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Company’s Website Busted by Blog Traffic

April 10, 2012 By 6 Comments

“How much blog traffic does your company’s blog receive?”

A blog is an easy way to provide information to current customers and potential customers. It can also:

  • Increase your company’s page rank.
  • Help your company gain media attention.
  • Position your company as the ‘expert’ or ‘go-to’ business within your industry.
  • Increase sales and profits.
  • Assist you with keeping on top of customers concerns, needs, and wants.

Most customers expect businesses to have a blog on their website or a link to a blog. If your company doesn’t have one, it’s time to ask, “Why not?” Taking advantage of blogging is a cost effective marketing tool. Used properly, it can increase company sales and profits.

Boost Your Blog Traffic Today With Three Simple Steps

How to boost blog traffic

Client's Blog Busted by Millions of Visitors Photo by John Evans-Stock Exchange Visit www.thetippingpoint.co.uk

Provide killer content for your target audience.

Customers and potential customers want quick, valuable information that will help them solve whatever problem(s) they have. Give them what they want!

After you’ve polled or surveyed your customers, think about blog topics.

Example … If your company is a graphic and web design firm targeting small businesses, you could have blog posts on the following:

  • How to get your small business noticed with a logo that stands out.
  • How color psychology can boost web traffic.
  • How a redesign of your blog can boost blog traffic.

The next step is to write headlines that stop readers’ in their tracks.

Using the above ‘graphic and web design company’ example above, possible headlines for the blog post topics are:

Company X’s Logo on Billboard Stops Rush Hour Traffic

Company X’s Website Makeover Attracts Celebrity Shoppers

Company X Big Fat Blog Traffic Results in 20 Million Hits

Use short and simple sentences.

Use bold headings and bullet points.

Don’t use industry jargon if your audience won’t understand it.

Tip: Think of writing blog posts like writing screenplays. There’s a beginning (Act I, introduction; plot point or big event), middle (Act II, conflict; arc of the story; midpoint), and end (Act III, the resolution).

Remember, blogging isn’t about your company. It’s about helping your customers solve whatever problems they need solving. Blogging is also a good sales and marketing tool.

Optimize content with SEO.

Search engine optimization or SEO can be both time consuming and a pain in the neck. You want to optimize your blog posts. But on the other hand, you want to provide valuable content to readers. The good news is you can do both. However, I suggest putting more emphasis on content.

You can research keywords using Google AdWords Keyword Tool or another program to find the ‘best’ keywords/phrases for your blog. Select keywords/phrases and test them in blog posts. An “A/B” testing is a good way to analyze traffic to see which blog posts received the most blog traffic.

In addition to using Google Analytics, check out HitsLink. The company provides you with in-depth analysis of your blog/website. Reports are easy to download. In my opinion, HitsLink doesn’t seem as cumbersome to use as Google Analytics.

Find the right ‘tone and voice’ for your blog.

Keep your target audience in mind when you think about tone and voice. Tone is the ‘author’s attitude (or mood) towards a subject. Voice is the personality, point of view, or style of writing. Examples of voice are:

  • Funny
  • Upbeat
  • Serious
  • Trendy
  • Dark
  • Snarky
  • Matter-of-fact

It’s usually recommended that blog posts have a conversational, friendly voice. However, there’s a difference if your blog’s audience is for those in finance organizations vs. parents of toddlers.

Conduct research on what your target audience is reading. See what others are writing in your industry. Test blog posts to see which ones receive the most comments and traffic.

Extra Blog Traffic Tips 

1. Who is your target audience? Are they chefs or stay-at-home moms? If you don’t know ‘who’ your target audience is you can’t provide them with awesome content. This is where newer businesses stumble. They don’t know ‘who’ their target market is.

2. What problems are you solving? What problems do your customers need solving? How do you find out? Take a poll or survey using Survey Monkey, a provider of free online survey solutions. SurveyMonkey offers customers more features with one of their paid subscription plans.

3. Once you know ‘who’ your target audience is build a relationship with them. Or, continue to develop the relationship with a successful blog that provides killer content. Hook visitors with brilliant content, and they’ll come back for more.

Warning! If you use these three simple steps to increase blog traffic, your website could be busted overnight. You have a webmaster in-house, right?

Has your website experienced blog traffic overload? Share.

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Warning: Twitter Followers Could be Unnatural

March 29, 2012 By 1 Comment

You may be shocked to know that some companies and entrepreneurs buy their Twitter followers. Can you believe it? Talk about being fake and unnatural! Why would anyone by followers? Well, it gives the ‘illusion’ of having a strong Twitter following.

Did you know that followers could be spam accounts? What happens when clients or customers start to follow some of the accounts that follow your company only to find out they’re spam? They probably won’t be too impressed with your company for too long.

You can increase your Twitter followers the natural and organic way by following the steps below. You don’t need artificial Twitter followers!

How to Gain Twitter Followers the Natural, Organic Way Instead of Buying Them

Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

Upload your company’s logo.

Please don’t use the ‘egg’ which is the default image Twitter uses. You don’t want your company to be labeled as a ‘spam’ account. If this happens, you risk not having any followers.

Uploading your company’s logo is easy to do. Adjust the size to Twitter’s max size of 700k.

An eye-catching bio attracts followers.

Tell everyone on Twitter about your company in 160 characters or less. If you’re not sure what to write, here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • What makes your company unique?
  • What sets your company apart from other companies within your industry?
  • How do your employees contribute to the success of your company and its customers?
  • What do you offer that other companies don’t?

Write or hire a freelance writer to write a compelling bio that ‘shows’ everyone on Twitter ‘why’ they should follow your company. Don’t forget to include links to your company blog, other web pages, or other social media accounts.

Tip: Hold a contest and ‘tweet’ about it. People love to enter contests. More importantly, they love to win free stuff!

Use Twitter on a daily basis.

How much time do you spend on Twitter? Many social media experts and gurus will advise you to hire a community manager or social media manager who’ll spend 30+ hours per week on social media. Before you do this, answer the following questions:

  • How large is your company in terms of sales and revenues?
  • How many employees do you have?
  • How large is your client, consumer, or customer base?
  • What is the vision for growth for the next three to five years?
  • Where do you see the company in five years?

If your company is as large as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, etc., you may want to hire a social media manager (or outsource) who’ll work 30+ hours per week handling your social media networks.

Small business owners, consider hiring a part-time employee to handle your social media efforts. Spending 15 minutes per day on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, etc. can increase your web presence and traffic. You can adjust the amount of (+ or -) time needed to be spent as your social media networks grow over a period of time.

Engaging with clients and customers shows that you’re doing everything possible to interact with them; you’re taking an interest in them. They’re not just a sale to you.

Share valuable content that will be retweeted.

Having a blog could work for your company. If you’re not interested in having a blog, consider posting free articles or giving away eBooks, white papers, tutorial videos, power point presentations, etc. Just give something away that readers will find valuable.

Tip: Retweet your followers’ posts share their content as well.

Don’t be afraid to add “Please Retweet” at the end of a tweet because studies have shown that ‘tweets’ without it receive less retweets. There’s no harm in asking your followers to share what you’ve posted.

Upload pictures.

Don’t be afraid to ‘tweet’s pictures from your company picnic or charitable event. This is a great way to show how your company ‘thanks’ employees for their hard work. It’s also a good way to show how your company and employees support a charitable organization within the community.

If your company started its own not-for-profit as a way to give back to the community, Twitter is smart way to ‘spread’ the word about it. Ask for the community’s support in terms of volunteering and or donating money. This is a good way to show how your company cares about the community and everyone in it.

Remember, sometimes a picture is worth more than 1,000 words!

Have patience.

You could grow your Twitter followers overnight if you buy them. However, it’s always best to grow followers the natural, organic way. Think about the following question:

What’s more important, quality or quantity?

You could buy Twitter followers and suddenly have 25,000, 50,000, 100,000, 250,000, etc. followers. However, what good does it do if you’re not converting them or receiving leads and referrals? If you want authentic followers, be patient and grow your Twitter followers over time.

These are some tips on how your company can gain Twitter followers the natural and organic way. No preservatives added!

How has your company increased its Twitter followers? Share.

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Freelance Writer Reveals Secrets to Writing Headlines for the Web

March 22, 2012 By 5 Comments

Effective communication is important for both print and web copy writing. The most important aspect of writing is creating an eye-catching headline. A freelance writer who’s skilled in writing for the web understands that it’s important to write headlines that get noticed. It’s also important to optimize a headline for SEO purposes. Below are a freelance writer’s ‘secrets’ to writing a headlines for the web that will grab the attention of readers.

How a Freelance Writer Writes Headlines for the Web 

oDesk Freelancer-RJ Nieto

oDesk Freelancer-RJ Nieto (Photo credit: thumbbook)

Reads tabloid magazines

A freelance writer knows that tabloid magazines have the best headlines which is why they’ll read them. Are you shocked?

Tabloids grab a reader’s attention and don’t let go. This is why they sell! The headlines ‘hook’ a reader and beckons them to read the articles.

Effective communication such as headline that grab’s your target audience’s attention is important when you write for the web.

It’s important to ‘optimize’ a headline with one or two keywords/phrases. The key is to place the primary keyword in front and the secondary keyword at the end. Or, you could just use the primary keyword.

Here’s an example:

Web Content Writers Crash SEO Companies Server for the Second Time

The primary keyword/phrase is ‘Web Content Writers’ and the secondary keyword/phrase is ‘SEO Companies.’

A freelance writer reads Cosmopolitan 

The publishers of Cosmopolitan magazine understand the importance of effective communication. Their writers create headlines that make readers want to read the articles.

They may even shock them. Talk about effective communication!

Some freelance writers have been known to subscribe to Cosmopolitan and other magazines, only to rip-off the front covers and toss the magazines. This is how a freelance writer builds a ‘headline reference’ file. It’s good for those days when a writer needs help or inspiration to write a headline.

Reads blogs

A good freelance writer reads other blogs. They pay attention to a bloggers writing style to see what attracts readers to a blog.

Effective communication is highly important when a freelance writer writes for the web. Readers want quick information that’s helpful.

In order to grab their attention, a write must create a headline that makes readers stop what they’re doing. Of course, converting them to a customer is another goal as well.

Continues their freelance writing education

A good freelance writer continues their freelance writing education by doing the following:

  • Attending writer’s conferences and workshops
  • Enrolling in writing classes
  • Reading books about freelance writing
  • Networking with other freelance writers
  • Enrolling in communication classes such as public speaking

Specialize in Freelance writing

You may be surprised (or not) to discover a freelance writer began their writing career as a journalist. It’s not unusual for a newspaper or magazine writer to transition into a freelance writing career.

They’re used to meeting or turning in work ahead of time (deadlines increase, it happens) and understand the importance of writing for a targeted audience. A ‘good’ freelance writer can adjust their writing style to ‘fit’ your company’s audience. Of course, they can write headlines that get noticed!

Now you know the secrets a freelance writer uses to write headlines for web content.

What challenges does your company face when it comes to writing headlines? Share.

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SEO: The Benefits of Knowing and Understanding Web Optimization

March 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Most businesses owners hire SEO companies to optimize their websites. There’s nothing wrong with this if the SEO companies do their job. Think about the following questions for a moment:

 

  • What happens if the SEO company goes out of business? Who will take care of your web optimization?
  • What if Black Hat SEO techniques are being used? Do you even know what ‘Black Hat SEO’ means? If you don’t, your company’s website could be in danger of being taken out of search engines.
  • If you have an ‘in-house’ SEO manager, what happens if they quit? Are your employees crossed-trained? Could someone pick up the work?

 

It would behoove business owners, especially small business owners, to know something about search engine optimization. Otherwise, your page ranking and web stats could decrease faster than you could have ever imagined.

 

Benefits of Knowing and Understanding Best SEO Practices

What really is Search Engine Optimization?

What really is Search Engine Optimization? (Photo credit: Go Local Search)

 

Understanding SEO is a good way to make sure your SEO company is doing their job.

 

If you don’t understand SEO, how will you know if your website is being optimized? If you don’t receive reports on a regular basis, how do you know if any optimization work was completed for a specific amount of time? You don’t have to know everything about web optimization, but it’s a good idea to know how to view your websites source code so you can check to see if your keywords were entered.

 

If your in-house SEO person quits, who does the work?

 

Sadly, most employees aren’t crossed trained. If your SEO person quits, your website won’t be optimized for too long. Who will write the blog posts? Who will update the web pages? It’s a good idea to cross train employees, especially if you own a small business. If you don’t want to learn SEO then one of your other employees should know how to do it.

 

Competitors in Your Industry Know and Understand SEO.

 

Let’s face it; technology moves at a faster speed than it ever did. If you don’t keep your skills up-to-date, you can find yourself going out of business. Customers expect businesses to be on social media websites because it’s a fast and easy way for them to connect. They also expect that a business is optimizing their website with keywords/phrases that will help them find what they’re looking for in a quicker manner.

 

What happens if your SEO company is using Black Hat SEO techniques? How would you know?

 

If you aren’t familiar with SEO and how it works, you could be in a lot of trouble with Google and other search engines. This means your SEO company is using unethical techniques to help your company gain higher search rankings. Unfortunately, search engines look for these unsavory practices and will ban your company from displaying in their results. Black Hat SEO techniques include:

 

  • Keyword stuffing blog posts and web pages.
  • Buying the wrong types of links (you should avoid this anyway).
  • Invisible text — putting white text on a white background.
  • Doorway pages are basically ‘fake’ pages.

 

You can save time and money.

 

If you understand search engine optimization (SEO), you could do the work yourself and save thousands of dollars each year. The drawback is that keeping up with the optimization can become time consuming.

 

It doesn’t hurt to know something about best SEO practices, especially if you hire an outside firm to take care of all of your search engine optimization. Remember, it’s important to use White Hat SEO versus Black Hat SEO techniques. If you know and understand how optimization works, you’ll be able to tell straightaway if a firm is using unethical practices.

 

There’s nothing wrong with becoming familiar with how web optimization works. It will only help your company in the long run. Technologies change overnight. What worked yesterday, may not work today. Updating your skills is a good way to ensure your company doesn’t lag behind other companies within your industry.

 

What’s holding you back from learning SEO? Share.

 

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Social Media and SEO: Do Your Employees Struggle with Change?

March 7, 2012 By 2 Comments

Social media and SEO are strategies to increase business and profitability. What happens if your employees don’t embrace these latest technologies? Employees may believe social media and SEO is a waste of time compared to the ‘old’ ways of increasing business, profits, and customer satisfaction. How do you get them to support social media and SEO strategies? Find out below and get everyone in the company on board with these 21st century strategies.

Social Media and SEO: How to Get Employees to Support New Strategies
SAN FRANCISCO - NOVEMBER 15: Facebook founder...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Explain the benefits of social media and SEO. Employees may not understand the importance and benefits of being on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Schedule a meeting and explain how implementing these latest strategies will benefit everyone in the long run.

  • A dialogue can be created between a company and its customers on Facebook. It’s a good way to address any concerns they may have. Plus, starting a conversation builds interest in your company.
  • LinkedIn is a fantastic way to connect with other professionals within your industry. Who knows, you may find opportunities to collaborate.
  • Twitter is a great way to share your blog posts, eBooks, articles, and other helpful content. You can also share videos too!

Social media and SEO are here to stay. Like it or not, these technologies aren’t going away anytime soon. It would behoove employees to embrace them; otherwise, they could be left behind.

Social networking increases business and profitability. The key to social networking is to establish and build relationships first. Employees can use this tool to find out the problems that ‘potential’ customers have and then offer assistance to solve them.

Tip #1: Develop and build relationships through social networking. Ask for business (or referrals) when you’re confident business relationships have been built on a solid foundation.

SEO helps a company’s ranking in search engines. Companies use SEO strategies to gain organic web traffic. If your company uses a SEO company, schedule a meeting with them and your employees. Once employees understand ‘why’ SEO is important, they’ll be able to embrace it.

Social media is great for introverts. If some of your employees are introverted, let them manage one of your social media accounts. There’s no face-to-face interaction on social media websites — it’s all internet based.

Tip #2: Introverted employees can overcome their ‘fear’ by getting used to communicating with clients, customers, vendors, etc. Before you know it, they’ll be preparing and giving presentations, attending trade shows, and setting up client meetings.

Social networking can be fun. The internet allows us to communicate with people all over the world. Who knows, your company could gain new business nationally and internationally through the use of social media.

Social media (social networking) and SEO are strategies that help companies increase their web traffic, business, and profitability.

Employees may be hesitant to embrace these technologies for many reasons such as fear of the unknown, fear of losing their jobs, fear they may not be able to ‘grasp’ the knowledge, etc. The obvious theme is fear.

Ease your employees’ fears by informing them that companies use social media and SEO in addition to other strategies/tools such as offline and online marketing, branding, positioning, etc. to increase business activities. Everyone will benefit when the latest tools are implemented.

Are your employees struggling with SEO and social media? Share.

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