And from time to time I will talk about meaningful marketing and integrating your offline and online marketing.
How to Rank at the Top of Google
Since content creation and blogging for business is important, I do want to blog more. But I don’t want my posts to be fluff.
I want my posts to educate you. So for today I’m going to run through how I got my site to rank #15 within a week for the search term Victoria SEO.My goal is to rank within the top three. And I’ll be posting status updates revealing any new strategies you should know about.
This is obviously a crowded market. Who wants to work with an Victoria SEO company if they don’t rank within the top three results? It’s a demonstration of their skills after all.
Since my industry has a lot of local competitors, it should be encouraging for those of you who live in a city with lots of competitors and who are having trouble ranking near the top of your targeted search terms.
In a second I’ll explain what it took me to get there. But know that it takes some commitment if you plan to do it on your own.
However you might be too busy. If that’s the case, be like most entrepreneurs and hand this off to a professional.
How I Did It
I want to explain how to rank at the top of Google by teaching what I’ve done. This will help you understand that SEO is easier than long division!
Here’s the four steps you need your website to take to rank at the top for your desired search terms (keywords):
Now up until last week, I wasn’t even trying to rank for the search term Victoria SEO. When I first started this site last year, I did my keyword research, optimized my content and did some backlinking.
But I was struggling getting solid leads to my site. That’s because I wasn’t defining my market. Hence why I changed my keywords and told Google I wanted to rank for Victoria SEO and Internet Marketing.
And surprisingly I’m ranking #15. That’s due in part to the backlinking I did all of last year. Within the last week though I’ve acquired more backlinks by adding my business and website to a few local and Canadian business directories.
Getting to the Top
The backlinks I have acquired are not the strongest. But they’re still worth something.
I’ve noticed that not many of my competitors websites have a blog. Even if they do, they’re only blogging twice a month. Therefore I’m confident in my abilities to get to the top within the next three months.
Once again I’ll be updating my progress.
But for you start with my four steps in the middle of this post. And of course follow my blog! You can do that by signing up for my email newsletter at the top right of this screen.
This strategy will allow you to rank quickly for targeted keywords. Great news for those who are in a crowded marketplace and have too many competitors’ websites to leap frog in the search rankings.
Continue reading to learn about an SEO strategy that will have profound results for your lead generation.
The Cookie Cutter SEO Strategy
Everyday people are turning to Google. They’re looking for your service.
Most business owners and service providers know that. When they think SEO, they think people are searching for providers like “Los Angeles divorce lawyer” or “Pittsburgh life insurance”.
People are searching those terms. A lot of them too. But the price and time to reach the top search results for those terms (keywords) is high.
Also this strategy is cookie cutter in my opinion. Everyone targets those keywords. And that’s why it’s so competitive.
You should aspire to stand out. Not follow the crowd.
Let me introduce you to the SEO strategy that will yield profound results. I’m 95% certain your competitors aren’t using this strategy.
Answer My Question Google!
Yes people are searching “Los Angeles divorce laywer”. But they are also searching to find out answers to their questions and problems.
What you do next is simply answer that question by writing a blog post about it. The keyword you then target is that question.
So simple. What’s extremely beneficial about this is a qualified lead is landing on your blog post. They get their question answered and their happy.
It doesn’t stop there though. Perhaps this question has other questions tied to it. If you have a ‘recommended posts‘ plugin or links to other blog posts in the blog post they landed on, they can read more of your blog posts.
I read a great post on Marcus Sheridan’s blog last month. The topics were blogging and content. In the comment section I saw a wonderful testimonial for this SEO strategy.
My next example comes from Insurance Agent and internet marketer Ryan Hanley. He did the exact same thing I’ve explained in this post for his companies blog and the results are astounding.
And lastly I want to show my Peerless Golf blog’s Google analytics report for July 2012.
There is a slight problem with this SEO strategy which is known as targeting longtail keywords. But it can be easily overcome.
You’ll be targeting people from all over the world. Here’s a screenshot of the visitors locations.
Not exactly targeted. However I can easily change my settings through my Google Webmasters tools account to target searchers in a specific country.
If you don’t have Webmaster tools setup, do it know by reading this post.
So you’ll receive visitors from all over your home country. But in the example a few images above, Ryan Apsy and his shoulder pain found a Doctor who blogged about shoulder problems in his city. Depending on your average bill of sale or the lifetime value of a client, the ROI on even 5 people doing business with through your blog is massive.
The Ball Is in Your court
I’ll leave you with this. Write down every question you can think of when it comes to your business or service. Then get blogging!
Search Engine Optimization can be down right intimidating.
I feel your pain. Three years ago I knew nothing of SEO.
That was until a friend suggested I talk to him for an hour on SEO. At the time I was working for a golf holiday company and I felt that we could attract website visitors through search terms like “Scotland Golf Holiday”.
For a few reasons I wasn’t able to help my employer out. But it was still beneficial to learn SEO.
And now I’m helping you learn SEO in three components.
Click on the first two links for previous posts where I show you how to do proper keyword research and then properly optimize your website.
Today’s post will discuss how to get backlinks to your site.
How To Get High Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are simply links from other websites pointing towards yours. They help notify Google that your website exists. The more valuable backlinks you have, the better your Google PageRank. I explain why PageRank is important to your overall search engine rankings below.
Essentially backlinks are the HGH of SEO. In this case they improve your search rankings and not your bicep size!
Without all three components your rankings will not improve. As I said backlinks are the only way Google knows your website exists. You could nail the first two components to SEO but if you have no backlinks pointing to your website, your rankings won’t improve.
Continue reading this post for a list of ways to acquire high quality backlinks.
Before I list those ideas, lets start of talking about Google Pagerank. Page rank is a way Google notifies us on how trustworthy a website is.
Sites like Facebook, ESPN.com and Twitter have a high page rank. Most business websites like yours don’t have any Pagerank.
But as you build more high quality links to your site, your pagerank and trust with Google will increase.
Now onto getting more backlinks. With Google continuously cracking down on what type of links are valuable, here is a list of the best ways to get high quality backlinks.
Business Directories – Getting your business listed in directories with help with citations and most directories give a link back to your site.
Guest Blogging – finding relevant blogs and pitching a blog post idea
Social Media Profiles – Linking your personal and Business Google + pages to your website is important. Even if you don’t plan on using Pinterest, Twitter or other social media sites, create a profile with a link back to your website.
Be remarkable, unique or even controversial – if you’re remarkable or unique, people will talk about you online. The same with controversy, it generates attention and possibly plenty of conversation and links
Comment on relevant blogs
Participate on social networking sites like Facebook and Google+ where you can link to your latest blog posts
Participate in relevant forums
Monitor and participate in local forums like Reddit
Hold interviews with prominent people – they’re bound to garner enough attention
Submit your business to relevant local and industry specific directories
Submit a press release to press release sites
Link out to others and maybe they’ll notice and link back
Was this video easy to understand and do you have a clear plan of action to start acquiring more backlinks? If you’re struggling finding relevant blogs let me know and I’ll help you out.
If you enjoyed this video and want to know more about SEO, subscribe to my updates. There are a few more thing I want to discuss on this blog that deal with SEO and I will be blogging about soon.
Brands are supposed to be things, not people right?
Wrong.
You see, all brands were the creative idea of a person. A real human.
So what about your brand?
Does it have a heart? A voice? A personality?
Is it faceless?
Here’s where I am going with this.
Lee Clow who is regarded as one of the top Advertising Creative Directors ever explains brand personality for you:
“Brands are very much like people. Do you think that brand is interesting? Would you like to have them over for dinner? Are they always the same or are they sometimes funny and sometimes serious?”
These were his words in the great documentary ‘Art & Copy‘.
To sum it up, your brand is person. And it should start communicating like one.
If it speaks directly to your target market, even better.
Read on for two great examples of brands doing just that and how you can give birth to your brand.
Before you do that, tweet this link out for me if agree with what Lee and I have said so far.
Would anyone invite your brand over for dinner? – Click to Tweet
Thanks!
Brash To The Bone
Old Spice for years had always been, well, old. I never used any Old Spice products growing up. Neither did my friends. Probably because we weren’t their target market.
They also were pretty boring. Same sailing ad after another.
That changed in 2010 with the famous “Your man can smell like me” campaign. In case you’ve been living in cave, here’s one of the commercials.
Even though the ads were geared towards women, I decided to try some Old Spice body wash last year. When I turned the bottle around, I burst out laughing in the shower! Here’s why…
If you can’t read the picture taken from my crappy iPhone 3, here’s what it says.
“Cleans hair, cleans body then wails on it’s pecks. Does it’s job and drives away in a sports car.”
Talk about speaking directly to their target market in a fun and entertaining way!
What’s also interesting is they treated the body wash it self like a human. Doing human things like wailing on pecks and driving a sports car. Awesome stuff Old Spice and a nice touch.
Axe has dominated the hygiene world amongst males ages 15-34 for some time now. They speak to their customers like a person which creates a connection.
Because of this they’ve had a stranglehold on male hygiene products. That was until Old Spice decided they needed to humanize the brand.
Since then Old Spice has done a bang up job by giving the brand a personality. All because they communicated like a real person.
Another great example of brand personality is Newcastle’s Facebook timeline image
I really like the stand they’ve taken.
One of the things written in the Meaningful Marketing Manifesto is that you should support good causes because you want to and not because you want more followers. They’ve stated that in it a bold way.
The brand alignment is also bang on with their ‘No Bollocks’ tagline.
Both examples are bold and in your face. Shocking for most because brands were things and not people before.
They’ve made me laugh and created an emotional connection. All because they communicated to me like a real human being.
Don’t be boring and Forgettable
How often does this happen to you.
You click on a website or read an advertisement and after 10 seconds of reading, you’re bored and on to the next thing?
I’m sure it’s happened often.
Why does this happen? They don’t have a brand voice. They’re blurting out their message like a robot speaking monotone. I suppose robots can only speak monotone but you get the point.
Those brands don’t understand that people are craving a connection. It’s like being able to talk to your favorite actor, actress, athlete or someone you admire. If they’re boring face to face, they might be your favorite anymore.
You want to see their human side. It’s the same with brands in this socially connected digital world.
Many brands are creating meaningful connections. Simply by having a voice and a personality.
Giving Birth To Your Brand
It’s really simple.
Start talking like a human being in every marketing and advertising piece the public sees!
Let your hair down. Stop standing up straight and being all proper. Being polite will not generate an emotional connection with people.
It’s like this. The last thing you want to do is fit in. By giving your brand a personality and a voice, you’ll be a breath of fresh air and stand out from the competition.
What do you think?
Is there anything holding you back from giving birth to your brand?
If you’re already doing so, tell me about it!
I’ll be discussing more about brand personality in future posts. If you’ve liked this post, subscribe to my updates so you can receive them straight to your inbox.
When you’re new you want to tell everyone why they should check you out. I can’t blame you there!
Maybe sales are sluggish and need you more clients.
Perhaps you have a sale or product you want everyone to know about.
No matter the reason you have to get the word out. Advertising does just that.
Sure I think internet marketing is great but advertising can be effective.
But the cookie cutter “Here’s my business and contact information, please call us” advertising doesn’t work anymore.
Let me explain.
Advertising needs to engage
It’s a fact that I dislike 95% of advertising. Almost all advertisements lack creativity and can be ignored. Actually all advertisments can be ignored except website pop ups! I’ll save that for another day however.
I’m sure my feelings on advertising are shared by many others.
How often do you say to yourself after seeing an ad “Yeah, I want to start doing business there” or “I must find out more” and call that business or visit their website? I bet I’ve been on more dates in the last year which for the record has been a measly two.
As a society we ignore advertising. It’s been jammed down our thoughts for far too long. How often do you even take the time to look at ads anymore?
So how you can break through the noise and engage people with your advertising? What does it take to get some serious return on investment from any advertisement you run?
I’ll show you a great example in a second so read on!
Before that happens do me a favour and tweet this if you’re on Twitter
Break through the noise & create engaging advertisements – Click to Tweet
Introducing Meaningful Advertising
Once in a while I flip through my local paper to see if anything catches my eye. A month back I found this advertisement.
Let’s be clear, it’s goods but it can be better. I’ll explain why later but it’s a step in the right direction.
So what makes this ad meaningful and better than the majority of ads?
It educates
It never tries to push
It opens the sales funnel
It educates
Meaningful marketers are always willing to educate potential clients. They’re thinking about their clients and what questions they have. In this case it’s something as common as using eye drops.
People are generally looking for information on your product or service before buying. Often times they’ll do research on the internet. The best way to get in front of them and answer any questions is by blogging for business.
This ad is essentially what a blog post would look like. It’s meaningful because it educates someone and improves their life. After all no one would engage with this ad if they didn’t know how to use eye drops since that’s the title!
It never tries to push
Since the begin on advertising companies have been pushing their products on us. That has to change if you want to engage more people.
During the advertisement not once do you see “See us for all your eye care needs” do you? The concept is certainly there but it’s subtle.
Dr. Taylor could have easily peppered this ad with more pushing. But he didn’t.
At the bottom of the ad his clinics contact details are listed. That’s the only time. He didn’t even offer a call to action which is very passive. Too passive though.
He’s simply educating people. If the reader wants to know more, perhaps they’ll visit his clinics website or call him next time for an eye care appointment.
It opens the sales funnel
Too much focus is put in closing the sale now a days. I know it’s all about sales but if you’re too pushy, people will shy away.
When people come to a website or see an ad, they want more.
Can they see photos of your products? Can they read or listen to what satisfied clients have to say? How about learning more about your particular area of expertise?
By letting people see those things you are opening the sales funnel. You’re inviting them to learn more.
Without doing those things it will be tough to open the sales funnel. Chances are they’ll flip past your advertisement and leave your website within 10 seconds.
When you open the sales funnel your ROI greatly increases. People will read your ad and stay on your website longer. This is taking advantage of every person who engages with your marketing.
An Opportunity Missed
I did say this ad was a step in the right direction towards meaning. There is something missing here.
The odds of someone needing an eye care appointment at the time of this ad are slim. That doesn’t mean they won’t think of his clinic when they do. But how could he make sure they don’t forget about him?
Drive them to his website for more education. Since the chances of someone remembering his phone number are low he needs the reader to take action and visit his website for more education on eye care. This will also help build trust and credibility with the new visitor.
The next step after awareness in the sales funnel is turning someone into a lead.
Here’s what Dr. Taylor could do to increase his leads.
Call to action
Dr. Taylor and the Mayfair Optometric Clinic need a better call to action to start with. Something simple could be “Visit our website for more eye care and health tips”. No matter what you want to get people back to your website.
Blog
If he is putting in the effort to write an article for an ad, why isn’t he blogging? Someone who actually reads this ad all the way through is engaged. What do you do in this position? Give them more! By inviting those readers back to his site for more articles on eye care and health.
Email opt in forms
Email opt in forms offer a person to get updates from your site. It’s a simple way of lead capturing but very overlooked. If he is utilizing an email newsletter they could grow their email list. This obviously gives them the ability to market to that engaged person for a lifetime and hopefully turn them into a lifetime client.
Hopefully you’ve learnt a lot on how to increase advertising ROI. It takes more to stand out from your competition. By creating advertisements like this example, you’ll be well on your way to more meaning and more sales!
What kind of offline advertising do you do?
Do you see a good amount of ROI from it?
If you’ve made it this far you should get my Meaningful Marketing manifesto. It’s somewhat of a bible that will guide you to marketing with meaning. Simply enter your email address below to instantly receive that and all my updates.
