This can kind of be a trick question.  Obviously, in the perfect scenario, you want your customers to search for you on Google, Yahoo!, whatever and find your call to action page right away.  But that’s not always the case.  What if they land on your home page?

Many businesses focus nearly all their efforts, especially link building efforts, on their home page.  So it’s very common for searchers to land on your home page when searching for one of your products.  But if you’ve got even just 100 products, you aren’t going to be able to list them all on your home page.  So how much time do you have before they decide to give up, hit the BACK button, and abandon your site?  You’ve got about 3 clicks.

One Click or Less

The perfect scenario is that the searcher lands on the product/service page for which they are searching.  If you’re selling  many types of widgets:

• You should have separate pages for each type of widget you sell
• These pages should be clearly labeled (meta description, title tag, H1 tags) as such
• Searchers will find these pages in Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc
• Searchers will click the BUY button. You’re happy.
• You ship the widget. They’re happy.

Unfortunately, what usually happens is the searchers end up on your home page.  Not the best possible scenario, but still ok.

Finding the Way

Most natural links point to a website’s home page.  These links, when accompanied with decent anchor text, can help your home page rank for multiple words.  There’s nothing wrong with that.

Over time your site may rank for widgets, blue widgets, and maybe widget problems for example.  Since the information on your blue widgets isn’t on your home page, a person landing on your home page is forced to find them.  This is where your site navigation becomes important.

Site structure is a completely separate blog post, too deep to go into here.  But it suffices to say that a good structure built up front will help you keep more customers on your site for a longer period of time.  The quicker they can find what they came for, the better.

Into the Funnel

And as I said before, the most they should have to click before finding the blue widgets page is three times.  If they have to click more than that, it’s very possible that they’ll end up heading back to the search engine and going to the next result.

Check out your website.  Pick out a few products, then start at your home page and see if you can get to a call to action button in three clicks or less.  Examples of a call to action would be:

• a Purchase/Buy button
• a contact form (“for more information”)
• a Click to Call button
• a Request Catalog button (not the best but at least it’s something)

If you pass that test for your products, then try this:  Go to a random page on your website.  Now try to get to those same products in three clicks or less.  Can you still get there?

Why do this?  Easy.  You have limited control over what pages the searchers are going to land on.  So you need to make sure your entire website is navigable within three clicks or less.  You’re going to need a lot of funnels.

Fixing It

If you do these tests, and have to click four or five (or more!) times before finding what you need, there’s a real good chance you need to rethink your site structure and navigation.  Before you go all gung-ho and start moving things around, you really need to be careful that you don’t do it wrong.  Moving pages without telling the search engines where the pages are moved to can just kill your rankings.  There are steps involved, plans to make, and redirects to build.  Contact a professional that can help you keep that Google juice flowing – like me!

I talked to one business owner today who builds inground pools in the Saint Louis area.  For years his business has flourished.  Last year he had to add staff and purchase more vehicles to keep up with all the work.

This year, however, everything has ‘dried up’.  He’s having a hard time paying bills, especially new trucks and maintenace.  No one is buying homes, which means no one is spending on upgrades like pools.  So he’s checking into running a special in the local newspaper promoting a sale which he won’t make hardly anything off of.  Just to get his name out there, and to stay in business.

If you aren’t marketing your business now, you’re in for a shitload of trouble (pardon my French) when the market does turn around.  Those that took this time to start putting money into their Internet marketing are going to be so far ahead of the curve as the economy creeps back up that they won’t be able to catch up.

So, with all that said, here’s a question for you business owners:  Would you pay for a one-day seminar that taught you the basics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and also exposed you to some other marketing ideas, such as video marketing, email and direct markeitng, and maybe even something on website maintenance?  Would you pay $299? $199? $99? $69?

What would it be worth to you to gain a HUGE amount of information about Internet Marketing for your business at a one-day seminar catered to your needs?

I was surprised to find so many businesses taking part in the Chamber meeting. Several people who had taken my classes were there, so it was nice to see some familiar faces from the get-go.

The meeting included a lunch served by the people at Ponderosa Restaurant and a drink (water for me).  There were a few announcements along with the opportunity to introduce the guests (me and many others).  I met some nice people and had a good time.

Apparently normally the Chamber has a guest speaker at most of their meetings, however this one backed out, so they decided to do a ‘topic’ instead, and this months topic was Marketing Your Business.  Right up my alley, or so I thought.

The first speaker was from DDI Media, a local billboard company.  She promoted her billboards and told of her pricing schedule.  No mention of  ‘marketing’ tips.

Second and third were salesmen from local newspapers.  They talked about their great subscription base and blurted out their inflated circulation numbers, all in an attempt to get more advertisers.  No mention of marketing tips.

Can you see where this is going?

Next up was supposed to be the ‘Welcome Wagon’, a company that puts (imagine this) ads in a little packet that they give out to all the people who apply for residency permits.  No mention of marketing tips.

Last was the good ‘ole Yellow Book.  This lady was even worse than the others.  She simply read from a flyer that she had handed out and told the business owners about all the great things that YB does.  She mentioned (incorrectly) Pay to Click, and Search Ads, although I guarantee I could talk circles around her about her own product.  It was funny to watch her read what she was selling when it was obvious that she didn’t know jack squat about it.

So, since there was no mention of actual marketing tips (the “topic” of the day), I’m going to simply pretend like I was asked to also speak.

“Thank you for this opportunity.  I’d like to share with you seven tips that you can go back to the office and do today that will help increase your business revenue.

1. Add your business to Google Maps.  Take the time to put in as much information as you can, including your products, services, hours and what kind of payments you take.  Add information on what you do, how well you do it, and verify your address through Google’s verification system.
2. Start asking customers to write reviews about your business on Yelp!, Mixx, and other local-based websites.  Don’t fake the reviews yourself, or ask your relatives to do it – those are too obvious.
3. Set up a blog on your website, and publish something each week (at a minimum).  Listen to your customers, and use their questions as fodder for your upcoming posts.  Blogging for business can lead to very nice ROI.
4. Get a Twitter account, and start posting daily messages about your business.  Don’t be boring, post things that people will find interesting. Link your account to your website, and set up an account through twitterfeed that automatically posts your new blogs.
5. Start tracking your website visitors.  Add Google’s analytics program to your site and learn where people are finding you.  Do you know how many people call you because of your website? …which brings me to number six…
6. Consider getting a call tracking service.  Call tracking lets you get separate phone numbers for each of your marketing campaigns.  You can then track that campaign and literally tell how well or poor it did.  Doing a direct-mail campaign? Get a phone number that only shows up on your mailer. When people call, you’ll know just how that campaign did.  And it’s not expensive.
7. And lastly, consider attending a seminar on Search Engine Marketing (SEM).  You’ll be blown away by the amount of things you can do online that can increase your bottom line beyond what you ever thought possible.  There are competitors of yours out there who haven’t heard about SEM yet, but when they do, you’ll be sorry you didn’t get to it first.

Ok sure, some of this may be self-serving in a roundabout way, but hey at least I’m giving real marketing tips.

I look forward to future Chamber meetings, and the topics they’ll cover in the future.  I could definitely use some education on things like accounting and such, so I’m sure it will benefit me in the long run.

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.

Let’s be honest.  Pagerank is nice.  Its fun to watch the little green bar grow as your website gets older.  The further it climbs, the more your ego swells.  But does that little green bar pay any of your bills?

Consider this: If you build a website full of rich information that helps your customer base, and you are a pagerank of zero, does that mean your website is useless?

Google makes major updates to their pagerank only about 3-4 times a year.  That means you could literally have a good quality website with a PR of zero for several months.

On the other hand, if you’re a good blackhat, you can swell up that pagerank number to a number higher than what it should be through manipulation of links, etc.  These are usually the people that are building and selling websites by referencing the PR.  It’s inflated, and they are demanding a price higher than the real website’s value.  Tsk, tsk.

I think the little green bar is fun to watch, but I wouldn’t put too much value in it.  If you are a business owner, and are watching for that to grow, quit wasting your time and invest it into a profitable link building plan or SEO campaign.  Provide quality content and the customers will come.

After all, customers are the ones with the real green.

The offer went straight to all 449 InBoxes, so I can safety assume that at least 85% of them were delivered successfully.  In fact, meetup.com probably has bounce measures in place to weed out the false members, so it’s possible that 100% of the members received my offer.

Yet not one took me up on it.

Not one of 449 entrepreneurs took advantage of a great marketing opportunity.  Why?  Could it be because they thought they’d be helping my client and not themselves? Perhaps.  Could it be because they didn’t understand what I was asking for? Perhaps.

But I think the answer is quite simple.  Small business owners still don’t understand the power of marketing on the Internet.  Not even close.

Two years ago I was hired by a local retail mattress store.  They had a website that wasn’t the greatest, and they were paying AT&T an outageous amount of money for traffic and marketing.  Yet their website wasn’t selling a damn thing.  It wasn’t generating leads, it wasn’t producing revenue, it was simply a train wreck.

It wasn’t necessarily their fault.  As with most SMB owners, when a big company like AT&T comes in, they may be overwhelmed with the statistics that are thrown at them.  They are promised ‘online marketing’ and ‘traffic’ with great generality and glazing over of details.  What kind of marketing? What kind of traffic?  They don’t know to ask, and they don’t even know what answer is the correct one.

On top of this, SMB owners aren’t web designers.  They are given archaic tools and expected to produce a customer-friendly website.  They aren’t given guidance, they aren’t even told how to create a simple contact form.  So it’s no wonder the money goes down the drain.  And most SMBs don’t exactly have money to just throw down the marketing drain.

Shortly after I was hired, we started rebuilding their entire website.  They weened off the phone book ads one at a time, canceled AT&T’s “marketing” and put all their efforts into the web.  It’s a good thing, too, as the business was slowly going downhill.  Downhill to the point that had they not made this bold move, they’d probably be out of business today.  (And this isn’t just me bragging, you can ask Doug yourself)

Once we launched the newly designed site, a (not so) amazing thing happened.  They started ranking.  They started getting quality traffic.  People started calling.  Customers started asking for prices and delivery.  Their website was actually generating a decent ROI.

Over time, you’ll learn that one of the best things you can do for a website is to provide new and relevant content often.  Search engines love the content, and if it’s on target with your industry, you’ll start to see rankings for long tail searches you never thought would bring you traffic (and sales!).  Providing this content gets more and more difficult over time, as you start to run out of things to say.

Now, my client still has plenty of content ammunition.  But he also knows that there are things that he doesn’t know, that are related to his industry, but he doesn’t know.  And these things are just what I was asking other SMB owners to write about.  But they didn’t.  Why?

The other huge part of getting more traffic to your website is links.  And in particular, links from industry-related websites are great ways to improve your over SERP rankings.  So writing an article for another website, that is willing to link back to yours, is an awesome opportunity.  One that 449 St. Louis entrepreneurs missed.