Will Hanke

You never know where you’ll get your next client.  I’ve had them find me online, call my toll-free number from business cards, and even stop me thanks to a window decal.

Just yesterday I took the kids to Six Flags, and as soon as we pulled up in the parking slot, someone approached me asking for a business card.  The guy said he currently had “two IT grads fighting over the best approach for his website”.  Of course I gave him a business card and asked him to contact me.  It’ll be interesting to see what his site is doing or not doing for his business.

If you decide to get a decal for your car, here are a few quick pointers that I’ve learned.

• Get a light color
  I prefer white, because it shows up the best.  When you’re driving, particularly if you have tinted/shaded windows, the vehicle looks very dark from the outside.  So light colored are the easiest to read
• Get BIG
  Don’t go cheap and think fitting more on your window is better.  Get something BIG and make sure everyone can read it.
• Be quick and concise
  People driving aren’t looking for your service, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need it.  Have something on your car/truck that tells just what you do, and a way to get in contact with you.  You don’t have a long time to sell.
• Contact info
  Phone numbers, unless they’re vanity numbers, will probably not get written down.  I’ve never written down a number from a passing car.
• Track your decal calls
  If you really want to see just how your new decal can do, get a vanity number and then use call tracking to see just how awesome your new advertising campaign is doing.

Here’s the one one the back of my GMC Denali

Will Marketing

I must admit I’m pretty surprised nowadays when I come across a website that has a splash page.  Then again, I’m not totally surprised, as every day there are more and more people deciding that they are web designers, and adding their crappy coding to the mix.

Not to say mine is great, but hey.  If you’re going to hire someone to paint a big billboard for you, wouldn’t you want them to put it near a highway with lots of traffic?

What is a splash page?

A splash page is a pre-home page if you will.  It’s a page that is usually graphic-intensive and contains little or no real text.  Here are a few examples. Ugh.

What’s the problem?

Well, for one, they’re pointless.  Just makes your visitor have to click to get into your site.  Why not present them with your info immediately?  How many visitors do you lose because they don’t see the info they are seeking on your home page?

Second, they aren’t search engine friendly.  Since your home page is probably the most visited page (from SE referrals), a page of wasted real estate is just what the search engines don’t want.  They want content. Text. Data. Keywords.  Stuff they can chew up and digest and learn more about your business.  If all they find is an empty field and some weird Flash animation, you’ll never climb the rankings.  And if people can’t find you, you’ve wasted your time, efforts, and probably some cash too.

Third, they’re pointless.  Yeah, I know I already said that.  Catch my drift?

Will Marketing

For four years I’ve taught HTML, Blogging, Internet marketing classes and more at the local branch of the public library here in my town.  Over the years, I’ve fine-tuned my classes into two hours of jam-packed information.  I’ve received “rave” reviews since I started, and have been told many times that I need to get these presentations to bigger audiences.  Many that took my classes have said that they would have paid for the info they got in them.

Well, either it’s all gone to my head or there really is a market out there for business owners willing to pay for a solid, quality conference to learn how to get their websites rolling.  Or maybe a bit of both.

So after the spring session ended and my teaching classes was off until the fall, I thought I’d make a go of hosting a real seminar/conference, get some real industry professionals to speak, and host an awesome info-packed event for STL businesses.

But I failed.  Kinda.
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Will Marketing, conferences, small business fail, failures, marketstl, seminar, SEO

When a business owner decides that they need to get online, often times they ask their friends, clients and customers what it is that they “do” online.  Since the popular thing right now is Twitter, I’d venture to guess that a good amount of tech-savvy customers would suggest that the biz owner jump onto the Twitter bandwagon.

While getting on Twitter, Facebook or any other social media site is a great idea, I think it’s definitely not the right way to get started.  Twitter is simply the flavor of the month right now.  A year ago MySpace was all the rage.  A year from now it’ll probably be something else.

Get Started Offline

I think the best way to get started online is to start offline, just like you are.  Ask customers how they found your business.  Did they search online? Did they look in the phone book?  Did they just drive by and see your sign?

For the ones that saw you online, this means that you have some sort of presence online, even if you don’t have a website yet.  Websites like Yelp, Yahoo Local and Google Maps (along with hundreds of others) probably already list your business, services, products and maybe even some customer reviews.

Do Some Online Investigating

Ask those customers where they saw you.  Did they read about you on one of the sites above, did they find you in an Internet search, or did they get a referral from an online friend?

Then jump online and start looking around.  See what’s mentioned about your business.  Find your business in Google Maps and others and claim those listings.  Add pertinent business information and you’re on your way.  Search for your business name with quotes around it (for example: “Bobs Sink Repair”).

Next, start thinking about what your customers would type into Google to find you.  Would they type some words and a geolocator (like ’st louis’), or would they just type in your best product (aka ‘bathroom faucets’) or service (aka ’sink repair’)?

Think like a customer, not like an entrepreneur.  Try your best to avoid acronyms and buzzwords that people in your industry would know, but Joe Average (aka your customer) wouldn’t.

Do a Bit of Keyword Research

Sure, you’re not an SEO, and keyword research doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. But just taking an hour or three to understand some of the variants in keywords that people use to find you will be worth it before you start building a website in your mind.

If you need help, or just really don’t have time, you could find someone to do it for you for a couple bucks.  Problem is, you still won’t get the experience of sitting in front of a PC and typing in various things to see what comes up.  That experience can help you get to your ‘ah-ha’ moment for search.  It can also inspire other ideas, other keyword ideas you didn’t think of originally, and it can also show you what your competition is doing (or not doing if you’re observant).

Find a SEO-Savvy Web Designer

Clueless web designers are everywhere. Your cousin’s dog groomer’s sister does it, so why not hire her? Or better yet, why not do it yourself?

It is my guess that business owners like to save money. I know I do. But I also know when spending money is smart.  Spending money on marketing materials (flyers, signage, website) is a smart move. It’s not smart to go cheap on these things.  If your cousin’s friend’s friend can crank it out, but you can’t find any of her past works in Google, chances are that’s not a good investment.

Take some time and interview a few web designers. Make sure they understand SEO, how to make search-friendly websites, and that they understand the importance of keyword placement, proper HTML coding and title tags.  When looking for an SEO, make sure they can prove their rankings, and that they offer things like call tracking and ranking reports.

Summary

While I think Twitter is probably one of the most awesome business tools out there at the moment, it’s not the core of my business strategy, and it shouldn’t be for you either.  Your strategy needs to be wide and yet focused.  Build a quality website and provide educational information to your clients. Find a good SEO-savvy designer and you’ll be well on the way to better profits.

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Will Marketing small business, web design