Blogging for Business

Small Business Brisbane, marketing strategies No Responses »
Nov 302010

It may be time to think about blogging for your small or online business. Brisbane-based business owners are naturally skeptical about the need, time, and return on investment that blogging will have.

Having a blog manager and writer can at least remove the concern of time. However, one of our friends in business – Landscapers Greenscene Gardenscope – have managed to write their own geographic-focussed blog (albeit with a landscaper’s English), build their backlinks, and move up the rankings purely through “doing a little bit quite often”.

Others simply cannot afford the time or headspace for blogging, and can’t get their head around social media. Never fear, there are a hundred reasons why a professional blogger can save you time and increase your blog’s profit potential. One of the best reasons is… they keep going when you simply cannot, because their livelihood depends upon it.

Profit potential is the hidden potential that blog traffic will turn into attuned, happy to pay customers – i.e. the best kind.

Today I’ve written up “So You’ve Got a Blog – What Now?”. This two page PDF will walk you through the marketing to-dos, gives you some topic starters, and also includes what your Blog Writer does, if you’re lucky enough to have me on your outsourced team. Call Jen on 07 31030238 for a blog writing quote.

So You’ve Got a Blog – What Now

Posted by Gino Lancaster at 2:28 pm Tagged with: ,

Should You Really Customise and Write a Website Yourself?

SEO tips, Small Business Brisbane, Website Design 1 Response »
Aug 262010

Small business owners are a busy lot; today we consider… do you have time and skills to DIY your content and run a full CMS?

We wrote a little about this when we considered the question, DIY Template or Employ a Web Designer?

Recently I found another web company offering an ‘all-in-one’ solution – where business owners pick a template and do their own content and optimisation. This really assumes that business owners have an eye for design and colour, copywriting skills, and knowledge of keywords and where to put them.

That’s quite of a lot of assumptions. Most people who are very good at what they do, whether plumbing a roof or consulting to business, don’t have the time to research and get good at these varied skill sets. Hell, they don’t even have the time to consult with us on what they want in their website at times, much less always be doing it themselves.

Content Updates to Websites

In our new publication ‘Small Business Websites… Finally Explained’ we express the need for regular website updates if you want your website to be fresh and ranked well in Google. (And we practice what we preach).

If you or your partner can set aside 3 to 5 hours per month and you are a concise writer, please go ahead and pay for a full CMS (content management). If you’re normally in a car or up on a roof for work, then look into getting Hosting Maintenance included in a standard small business website. This means you can send in your website updates every couple of months at no extra cost.

Remember, you can optionally add a WordPress blog to a small business website and easily enough put in articles. Blog writing can be a simple affair and help your site be found for very specific subjects and locations. These can be articles which encourage the reader to purchase from you. When (notice I don’t say if) you realise that you can’t possibly keep up with writing these posts then I’d be happy to do it for you on a regular weekly basis, from $40 per post, or less for editing. Cheers.

Posted by Jennifer at 2:36 pm Tagged with: , , , , ,

Why Should I Blog or Update My Website So Often?

SEO tips, Small Business No Responses »
Jun 252010

“I’ve got to update my website every two-three months… really?” said a business owner.

Well, actually, posting every single week is even better. If your blog is part of your website, every time you update it, it adds new content to be indexed.

The new social media push and introduction of real-time updates has affected the way Google updates its database. With June’s Caffeine update, Google has created a new index that will allow users to find this kind of readily updated content very nearly as quickly as it is published.

As a result, businesses creating real-time updates and making new pages constantly will be rewarded with a faster inclusion on the Google Index.

Jim Stewart, chief executive of Stewart Media says:

“If your site is getting updated regularly, people are visiting it and you have a load of backlinks, then you’re going to be rewarded more than passive sites.”  (Backlinks from other reputable sites are a quality indicator to Google that you’re top stuff).

“Real time indexing will impact those quality sites that are upgraded and updated regularly. Google will visit you as a result and will constantly index you – update a lot and you’ll be indexed a lot.”

So please realise that blogging for business is not only to encourage local visitors, inform your clients and encourage backlinks from other bloggers, it’s also to get a foothold in the daily fight for the best Google results (called the SERP – Search Engine Results Page).

Posted by Jennifer at 2:55 pm Tagged with: , , ,

Let’s Not Call it a Blog – WordPress is a Marketing Tool

Website Design, marketing strategies No Responses »
Jun 222010

A lot of traditional small business owners have a preconceived notion of what a blog is and isn’t, and dismiss it right away since they haven’t got time to write a bunch of tips or worse yet, to blather on.

There are many joys in WordPress: some use it as a tool to develop a total website, OR as an add-on so closely integrated with your present site that it acts as an Articles or News section. Although WordPress was not developed for business websites, it is quite good for people looking for a more affordable CMS (to update your own content).

Problems with Themes

However, WordPress is widely misused and each blog needs careful customisation on setup. Sure it’s easy to install a Theme, but so many people forget to really make it a sales tool by linking in their website and business details.

We had a few problems with the flexibility of our old theme – you might find the same. With our new theme Suffusion, it makes changing colours, fonts and layout much easier. This comes with some SEO features.

I also recently discovered a SEO plugin called ‘SEO essentials’ which is readily available from WordPress.org. This allows you to put the keywords in the front of the title, among other nifty options.

Brand Your Header

A blog can have its own identity. Every blog needs to have a customised strong header, but there’s also a need to make that header or URL inside an About Us box clickable – so when people land on the blog, they can get back to the website. This can be set up quickly by a WordPress Website expert.

Secondly, a blog is not just a space to air your personal opinions. The reasons to start a blog (WordPress add-on) on your traditional business website are:

  • Regular updates surrounding your core topic will help you build better Google and Yahoo page ranking.
  • A cheaper/simpler Content Management System cannot be found.
  • Convert visitors into sales prospects and then clients.
  • Reuse blog articles and send them out as an e-newsletter (have an opt-in box on website or blog home).
  • Take advantage of many themes’ integration with social media profiles.

There is a lot of talk online about monetizing your blog. Forget this, a Bricks & Mortar business will ‘monetize’ their blog by drawing in local readers and educating them about the benefits of doing business with them or being helpful – e.g. giving tips on keeping flowers fresh for a florist, etc. Being one click to your main site is so important for any sales conversion, but is not automatic so this often requires someone to customise the code.

Personal Profile Builder

A blog can also become a way to build a personal profile. For service providers, you can either have your mugshot in your header (with phone number) or have a profile box in the sidebar with headshot, about you, website link. Get a gravatar, which is then used when you post comments on other blogs, and a favicon for your whole site (that little icon next to the URL). Make yourself colourful and visible to passersby.

Here’s a good example of a Personalised Blog: http://www.tyroneshum.com/

So if you’re a business manager that’s curious about a WordPress customised website or blog add-on, we’re happy to chat via email.

Posted by Jennifer at 1:01 pm Tagged with: , , ,

Creating Linkworthy Business Websites

Small Business Brisbane, Website Design 4 Responses »
Apr 072010

Sometimes it pays to be brutally honest with clients who are hopeful of receiving hundreds of links to their online store or basic service website.

“The less useful your content, the less likely you are to ever receive a link to it”

– Eric Ward, LinkMoses

So what can an entrepreneurial type do with their ‘plain brand’ business website?
If you have products you can start marketing them through affiliates. This will attract many varied backlinks as well as sales. If no products, please read on….

Be Credible

To ensure people will take you seriously, SEO Book says “you need to make sure your website adheres to good web credibility standards.
• Is your domain name memorable?
• Does your design complement your copy?
• Is your content interesting and conceptually unique?
• Does your site have an editorial component and voice, or is it a boring low-value thin product database?
• Is your about page memorable?
• Is your site easy to use and understand?
• Do you have a brand people care about? (Points care of SEOBook.com)

You do not need to “have it all” to get started, but the more credible you look the faster you will gain momentum.”

- Aaron Wall, SEO Book.

Realise that the Internet is a Social Medium

Speaking at a conference? You may be surprised that people in the audience send tweets about your talk via their mobile.

Want to get leading bloggers/thought leaders to promote your site? You could create a community project or an exciting contest. If for charity, you will often attract the real media too. (Help this along with a press release).

Continuous Improvement

What does it take to be successful online? Improve your website or update your blog, and start a conversation online at least once a week. (We are posting twice per week – it’s not impossible). A little regular effort may snowball into ‘YOU’ being a thought leader in your field. You might notice I do not say the market leader… because you cannot manipulate people on the Internet, you cannot dominate the market, you can only interest people.

In many ways, the Internet more resembles an ancient bazaar than it fits the business models companies try to impose upon it.

- The Cluetrain Manifesto

The book Cluetrain Manifesto declares that “markets are conversations”, “talk is cheap” and “silence is fatal”… they are referring to blogs and websites.

“Though corporations insist on seeing it as one, the new marketplace is not necessarily a market at all. To its inhabitants, it is primarily a place in which all participants are audience to each other.”

Read the book here for free: www.cluetrain.com

Posted by Gino Lancaster at 5:18 pm Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Blogging for business… worth the time?

Small Business 10 Responses »
Mar 192010

Some busy owners have asked lately, “Is it worth it to start and run a blog for my business?” Frankly if your billable rate is $60+ ph and you have plenty of work, probably no. Pay someone else to do it.

For one thing, you are most definitely not going to have time to keep posting at least once or more per week. Secondly, you may not have time to ensure you ping and tell all about your new blog posts.

And thirdly, the only reason it would be advisable to run your own blog is if you really enjoy the process. Because most people find it a proverbial pain after the novelty wears off, and it becomes a task usually left undone.

While you consider someone else to do it, remember these benefits of having a blog:

  • your writer gets brief snippets of your expertise across in plain English (they act like a translator to bring it to the masses)
  • blog posts go viral: people find it on searches or in twitter or stumbleupon, and soon you may be talked about in others’ blogs
  • it’s an informal way to connect with readers and find out what they want from your type of business or your products (by their comments)
  • enhances your SEO – the keywords used in posts may show up in searches. Also, linking your blog to your website means it too will be found (your blog listed on your domain name is best).

Do we offer blog post writing? Yes, it’s a new service at RPD. WordPress or Infusionsoft users can get multiple posts written in advance – ongoing. (Just ask for your ideas to be written up).

Jiggling the Web to Enhance SEO

Another concept to understand is why bloggers post blog content and then highlight it on the social media: twitter, facebook, digg and stumbleupon. So the spider at Jiggling the Web says:

“Jiggling the Web gets my attention because it uses a combination of links and social media properties. Links are how I get the meat. Social media is where the conversations are. If you combine the two, it gets your blog post to the top of the search engines quickly.

Unlike “industry standard” SEO methods it doesn’t take weeks or months. Top rankings are usually achieved in less than an hour.”

When you Jiggle the Web, you brace your positioning with a precise linking strategy. This makes your blog post stick in the rankings.

(See more on the strategy at www.jigglingtheweb.com)

So is business blogging worth the time invested? It is when it’s strategic not haphazard, as part of an online attraction strategy.

Posted by Gino Lancaster at 5:00 am Tagged with: , , , ,
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