If you’ve been on the Internet or involved in any kind of business development I’m sure you have heard the term, Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short. This is nothing new. Ever since search engines or directories have been on the Internet companies have wanted to be at the top of the listing.

I hate to use the term “early days” but the previous mindset regarding preparing a web site to be easily found by a search engine involved some back-end technical steps which at one time made sense when search engines and portals had more of a directory approach.  The initial approach involved adding what is known as “meta tags” in the code of the web site and while some of these are still important to a degree modern search engine optimization is focused and hopefully will always be focused on the actual content in terms of text, images and other non design elements.

In terms of marketing this is actually a huge advantage in terms of competition, making updates known quicker and standing a better change at being found. Provided a web site has compelling content and is updated frequently.

What are some ways to to optimize, design and develop a web site so one can make frequent updates and provide compelling content? Here a few things to consider;

• Have a web site designed around a content management system - The makes it easier and faster for the non-designer, i.e. owner or employee of a company to update a web site without asking the web designer to make those updates.
• Incorporate a blog feature on your web site - The search engines love frequent content and writing on the topic related to your business on a frequent basis increases your search engine ratings
• Register your domain name for more than one year. The more years the better as search engines like Google rate domains with a longer registration period higher as it makes them look less, “fly by night.”
• Include words in your title tag you think people will use to search for a business like yours
• When writing, write naturally. Be sincere and don’t try to trick the system by stuffing keywords in the document.

These are just a few tips but they are ones they have helped us tremendously in the past few years to the point we rank on the first or second page of important search terms, many of which we have a lot competition.

Some SEO resources you may want to look at include;

• The Search Engine Academy of South Carolina
• The Wikipedia SEO entry
• Google’s page about working with SEO companies

Again these are just a few resources. We are constantly looking at ways to optimize web site for our clients and also our own business so we can not only get more customers but also practice what we preach and become more experienced to help others. If you are struggling with getting good search results for your web site contact us and find out what tools and resources we have that can help you be more successful. Of no one can guarantee you will be number one, that’s impossible and always changes but we can help you get achieve greater visibility amongst all the other choices out there. What are your SEO Success stories or concerns?

One of the great advantages of personal computers is the ability to store large amounts of information. One of the greatest disadvantages of personal computers is the ability to store large amounts of information. This morning I was at the hospitial with my wife and her family as my father-in-law underwent major surgery. I started organizing a few files on my laptop and soon discovered I had filed away all kinds of lists, eBooks, images and instruction manuals that I forgotten about.

It almost reminds me of household issues when we will buy things for the kitchen or home improvement tasks only to come home and discover you already had those items.

Why do we however wait till “dead times” to do organization? I’m tempted to say it’s not exciting but the funny thing is once I get started on organizing things from computer files to stuff around the house I have a hard time stopping. In the process I suddenly think of better ways to organize things.

It’s all to easy to put things off. Before I go to bed at night I could care less about putting clothes up in the closet or in the wash pile. I’ll just throw them on the chair beside my bed. I do the exact same thing with my computer files by throwing them into a catch-all folder or on the desktop. Is their really a difference between the “dump folders” and folders that are specific for the items is question? Yes, it may be a little easier to find some thing or the place may look cleaner but as Larry the Cable Guy and David Allen ask, “Are you getting it done?”

I don’t want to convert a “to-do” folder into another catch-all location where the intention of getting something done is created but the work is still put off.

How do you best convert your organizational project into action? If I create a to-do list from everything I organize I will become so overwhelmed that to be honest I’ll just sweep everything under the rug and give up except for the most critical time sensitive project.

Perhaps the key to organization is to recognize that taking action is one of the first steps in organizing. Just as you use three big boxes to clean out a garage or room in a house the same strategy could be used when it comes to computer files. An action folder, a maybe folder and a throw away or “pass along” folder.”

The final step should be the archiving, a step many of us do at the beginning because it looks and feels nice but there is no sense in organizing unless some action is going to be taken.

What do you use to aid in your organizational and action work flow?

One of the most productive aspects of marketing is developing and maintaining excellent customer relationships. It can be really easy to let strong ties to current customers slip as we go about our daily business of working on current projects and the search for new customers. However the relationships you have will your current client base can achieve greater results at a lower cost.

I’m not just saying this as a part of my own business. I know many of my readers are small business people and I’m also a customer of others who may read this blog as well.

We have made a point to actively network and attend meetings where we are in constant contact with clients and fellow business people. Not only does this give us the opportunity to meet new people but we are there to ask questions and provide a bit of in-person service to existing relationships.

In a previous post I brought up the need to remind people we know about new services or directions of the company.  I recently had a conversation with an old friend who knew we did web design work but he didn’t think to ask us about designing a logo or some photography work which we also offer.

Is customer relationship management part of your marketing plan? They are tools you may already have available like Microsoft Outlook/Exchange that has build in address books an calendar features. Macs have an intergration between the mail, Calendar and Address book programs.  More dedicate software solutions include ACT! on Windows and Daylite on the Mac.  Larger corporate environments may use other solutions as well depending on the scale of your sales and client database and the integration with other departments, etc. We use an online service called, Highrise which allows us to have better communication with customers, leads, vendors, etc. What tools have you found most helpful in increasing sales to existing clients and informing them of new or changed services?

“What have you got to lose?” is a well worn question that is often not asked except when someone is challenging someone to do something daring or radical. How often do we ask ourselves this question? Are we only thinking of the rewards as an excuse to act instead of the pitfalls? Regardless, this is something a  business person needs to think about more often.  When I saw Chris Brogan ask this question in his twitter feed it got my mental juices flowing. I realized I had a lot to gain by writing about the topic. I’m going to present my own list things I need to work on today and the next few days.  I will answer what I have to lose but also what I have to gain.

What do I have to lose and gain by doing the following today?

1. Reading at least two chapters in What Customers Want and The Levity Effect
2. Contacting potential speakers for a networking group I hold leadership in
3. Installing Adobe Lightroom 2.0 beta on my laptop
4. Going for a long walk on a nearby trail
5. Prepare announcement for a network meeting next week

Lose

1. It will take away valuable time I can be using on work projects
2. Nothing except a little time
3. Some hard drive space and maybe attention on other things
4. A good chunk of time
5. Nothing - I have already committed to getting this done - yesterday

Gain

1. Insight into ideas that may help propel my business to the next level
2. I will be more prepared with confirmed speakers or information that I need to seek alternatives
3. Knowledge and experience about an application that may greatly increase my photography productivity
4. Better fitness, exposure to sunshine and maybe I will meet other people
5. Information will be prepared and sent to people so they can become more organized

What did I learn from this exercise?

1. I need to devote my time to those things I already have a commitment to finish
2. I realized that although some things may take a little time they may save more time in the future
3. There is great benefits to some of the things I am putting off but I should reward myself with those things after I finish the prior commitments

What are some things that you have been thinking about doing today? Have you been putting things off because of fear or “lack of time?”  Consider doing this exercise to help organize your day, grow your business and add quality to your life. What have you got to lose?  What have you got to gain? What have you learned?

In case you haven’t noticed I changed the order of the articles in this marketing series. I moved “market research” to later in the series and today I’m going to discuss one of those very general terms that is often misunderstood yet a company of any size needs to come to a firm grasp of the principle, Public Relations.

It’s interesting that after getting sidetracked by other jobs or interests I am coming back to the exact group of disciplines I studied in my college major, Mass Communication. I was a Mass Communication major at Winthrop College (now a University) in Rock Hill,SC. My areas of study within that major were journalism, advertising, communication law and public relations. I wish they would have had “new media” studies back then but that was not a part of the “mass culture” at the time.

Sadly, I can’t remember a lot of the details of my public relations class but the principles have stuck with me and it’s exciting that I am using those skills in my day to day work and helping others achieve business success.

What are you doing to manage your companies or organizations success through responsible public relations? Do you have a consistent brand? Are you communicating to your potential are current clients through blogs, print and e-mail newsletters? Do you offer yourself as an educational speaker on subjects related to your business?

For the record I hate the term “spin” when it involves leaving out negatives or “padding” the truth. That is not responsible or even “ethical” public relations. However it is important to craft words, images, etc. in such a way that people can clearly see the good services and products you provide and submit them to the right channels. “SpinningSilk” is all about turning the raw product into a thing of beauty and strength rather than trying to spin around a coin to show one side of it.