Dangers of Relying on Google for Business
• Holistic Web Marketing: An Integrated Approach to Online Success
• Tracking Conversions: Does Your Web Site Turn Suspects into Prospects?
• Informational Products: Selling Your Knowledge Online

There's oodles of ideas in these articles that you can use to jump start your business and build it over the next year. If you'd rather not miss any new articles, please subscribe to flyte log in the box below.

Rich Brooks
Greatest Hits

Your 2008 Web Marketing Plan

There's light fluffy snowflakes falling outside my window this morning as I polish off another issue of flyte log, our Web marketing email newsletter...the last for 2007.

Rather than look back on 2007--as good as it was--it's time to look forward to 2008 and start making plans. Web marketing plans, that is.

Today's issue of flyte log is Your 2008 Web Marketing Plan, a month-by-month, itemized list of what you need to do to succeed in 2008.

Your Web marketing plan includes ideas on search engine optimization, blogging, social media, Webinars and more.

Why not take the first step in improving your chances for success in 2008 by signing up for flyte log now, so you never miss another issue?

Rich Brooks
Your Web Marketing Guide

Did Someone Else Write Your Copy? Check This!

Twice in the last week I've heard from two people who have been cited for plagiarizing copy from other Web sites. Both seemed sincerely mortified and apologetic that it had occurred, and both told me that their copy had been created by a 3rd party.

Of course, now we know that it wasn't created by a 3rd party, but rather stolen by a 3rd party. I feel sorry for these small business owners because I believe they didn't know they were using copyrighted material. However, it's kind of like when the baggage claim people ask you if you're carrying a bag for anyone you don't know.

If you have hired someone to write your copy for you, it wouldn't be a bad idea to head over to Copyscape and plug in your home page or other pages on your site...this should show you if the content was actually original or plagiarized. With free tools like this available, you'll never have to worry if your content was created...or swiped.

Rich Brooks
Original G

What Harry Potter Can Teach Us About Good Web Design

Don't worry, you won't find any spoilers here.

If you've read the Harry Potter series, you know how creative these books are. How the plot twists can dupe even the most experienced readers. How the characters grow and continually surprise us. How the stories are funny, scary, emotional and nerve-racking by turn.

Let me ask you, though:

• What side of the book is the binding on?
• What letters of the alphabet does J.K. Rowling use to tell the story?
• What color are the pages? The print?
• Are the pages sequential?

What's fascinating about Potter isn't the formatting of the book but the ideas within it. So why do so many Web site owners toil under the belief that they need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to Web site design?

Good design is about making your Web site easy for visitors to use...especially ones who are there for the first time. Don't spend your creative juices coming up with a novel method of navigation...it will just frustrate and turn off most of your visitors. Instead, go with a clean, professional design that promotes your business, and use your creative on content that engages and persuades your visitors to take action.

Rich Brooks
Muggle