So many people don’t know how simple using RSS is, especially when used in conjunction with Google Reader and Firefox. Here’s a quick glimpse at how easy it is.
As change can happen so quickly, especially when you’re comfortable and entrenched in your business niche. Here’s a real example of what can happen, and an idea or two to help avoid it.
When people find out that I run a web development company they often begin speaking about how they need a great site, one that ‘gets onto the first page of Google.’ I guess the gulf between understanding how difficult that can be and the perception of ‘build it and they will come’ is quite wide!
I recently was approached about building a site for an individual who had just purchased a single investment home in Vermont that he wanted to rent, and very specifically wanted to appear on the first page of Google’s search results when ‘Vermont vacation homes’ was entered as a Keyword. Needless to say he was David to the Goliath of the entrenched competition he was up against.
In attempting to clarify what needed to be done to not only create the site that employed proper SEO, and also used the WordPress plugin “All in One SEO,” I began to realize how important it is to actually create great websites for people so their business ventures can thrive. The conversation also reminded me of one I had earlier in the year with a local business owner who advertised, but did not have a website at all, because as he put it “my friend has a website for his business and he gets nothing out of it.” Of course my knee jerk reaction was, well, what’s wrong with your friends website? As I take a conversation regarding the development of a company’s website very seriously, as this is an element of their business that can make or break them, I thought highlighting the most important element creating a professional website should be reviewed.
I consider that element to be the ability for a website to interact throughout several different platforms, such as blogging to keep content flowing to the site, that therefore makes the site a resource, not just an advertisement. Creating a vehicle that enables your site to update content, have video, Social Media Marketing (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.), is the key to website development and having a great site that wins traffic and repeat visitors.
So, if you’re interested in developing a great website for your business, be sure to have a platform that enables you to create great content and keep it flowing!
I hope this helps! More to come on creating great websites!
How long have you been in business, 5 years, 10 years, 25+ years? Do you feel comfortable with your business regardless of the economic condition, or do you feel twinges of concern as your company revenue or customer base seems to be slowly, or even quickly, fading? No one wants to be the CEO of the next buggy whip company, do they?
If you’ve noticed a downward trend in your business that does not seem to be abating, what can be done? Perhaps we should not be so quick off the draw to blame the economy, as there are businesses that are thriving, even as awful as things currently seem throughout the American economy. A quick way to find out–take a close look at your most direct, local competition. Are they still getting a high level of foot traffic, is their parking lot full, do they still have a full staff? If the answer is yes, perhaps a closer analysis of your business is in order. The most direct question you can ask yourself is, what happens if we don’t turn this around? Be honest!
Do you remember the change in the video rental marketplace that Blockbuster initiate over two decades ago? Blockbuster was the darling of the video rental space that many companies rushed to emulate (Hollywood Video). Blockbuster owned the niche once dominated by local businesses–now Blockbuster is fighting for its very survival, and is currently on life support, shuttering stores and installing vending boxes in grocery stores. Wow, what happened? Netflix happened. Quite simply, Blockbuster got comfortable in their space and innovation stopped. People got tired of rushing to the video store by midnight to avoid excessive late fees and waiting in long lines to rent a movie at 6PM on a Friday. Blockbuster’s customers were ripe for the picking!
So many people have difficulty understanding RSS (Really Simple Syndication), which actually if someone shows you how to use it with a reader, such as Google Reader and a browser, such as Firefox, it really is simple! Here’s a quick video on how to add a subscription to Google Reader from a blog open in Firefox.
As this was a short pre-holiday week, here is a quick re-cap the past week’s posts. I think the best post of the week was Friday’s post “How Your Website May Be Losing You Money,” be sure and check it out.
Discussed creating quality, complex content that actually is fluff-less and of direct value to your site’s visitors. So many sites create virtually worthless, obvious content, why not take the opposite route?
Discussed how your site could actually be losing you money, effectively losing you potential visitors, then for visitors that do land on your site, there is bad navigation, a derth of calls to action and great landing pages, and therefore no conversions to leads. Think about ways to overcome this issue for your site!
Stay Tuned For…
This coming week, we will have some interesting follow up posts this coming week, along with a piece on using RSS in Firefox and an Ad Blocker program for both Windows and Mac.
Recently I was speaking to a business owner about how his company had lost about 1/4 of its revenue–poof, it was gone! Instead of asking him how he felt about it, and how it was effecting his company, and what would happen the loss of revenue did not abate (which I should have done), I was very curious about how he intended to grow it back (essentially I did not listen to my own advice when speaking to a potential customer and asking the right questions, in the correct manner).
Now, before I continue, I must preface this post with the fact that Webvantix’s main business is building and rebuilding professional websites. Therefore, we had taken a look at their site from a possible rebuilding prospective, seeking to understand if they were a good candidate for us. Our conclusion was very simple and reached very quickly: We had never seen a site that needed a re-design from all perspectives (Design, Content, Navigation, and SEO) worse than this website!
When discussing the ways they were going to not only rebuild their revenue stream, but also roll out a new initiative, I asked them if their business received leads based on organic search results centered around the keywords that were applicable for their niche. Sadly, the response was no.
Okay, back to their plan of how they were going to rebuild their business, and win attention for their new product. Their answer in a nutshell was PR and marketing, as their thought was that their site would not be generating any potential customers, as their potential customer base did not search for their product online. Fair enough, but perhaps something that should be investigated. Their thought process was that a new site did not need to be created until AFTER interest in their new initiative was generated, then they could steer leads to their site.
When discussing aspects of a customer’s belief, it’s a very delicate issue not only to point out that they may be incorrect, but to prove them incorrect can be downright insulting–even if they would prefer the straight talk.
Taking it on myself to review the most applicable keywords to their business, I found over 1.2 million MONTHLY searches just for one applicable keyword phrase via the Google Keyword Search Tool!
Now, perhaps it’s just me, but as a business owner, wouldn’t you want to capture as much of that traffic as possible, get them onto your site with properly structured SEO, compelling up to date content, and calls to action that will turn site visitors into qualified leads, all tied into various Social Media Marketing (SMM) platforms, such as YouTube and Twitter?
Finding customers for your business has changed and, if structured correctly, your website can be your greatest ally, salesperson and asset, working for you 24/7/365–think about all those people searching for exactly what you offer at 11:00 PM on a Sunday night, and instead of finding your competition, they find you in a video, and then download a whitepaper or research report you have authored.
What should you take away from this post? Know who is online searching for exactly what you do, and then WIN their attention!
In another life I worked on Wall Street, doing time at ML, Bear and Smith Barney. My primary job was to raise and manage assets. One aspect I always noticed about these companies is that they presented simple or even simplistic solutions. Yet, in financial panning with wealthy individuals, rarely did simple solutions satisfy a complex need. While these companies played catchup in this arena, there was one standout leader, Bernstein.
With its complex solutions, that were not initially presented to the end user, but to their lawyers and accountants, Bernstein advisors were above the pack at asset gathering. The solutions they presented were so complex that the advisors were highly trained and drilled (yes, drilled), to have a deep understanding of their structure and therefore were of immense value to the lawyers and accountants they presented to–and when it came time for a referral for a wealth advisor to be made by these attorneys and accountants, who do you think received it?
The creation of quality, deep and meaningful content (or solutions in this aspect), set the Bernstein advisors in a different stratosphere than the other mere moral advisors, and they became an indispensable resource. The lawyers and accountants loved it, and ate it up, as it made them look like a unique resource to their customers as well.
So, let’s ask ourselves: What are we doing to become a resource? What have we done to make ourselves truly valuable to our customers and prospects. Are you offering fluff, or when it comes time to strut your stuff, do you have content on your site that launches you into the stratosphere? Having a ‘Total Solution’ falls far short, as that is what everyone says. Got great customer service? Ditto! Dig deep and create deeper, complex website content that sets you so far apart from your competition that your differentiation is immediately apparent.
Side note: While I advocate complex content, this does not, in any way, mean your site should be cluttered our difficult to navigate.
Any ideas as to how deeper content can be created?
Stay tuned, as I will be working to illustrate how we are doing this and what tools we find useful.
Years ago when something looked daunting to me, I said to a friend something like “how am I ever going to get this done?” His sage advice was, “think of it like you had to eat an elephant…instead of thinking about the size of the elephant, just take it a bite at a time.”
Better advice was never offered.
That’s what we are attempting to accomplish here, small bits of ideas that over the long-term could really help you turn your site and business into a leader. I hope every little bit helps.
How do you know if your business needs to chart a new course for its marketing?
I was watching a Sears commercial the other evening and noticed that in the footer of their commercial there was a Facebook icon. I thought to myself, wow, that’s interesting, as here is an obvious attempt to engage through social media, with a company that’s over 100 years old. I find it impressive that companies are willing to chart a new course in their marketing, and not remain closed to new ideas.
Yet, with many smaller companies there is strong resistance to change at the top, and because of this resistance, what happens? The business suffers.
Often this resistance, regardless of the level of the investment, will simply be resistance because they don’t comprehend the value that change could bring. In a recent post I discussedSeeing Around Corners, and if your company is suffering, what has to change, and what will happen if something does not change?
Regardless of it’s myriad of effects, the combination of the weak economy, and the Internet’s ever deepening reach to everyone’s clientele, it must be agreed that change has occurred. Again, if you’re a business owner and business seems tougher, it’s simply because it is; fragmentation at every level, in every business has occurred.
In geometry there are Givens. I believe the facts just highlighted are givens to business in this era. So, if you’re a business owner, what’s can you do to bolster your weakened business model?
Ask yourself:
What’s not working?
What happens if nothing changes?
What are my choices to fix it? (yes, make a list)
How can I embrace fragmentation and differentiate my company?
Are you wrestling with similar problems? We would love to hear how you are getting out in front of this issue…
My name is Preston Ehrler and I started Webvantix to bring professional website design and website redesign to businesses that desperately needed help. Additionally, Webvantix blogs about ideas and tips for marketing your business online. Our team is comprised of individuals who are highly skilled in the fields of social media marketing, design, coding and programming. If you need our help, or simply have a question, we welcome your contact!
My name is Preston Ehrler and I started Webvantix to bring professional website design and website redesign to businesses that desperately needed help. Additionally, Webvantix blogs about ideas and tips for marketing your business online. Our team is comprised of individuals who are highly skilled in the fields of social media marketing, design, coding and programming. If you need our help, or simply have a question, we welcome your contact!
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