Google Algorithm Change - My Perspective

Who cares?

Yes, you heard me right - who cares?

The people who care are the ones who are very reliant on search engine rankings to create awareness for their organization.

I would characterize this situation as an OVER-RELIANCE on search engine rankings.

Here's why.

I'll pick on my own site for a minute - www.TheWebForBusiness.com.

I personally don't really care how many people find the site in the search engines. Why? Because it is not my primary marketing tool. I have relied on the "old-fashioned" methods of getting the word out. I focus on word-of-mouth and personal networking. It has kept me busy enough over the years and when I need more work, it arrives.

I also have a moderately-sized e-mail database so direct, targeted e-mail works for me as well.

The site is currently #21 in Google for "website design niagara", #20 for "niagara website design" (or #11 if you count the businessniagara.ca directory) and #1 under "niagara internet marketing". It's also #8 under "niagara seo" and #4 under the longer version.

I'm putting these stats here so I can go back in a future blog post and see how these have changed based on Google's algorithm change.

Why don't I sweat the algorithm change? Because in the big picture, my brand - the story I tell and people tend to believe - is fairly strong. People know who I am and I get referred a lot.

Now, this devil-may-care approach may not work for everyone. I have clients who are deeply concerned about their search engine positions. I'm still not stressed about Google's change - because the sites that have been around for a while at the top of the heap are probably still going to be there when the dust settles. There's always a chance that some of our client's sites will even improve their rankings when it's all over. One never really knows, does one...

The point is - if you've done your homework over the past several years you probably won't have much of a problem. What do I mean by homework?

• creating quality content for VISITORS to your site instead of merely creating spider-bait
• working on getting inbound links from quality resources instead of link-farms
• keeping your site up to newer technical standards to make it as search-engine-friendly as possible

Let's see how this shakes out.

The Way We See Ourselves

I purchased something a while back from a fellow with a good story. He's an internet marketer who had a tragedy befall his family and to help cover the resulting costs, he put together a really good information package at a very low price. I bought it because I thought the value of the package was great and I wanted to help out.

As time went on, I found the communication from this fellow started drifting from the core package of information originally promised. While it all had to do with internet marketing, I was starting to see it was all trying to sell me more stuff that I didn't particularly want. And to top it off, he made an income statement that made me feel like I'd been had.

So I e-mailed him, made my opinion known, asked to be unsubscribed and suggested he refund the original package price. He did those things, but took the time to strongly defend his actions. I accept his defense, but one thing surprised me.

Not once did he ask why I felt the way I did or what he might have done to make me feel that way. Everything was about him - why what he was doing was right and why I was wrong. If he had taken a slightly different approach to answering me, he'd still have my money (and a tad more respect) today.

Maybe we get a little wrapped up in what we're doing to notice that not everything we do is perceived the way we think it is.

It's possible we see ourselves in a different light than others do.

The people who support us 100% are not the most important voices we need to listen to. It's the people who DON'T that provide us with the feedback we need to improve.

Remember that the next time someone criticizes your product or service - it's an opportunity to make things better.

Okay - it's a rant. Get over it.

Avoid these things in websites:

• Frames - this is soooo 1990's. It's bad for search engines, screen readers and a whole bunch of other stuff. They're not necessary, so avoid them.
  
  
• 100% graphic-only websites - You know what - you can use these if you don't give a rat's @ss about search engine optimization or ease of updating or people with visual difficulties. You can't increase the font size. You have to call your graphic designer / web developer to make the simplest change and search engines can only read TEXT - not pictures.
  
  
• Webpages with no titles - What's the title? According to what search engines look at, it's the information contained between the <title> and </title> tag in the code. Where YOU, the human being experiencing the site see the title is RIGHT AT THE TOP OF YOUR SCREEN - above the "window" that displays the website - above the menu options in your browser software - right at the tippy-top of the page. Search engines love them. People often don't notice them on your site, but considering the title of the page is what's displayed in search engine results (along with your description meta tag contents), you'd better have one for the people too. Oh yeah, they're also a teeny-tiny bit important for search engine optimization as well. (Did the sarcasm come across there? It should have...)

In the past two days, I have encountered websites committing all these sins. Granted, some of them were DIY websites. That's acceptable. The other sites were done by people who get paid to design websites. I'm speechless when trying to think what I can say about those folks.

I will admit it is possible that the web developer did what the client WANTED them to do.

However, I also know that knowledge of the issues surrounding website development and internet marketing is low in the non-internet business world.

Therefore, doing what the client WANTS is not always in their best interest unless they have been informed about the pros and cons of doing it "their way".

If you're going to get a website, get informed - either by doing your own research and knowing what questions to ask or by meeting with more than one or two web designers so you can get an idea how much they know about the MARKETING side of the internet.

Having a beautiful website that is invisible in the search engines is an option if there are compensatory strategies in place to drive traffic to it, but when you could have both, why would you settle for less?

The enemy of "great" is "good". Ask yourself what could be done to make your online presence GREAT! More importantly, ask your web developer the right questions to see if THEY have a clue.

Ambulances and Brands

I love talking to graphic designers. They're creative, intelligent people and they're usually interesting. But sometimes they start talking about "creating a brand" and the conversation gets really interesting - because graphic designers don't create brands.

A brand starts with the story you tell about yourself. If the story you tell is the story your clients and prospects tell about you, congratulations - you have a strong brand. You're delivering on the promise of your story.

If the story you tell differs from the story your clients tell about you, then your brand is weak and possibly doomed to failure.

That's in spite of all the fancy logos and matching letterhead your graphic designer creates for you.

Ambulances have a story. When their sirens are wailing and lights are flashing, it means they're on their way to help someone who is critically hurt or they are transporting someone to hospital who needs to get there NOW. That's the story of the ambulance, and it's why we slow down and get out of their way.

But what would happen if you saw an ambulance with lights flashing and sirens wailing pull into the local coffee shop drive-through? Would you still believe the story? Probably. You'd think of it as an anomaly. But what if you saw this happen every day? The story would begin losing its strength and over time, people would begin to ignore ambulances - even when they're nowhere near a coffee shop.

The story you tell is your brand. The experience your clients have with you determines the strength and legitimacy of your brand. Graphics may help communicate and reinforce your story, but the best logo in the world will make no difference if your brand is failing.

What's Your REAL Excuse?

While at the Small Business Club Niagara trade show yesterday I struck up a conversation with a vendor. She asked if I had a business and I gave her my card telling them that among other things, I create and implement effective online marketing campaigns. Her response:

"I have a website already and I'm not ready for something more elaborate."

Thinking she probably had a good site already I didn't inquire further, but took a card and went on my way.

I had a look at her website this morning. It's a DIY site that is obviously a work in progress. I'll restrain myself from a rant about DIY sites, although they're fair game for a future post.

What bothers me isn't the state of the website. It was the realization that the rebuff was based on such flimsy logic. I've heard it before, but it never fails to baffle me.

• You exhibit at a trade show so you must want more business.
• A properly designed, well-marketed website will get you more business - likely even more than you'd get from the trade show
• But you're "not ready" to establish a better online presence.
• This means you're not really interested in getting more business
• But you're at a trade show so you must want more business.
• I'm confused...

Here's what I wish she had said:

"I did my website myself because I'm trying to save money, but I'm not really sure how I should design and market it effectively. Do you have any inexpensive or cost-effective suggestions that would help me make money online?"

Being honest with yourself and asking for help when you need it is a marvelous way to get ahead in the world. I work on this every day. Knowing the REAL reasons why you don't do something and having the courage to admit them to yourself and others is an important step, in my mind, to move forward in business and life.

Do I Have Your Permission?

Are you the kind of person who likes to bother people?

No - of course you're not.

Do you like people who bother people?

Probably not.

So why would you consider bothering strangers by sending them a mass e-mail without their permission?

It's easy to send bulk e-mail, and there's nothing really preventing you from doing it. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Think of the other messages you're sending about yourself aside from the one in your fancy HTML e-mail.

1. Respect. Sending a bulk e-mail to someone you have no real connection with sends the message you think you're more important than they are. It takes no time to send an e-mail to someone you don't know. It takes time for them to decide whether it's junk or not. You're interrupting them and wasting their time which is not a sign of respect. If someone did this to you in another context you'd likely get annoyed.
   


2. Work ethic. When you take the time to build a permission-based list, you're doing things the "hard" way. You're offering something of value to your audience and you are rewarded when they CHOOSE to sign up to your list. Message after message you send to that list contains enough value that they remain subscribers and you are rewarded for that effort when subscribers buy from you or tell people they know to choose you as a supplier they can trust.
   
   Sending bulk e-mail takes very little work. You haven't built a relationship built on value with your audience and they know it. Your spam campaign might generate some results, but you lower your credibility and damage your reputation with everyone else who doesn't respond.
   


3. Quality. Think about the other things pushed on bulk e-mail. Flaky investment schemes. Lottery scams. Libido (and other body part) enhancements. Porn.
   
   Do you really want to be lumped in with the rest of the companies that use spam to push their products? I know - you're using spam to let people know about your wonderful product or service and you have no other way of reaching them. However, since you're sending e-mail flogging your business to people who don't know you, how are they to know you're a legitimate business and not some fly-by-nighter? Spamming your list regularly isn't a way to show you're a stable company either.

A list built on permission is a great asset. People have chosen to give you their attention instead of you begging and pleading for it. This is why I'm a fan of blogging and permission-based e-mail marketing. The value you get out of them depends on the value you put into them. Think about that the next time you are tempted to use spam. In the long run it will likely do more harm than good.

How do you communicate passion?

Superlatives, lots of exclamation marks, big promises in huge text, all-caps and the like might have worked at one time but today's prospective clients will see through that in a jiffy.

Your marketing message is just that - a message - a story you tell the people who don't know you yet. You're communicating your potential to help them. Does it matter how you do this? Of course.

More important though is the story you "tell" your clients through your actions. It's all fine and good to say you're the best, but if you can't back up your claims, you'll be found out and dumped in due course.

The better way to communicate passion is to have your clients do that for you. They'll only do it when you've delighted them. Make them WANT to tell others how great you really are and let their passion speak for you.

This is why I'm so keen on testimonials. We just launched a major website revision for Island 10 Fishing Lodge and an important part of the site were the video and written testimonials. All I did was ask clients to tell me about their experience at Island 10 and they said such nice things about the place the owner blushed when he saw the footage.

If you're looking for an edge in your marketing, look to your customers first. If you're delighting them, they'll be happy to evangelize about you. If they're not, perhaps you'll want to consider fixing what's broken.

Web Design, Copyright, and Your Business

A few years ago, I helped a client make some changes to their website. This was a client who had a website already, but she wasn't happy with her developer so she came to me for help. I made the changes to the text and images on the homepage she asked me to and thought nothing more of it.

To my client's surprise, she received a letter from her website developer's lawyer stating she had broken the developer's copyright on the design of her site. The letter insisted she return the website to its previous state and that any further changes to the site had to be done through the former website developer.

Needless to say, my client was appalled that this company had the audacity to make these demands as they had not been able to make the basic updates she had requested. She was also surprised that they hadn't discussed the issue with her in person to find a resolution to her dissatisfaction. As she did not want to work with the former developer any further, we had no option but to redesign her website, thus voiding the developer's claim to the copyright.

I recently came across another website designed by the same developer my client had fled from. At the bottom of the site was the following:

"Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved
Duplication in whole or part is Expressly Prohibited without written consent."

What caught my attention was the fact that it was unclear WHOSE copyright this note referred to. Was it the organization represented by the website or was it the designer's?

I think copyright is important. I also think that it is important for website developers to tell their clients WHO owns the copyright on the COMPLETED work.

If you are in the business of delighting customers and helping them meet their online goals, you shouldn't have this kind of disconnect. If you are truly working FOR your clients, you explain everything in advance to them so they can make an informed decision to work with you. For a client to become so unhappy they decide to leave without telling you and the only way you can still work with them is by threatening to sue them for violating your copyright is not a winning strategy for anyone.

If you're a developer, I'd be interested in hearing your views. If you're a consumer of web development or internet marketing services, keep copyright issues in mind when you're having work done.

Internet Marketing During a Recession

What's the difference between your online marketing during a recession and when times are good?

Possibly nothing - if you were doing everything "right" in the first place.

If you're not doing it "right", this is a great time to make a change for the better.

If you're not getting results online, I have a suggestion or two.

1. Make an inventory of all your online activities. This includes your website, e-mail communications, blog, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn etc.
   
2. Take a fresh look at everything you do online from a PROSPECT'S point of view. Consider a prospect only knows about you what they see online.
   
3. Ask yourself whether the image your prospects see of you online is what you want them to see and more importantly, whether that image is one that shows integrity or value and is trustworthy.
   
4. If there's work to be done (and there ALWAYS is - this is the secret...), get to it.

There is no better time to begin improving your online image than today.

If you wanted to, you could have a new blog post (or even a new blog) inside 15 minutes. Inside one hour you could have a blog and several blog posts set to roll automatically every day or so.

In less time than you'd spend watching television tonight, you could make a good start on improving how your prospects feel about you online. Those efforts will pay off with more customers.

My statements are based on a couple of assumptions:

1. You have something of value to offer clients.
2. You care enough about your business to take the time to do this.
3. You can powerfully communicate the benefits of your offer to your prospects.
4. You know what you're doing.

If you need help with #4, you should come to our seminar on internet marketing during a recession.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago - or now.

Time's ticking . . .

What the heck is a passioneer?

Great question. Thanks for asking.

We're not pioneers - there are lots of people who've used the tools we use before.

We're not engineers - did you know some of those people have NO personalities?

We're not Mouseketeers - I hate the ear thing.

We're not Marketeers - that's Carrie's thing.

We're Passioneers - and in our definition, a Passioneer is: one who works with companies and organizations to infuse Passion and Joy into their work, bring out their best and communicate their Passion powerfully and effectively to the people who will care the most.

It's about reaching your target audience and sharing with them your enthusiasm about the compelling reasons you do what you do. By doing so, you will strengthen the bonds of your online community and move closer to attaining your online goals.

A translation for cynics: we're internet marketers who say we have a different approach than the other internet marketing companies in the marketplace.

I'm proud to be a passioneer. Are you the one in your business?

Better Isn't Better When . . .

• nobody knows about it;
• the "betterness" isn't obvious;
• the "betterness" isn't communicated.

A story from a client about two organizations in his industry.

Organization #1 is a non-profit, has high standards and to achieve certification, you need to demonstrate extensive knowledge and put in a couple of years of study.

Organization #2 is a for-profit company that will certify anyone who can pass the organization's online certification test. It was demonstrated on television that a 12-year old with no industry knowledge could pass the test. The certification therefore requires next-to-no industry knowledge and virtually no time investment.

#1 has a small marketing budget due to its small membership. #2 has a large marketing budget because of its large membership.

To make things more interesting, because of government regulations, #1 can not say anything overtly bad about #2.

Despite the fact that individuals certified by #1 are arguably "better" than those certified by #2, the general public doesn't know that. The marketing of #2 is far superior to #1's efforts, so #1 is generally ignored.

Imagine having a root canal performed by person with no training. Ouch - with LOTS more ouches to come.

Imagine the same root canal performed by a professional dental surgeon. Ouch - but a much better probable outcome.

If masses of under-qualified individuals marketed dental surgery better than professional dental surgeons, which would you choose? Would you still choose the professional? Not doing so would be ridiculous. But what if you couldn't tell which was which? That would be scary.

Yet every day, consumers choose companies that have an industry certification that is essentially meaningless, largely because #2's better marketing drowns out the efforts of #1, which has a better "product".

Organization #1 has a serious problem - and it's primarily a marketing issue. More awareness. More focus on creating a compelling story on WHY their certification is better and why, by extension, their certified members are the best in the industry.

The good news: things can change - if organization #1 and its members get passionate about what they do.

They need to tell a better story, tell it to more people, and tell it because they really CARE. Who cares more - the person with several years training and the certification that demonstrates their capability to do the best possible job or a person who took an online course that virtually anyone could pass?

The sad thing is, the story I've told could describe ANY organization in any unregulated industry. Ignorant buyers - beware.

Searching For Passion

Ooh - that sounds like a racy title, doesn't it?

Well, it's controversial - at least, as controversial as what I'm going to say.

I think there needs to be more passion in business.

I'm not talking about the "behind-closed-office-doors-nookie" variety either.

I'm talking about the drive that got people into business in the first place - the "I'm excited to wake up in the morning to go to the office and do great things" kind of enthusiasm that we may have once had ourselves.

This got lost along the way for most people, as they "grew up", or more correctly, "grew old".

Most people have lost track of their inner child - the part of them that sees the potential this world offers and wonders how something CAN be done instead of "knowing" why it can't be.

We get it beaten out of us, starting in school by well-meaning people whose role it is to shape us into productive members of society, only to have us learn that at the end of our education, that the options we once felt were infinite are largely limited to what we "think" we can accomplish, instead of what we once dared to dream about doing.

What we call "work" is another destructive force for passion in most places. Management is there to make sure we do our jobs and to stamp out deviance from "the way things are done". This also means stamping out imagination and progress in many organizations, and it's a slow death for the spirit to work in a job that does not fulfill your life's ambitions.

Of course, this is a choice. You can choose to fit the norm, or you can choose to be extraordinary. Become a purple cow (to borrow a Seth Godin phrase). Lead your own Tribe (to borrow another). Dance to the beat of your own drum and make a difference in your life and the life of others.

It is this that I refer to when I talk about passion. The desire to create excellence and joy for both yourself and for others - by creating products and services people will LOVE, instead of merely consume. To do things as nobody else does them - and make a difference to yourself and the world.

Today, I reject conformity and settling for what I have always gotten.

Today I affirm my passion for my business and my desire to bring it out in yours.

Hold on to your hats because the ride's just beginning . . .