Will Hanke

Often I’m contacted by small businesses without a lot of money who need a website.  They are usually put off by the costs associated with building a quality, SEO friendly website.  They just want their business online.

While I agree that they are missing most of the potential of being online, I also see that these business owners may simply be getting online because of a knee-jerk reaction to something that happened recently in their life:

• A customer asked (or many customers ask) about their website.  They had to admit they didn’t have one.
• A business colleague mentioned that he got his website up and running, and is excited about it.
• A rival business launched their website
• At a recent Kiwanis/Chamber/Seminar they heard about the great conversions online retailers are getting.

There are plenty more, but these are the core reasons that I’ve heard over time which ‘kicked the business owner into gear’.

So what do we (web developers and SEO geeks) do with these customers when they are recognized?  Do we simply state a minimum budget and leave them with a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude?  Should we simply refer them on to one of our friends that do crappy work on the cheap?

No! We take the gig.

If you have a potential client who wants a website, but really has no clue what they want, it is our duty and our assignment to explain to them what they need - an online presence that creates leads and sales!

Now I’m not saying take every gig that calls.  There are some business owners out there who want everything for nothing.  They are usually more demanding than serious business owners, and they waste a ton of your time on frivolous things.  Those customers you dump off to your web designer friend (or enemy).  But those business owners who have a viable and profitable business in an industry that lacks serious SEO competition, and just need a brochure website - take them.

I often take these clients simply because I see the potential.  If you can build them a website that won’t take a lot of time and can be easily optimized, why not?  When they start seeing leads trickle in, you’ll be in a great position to explain what you do and how you can increase that traffic tremendously.  It’s leverage.

So what’s the secret of setting up one of these ‘brochure’ websites without spending a ton of time doing so?  Wordpress.

Even though it’s main function is blogging, you can still use it as a great foundation for what your business owner needs.  Creating pages is extremely simple, and finding a template for them is seriously quick.  Within just a few hours you can have them a website up and running - to the tune of whatever you quoted them (I’d say $600 bucks including 1 year of hosting and a domain name would do the trick).

The good news is, if they call you in a few months and need to add things, all you have to do is create a new post/page on the site, and its up.  It’s linked.  It’s ready to go.  No backend coding, no huge amount of time spent doing markup.  Copy. Paste. Publish. Done.

And if they turn into a serious SEO customer, you’ve already got a nice foundation to build upon.

Will beginner sem, leads, small business

Back when I first got out of the military, I got a job at a local copier repair shop.  We tore down used copiers to their frame and then rebuilt the entire thing from the ground up with new parts.  We had one entire 4-shelf setup for each copier, storing parts that were still good, along with every screw, roller and rubber grommet that went back in. A good sized machine could take three or four days to complete.

It was very important for the repairmen to have nice tools, including a magnetized Phillips screwdriver.  Without this tool, it was pretty much impossible to get into those little nooks and crannies to tighten screws.

From time to time, the magnetism in the screwdrivers would wear off, and we’d have to ‘tune them up’.  We did so by taking apart an old solenoid and putting the tip of the screwdriver in the middle of it, then plug that bad boy in.  The magnetic forces created by the coil would help the magnetic particles refocus and realign, and by morning we’d have a kick-ass screwdriver again.

The Two Versions of Marketing

For years and years, marketing has been all about outbound (or Interruption) marketing.  Companies would interrupt people through email blasts, radio or tv commercials, telemarketing and more to try to get their brand in front of potential customers.  That was the old way.  It’s no fun, not trackable, and most companies weren’t really thrilled with doing it.  A necessary evil.

As the Internet continues to mature, new communication paths and opportunities are coming to business owners, including a great new way to market to potential customers - inbound marketing.  Think of inbound marketing as a lot like a magnet; you create content that people are drawn to.  People want to read your blog because it is interesting and provides insight to an industry or product they have never had access to before.  Can you see where I’m going with this?

If you aren’t doing inbound marketing, well, shame on you.  The time is here (actually, it’s passing you by) to get involved.  Creating content should be something you all the time.  This new content will pull in visitors that are looking for just what you’re talking about.  Yeah, thanks to search engines, RSS feeds and social media, it pulls them in.  You don’t have to go stand on a corner with a megaphone and beg people to come into your store, they’ll come because they are simply interested with what you have to say/provide.

Inbound marketing methods

Blogging - if you aren’t blogging at least once a week for your business, you are missing out on some major traffic.  From ranking your site for ‘long tail links’ to providing your customers with info they need, blogging is by far the number one way to increase your website’s overall footprint on the Internet.

SEO / SEM - If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’ve already been exposed to SEO in some amount.  Search engine optimization is an awesome way to increase your rankings in the “big three” as well as all the thousands of other smaller search engines out there.  SEO also means you understand and watch what your website visitors are doing, and if they’re not buying, how to adjust accordingly to prod them along.

Social Media - Today its all about relationships and community.  From mySpace to Facebook to Twitter and beyond, people are creating their own inbound marketing channels through these websites and methods of communication.

RSS - I had a hard time grasping RSS when it first came out.  It’s a tough one to explain, but once you understand it, you’ll never believe you could have made it through a week without it.  Good thing is, if you’re blogging, you’ve probably already got RSS capabilities, you just need to promote them a bit more.

Viral Media - YouTube used to be something that people visited because they were bored or just wanted to see themselves online.  However, when it sold to Google for 1.6 billion dollars, businesses soon figured out that there is huge potential in video.  Creating videos that people want to share can result in literally thousands of visitors to your website.  Be creative, think it out, and watch it grow.

Tools - As you start to grow your website, you’ll probably start to see some recurring themes.  People will be using search terms that push them to your website, and the information they seek you have.  Smart businesses are creating tools for these visitors, and thus cornering a part of a market that their competitors don’t have.  Examples? Sure.

• An online mortgage calculator on a real estate agent’s website
• A wine grading worksheet for wannabe connoisseurs
• A downloadable town reference guide on a bed and breakfast owners’ website

So how’s your magnet working for you?

Is it focused and aligned, pulling in those customers (and dollars), or is it too weak (or non-existant) to hold onto your goal at all?  Your inbound marketing magnet should be on full blast, and if it isn’t, now is the time to get it tuned.

Will Marketing, SEO, beginner sem, business blogging, content, free stuff, small business, social media, traffic, trending, twitter, videos

Looking for blogs that you can probably leave keyword-targeted comments on?  Try searching for this

“just another wordpress” keyword

Since these bloggers haven’t modified the general description, chances are they aren’t real SEO savvy, and you could probably get in some nice one way links.  Just don’t outright spam them, at least leave a halfway interesting comment…

Will beginner sem, blogging, link building

I bargained with life for a penny
And life would pay no more
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store

For life is a just employer
He gives you what you ask
But once you have set the wages
Why, you must bear the task

I worked for a menial’s hire
Only to learn dismayed
That any wage I had asked of life
Life would have willing paid.

For those of you just getting started in SEO / SEM consulting, listen up.

Earlier this year I partnered up with a business colleague to do some revenue share for him.  Basically it was this: I do SEO for him and I get a percentage of the revenue that the website creates.  I actually do this for several local businesses, but I’m not sure that it’s the best option.

While small businesses love to ‘partner up’ with other business owners, I’m really having second thoughts about doing this in the future.

Here’s the deal.  You offer a great service, one that can propel a business (literally) into a new revenue stream. You have the know-how and understanding to create wealth.  And wise small business owners will see this and want it.  However, most small businesses lack one thing - money.  While this isn’t always the case, it has been my experience that a lot of small business owners want a lot, particularly things they can’t pay for.  Of course, who wouldn’t.

If I owned a coffee shop, and in came a guy with a laptop, having meetings, talking to business owners, I’d want to know what he offered.  I’d want him to market my business.  But I’m just a little coffee shop owner, I don’t have that kind of money to throw at marketing.

Just a word of advice - RUN!

My wife often tells me that I’ve got this soft spot for people in a pinch.  For some reason I feel bad when I see a business owner struggling, and I want to help.  I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes - perhaps they’re really bad at accounting.  Perhaps they are funding useless causes.  Perhaps they have no idea what’s going on at all in their business.  Whatever it is, all I see is the outward sadface, and I offer to help.

Most often she’s right (dammit!).  She sees me working for these people ‘in hopes of a future return’.  She sees the kids wanting new this and that, and she sees me working away, but the bank account doesn’t increase.  I can’t blame her for getting aggravated.

So if you’re good at SEO, and you know it, don’t fall for these things.  You offer a damn good product, quality advice and the power to increase sales.  Don’t let it go for cheap.

Disclaimer: There are plenty of reasons to help out a small business.  I am in no means telling you to avoid these altogether - rather I’m telling you to be wise.  If you have a friend that needs help, throw him some link juice. Do a small link building campaign. But don’t go overboard just to prove yourself.  If you want to do that, do it on your own website, not someone else’s.

Will beginner sem, customer service, money, networking, site ranking, small business