SEMbyDesign

July 18, 2009

Why SEM with Google Adwords is a great investment

Filed under: Marketing Your Site, Small Business Issues — admin @ 11:42 am

So, you want to have a better online presence, you just invested in a new web site, or you just plain don’t know where to begin marketing your site online? If you haven’t heard, Google’s Adwords program is still considered one of the best ways to drive traffic to your site. And it’s not just any traffic, it is very targeted traffic – the kind of buyer who is researching your product or service and is ready to buy. You don’t have to show up at the top of Google’s organic search (though it can help) in order for this type of marketing to work wonders for you. That is what makes this a great option for even the smallest of businesses – no contracts, no minimum payments, just try it, and if you see the ROI on your advertising, then continue using it.

Some tips:

Optimizing your landing page – not only does this help with the conversion rate of your visitors that have been directed to your site by Adwords, it helps with the natural search. It will also benefit your advertising campaign with a higher click through rate and lower cost per click.

Writing a great ad – and using keywords within – this will also help clickthrough rate and help with your cost per click – it ultimately will help your conversion rate.

Selecting targeted keywords – the bottom line – these are what trigger your ad. If you don’t do the research to find what your customers are searching for, you will not have a very successful campaign. Most small business owners either lack the skill, or the time to do the proper research – which is why it is best to hire a Google Qualified Individual to assist in setting up and managing your campaign. I have found that many times, I can pay for myself with a combination of increased conversion rates and lower cost per click.

I am an Omaha, Nebraska Google Qualifed SEM professional.

January 21, 2009

SEO – The Good, Bad and the Ugly

Filed under: Optimization, Small Business Issues — Tags: — admin @ 9:26 pm

Ever got an email or phone call from a telemarketer that “Guarantees they can make you number one in Google”? Hopefully you are internet savvy enough to recognize that this is most likely a bad business decision at best and a scam at worst. I have seen too many people who are desparate to optimize their site who fall for this.

Bad SEO companies use black hat techniques that could get your site banned from the major search engines.

Good SEO companies: All I can say is choose one who can sit down with you locally, they are not doing black hat techniques on your site and they can do the appropriate research to help you. If you choose someone local, they can sit down with you and explain their methodology.

Yes, SEO is worth paying for, involve a local professional! I am in Omaha and willing to help! Steve 402-210-3283

If you are looking for a technology consultant in Lincoln, Nebraska, be sure to look up David Hefley at Meridian Consulting.

December 22, 2008

The Nuts and Bolts of PPC

Filed under: Marketing Your Site, Small Business Issues — Tags: , , — admin @ 12:43 pm

PPC is not new to most internet marketers, but it is a new concept to many small business owners I work with here in Omaha. I’ll give you a quick run down of how it works.

PPC or Pay Per Click is best demonstrated in a Google search. Typically the left hand side of the page is the natural results of your search, while the right hand positions are the paid positions – advertisers can place a small, 4 line text ad there – and they only get charged if someone clicks on the ad.

The nuance to this is that the advertiser has to bid on how much they are willing to pay for their ad to appear.

These ads are highly effective if done properly because they target the exact items and keywords that your customers are searching for. Also, you can see immediate results in traffic, and hopefully sales on your site.

Am an Adwords Certified Individual, helping businesses in Omaha, Nebraska, if you would like to learn more, please give me a call at 402-210-3283. If you become a customer, I have currently, a $100 credit to your new Google account waiting for you.

October 23, 2008

Does your firm have a Technology Use Policy?

Filed under: Small Business Issues — Tags: , — admin @ 12:30 pm

On a regular basis, I deal with small businesses that, most of the time seem to have it all together. I do some small business consulting in the context of how to use technology, but recently get many questions on general small business issues. One such issue dealt with some inappropriate material that was found on a 3rd party site. If your firm doesn’t have a Technology Use Policy in place for the areas of the office and the web which the employees have access to, you are asking for trouble.

The Policy should include specifics about how the company equipment and email can be used, what it can store, and what actions will be taken if the Policy is broken. I once worked at a company that would not allow anything but the default Windows Xp screen saver to be displayed, so as not to have to make a decision on personal photos that may or may not be offensive. Do you allow your employees to fax personal items…maybe it is time to spell it out. Don’t wait until someone threatens a lawsuit and you don’t have the proper procedures in place.

September 19, 2008

You wrote a business plan, but did you write a Marketing Plan?

Filed under: Marketing Your Site, Small Business Issues — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 10:04 am

Most small business owners understand the importance of a business plan (statistics favor the fact that a business has a much better chance of success with a well thought out business plan, by the way). But what about your marketing plan? Have you thought about how you will market your business, and more importantly, have you invested time in putting a plan on paper?

Some important elements to address in your marketing plan: What are the particular aspects of your business to advertise? What kind of budget do you have? When will you advertise – time of day, seasonal, etc? How do you maximize your budget’s reach? What kind of returns on your advertising investment do you anticipate? How do you plan to handle an influx of business from your marketing efforts – do you have enough staff? Where are your ads placed and what demographics do they target? Do you, as the small business owner, have the time to assemble and implement your plan, or do you need help from a professional firm – this could be anything from graphics design to media buying and placement. Most importantly(in my opinion), how do you track your return on your advertising capital?

All these questions must be addressed in order to put together an effective advertising campaign, whether it is an online Google Adwords campaign, or a local television or radio spot. When you think through the possibilities, problems and expenditures, you will likely save yourself a lot of money for the little time that you spend putting together a plan. You should plan for at least a year in advance on most major advertising expenditures and budget for them.

Just as with your business plan, you still must remain flexible – there is a good chance that not all of your campaigns will be successful, but a plan will certainly lessen the risk. Remember – if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

If you would like a consultation, my team can put together a marketing plan for you – you will be happy you made the investment! Steve at 402.210.3283 in Omaha!

Have fun out there! SEM

September 16, 2008

Small Business Hiring Practices – to use or not to use Myspace as a Reference

Filed under: Small Business Issues — Tags: , , — admin @ 11:10 am

Ok…Again, this post is not exactly on the topic of the blog as a whole – but it does bring to light some issues that small business should be taking into account when they hire and where they get their information.

I was sitting in line today, when I struck up a conversation with the director of IT for a local bank. We got to talking about the social marketing aspects of the net and how they had impacted the business over the years. I asked him, just off the cuff if they had any influence on his department’s hiring practice – ie. did they use Myspace to research potential hires? He said they did not at this time, but the question had come up for the bank as a whole. So, my next question to him was, do you think it is fair to use this information? I mean, is what a person does on the web and in their spare time any indicator of how they might perform their job? This is largely a question to get employers thinking – I think it largely depends on the position and the company, but a crazy/derogatory/or otherwise socially unacceptable social networking page could ultimately reflect poorly on the company, its sales or in some way affect its bottom line. How much? As a small business owner you need to decide this and use the information accordingly when you are hiring.

Now, I am not a lawyer, although I do know a few, and I think that they would agree with me that information on the net is fair game when it comes to hiring practices – bad or good information, for that matter. Hiring managers and Human resources specialists can pipe right up! I would certainly like some input on this topic if you have it.

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