If you are a small business owner then we’re guessing you have a limited budget to begin your marketing campaign.  Indeed, high expenditures are one of the reasons why so many new companies fail.  However, not advertising and not aggressively marketing is simply not an option at this crucial stage.

How do you go about marketing your brand to a new generation of customers?  If you’re thinking the Internet then you have the right idea.  However, just like television and radio, the Internet is a medium that can be easily misunderstood.  Like TV and radio, this medium can also be a big, expensive mistake!

If you do not have a working plan, you will get overwhelmed with the great void that is Internet advertising.  More to the point, if you do not carefully target a specific audience online, you will be biting off way more than you can chew.  The most popular keyword phrases are highly sought after and the competition is fierce.  Unless you have the budget and the time (not to mention the links that indicate web popularity) you are not going to land anywhere near the top of the search rankings for common search phrases.

However, by focusing your attention on specifics and having a consistent plan of action you will begin to build your online reputation…and this is worth gold to your company, your credibility and your cash flow.  Focus on the basics in the beginning.  Create a professional website, as this will act as your 24-7 calling card, providing details as to what you offer.  Next, get involved in social media and in article marketing so that you can build quality links and catch the attention of constantly searching “spiders” (Internet robots that look for new links and new content).

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, focus on creating excellent content that will be helpful to your viewers.  For more on good SEO practices call or email us today

There are still some people in marketing who see SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as a “scam”, a business practice invented primarily to exploit new website owners.  However, anyone who doubts the importance of search engines and content producing can simply look at the latest Google Panda algorithm update and see how powerful text content is to establishing top search rankings.

Low quality content, and especially non-existent content, is not just being passed over by search engine bots – this inferior writing is actually being penalized by search bots and human editors.  Unfortunately for the SEO industry, legitimate content producers have been given a bad name by shady “SEO companies” that simply don’t understand how search engines work, or who don’t really care about the quality of writing.  SEO should be about specifics not generalities and huge budgets.

Here’s an easy way to tell if an SEO company is legitimate.  How much are they asking you to invest?  This question is not to imply that real SEO is cheap – it can be an expensive investment for sure, as any advertising budget requires come capital.  However, the great thing about SEO Services is that it is a scalable investment.

So if you are being pressured into a huge financial commitment, and yet the company cannot justify the expense it’s time to worry.  Good SEO is not a matter of “now or never.”  You build a great site and a great online presence day by day.  The best advice for SEO investment is to calculate a budget, work out a strategic plan and then find a company that can provide specifics on keyword analysis, ROI and keyword density strategy.

For more help with understanding how the SEO business works and what type of financial investment is normal, talk to an experienced SEO firm about your options.

Are you ready to embark upon your first SEO campaign?  It’s going to be a long but rewarding journey.  Before you start investing money, you want to take the time to consider a few reminders that will ensure you stay focused and avoid costly mistakes.

1. Know what SEO is and what it means
2. Know your ROI
3. Choose the right keywords

Let’s expand on each of these:

Know what SEO is and what it means.

It’s not enough to know what SEO means.  (Search Engine Optimization, ta-da!)  You also have to know what is implied by such a term.  Another way of saying SEO is to say you are establishing a strong web presence.  You are increasing your web visibility by increasing your page ranking for popular market keyword searches.  In order to do this, you must create quality content on a consistent basis so that the search engines will always find something new at your site.  That’s SEO in a sentence, and yet many businesses still don’t understand it.

Have an ROI plan.

Not only must you know what SEO can do for you—you must also know what specific goals you have with SEO.  Some companies want their SEO to boost online sales, and they make sure to install analytics to track those conversions.  Others want SEO to boost brand awareness and trust, and track the results of social media and the number of leads coming in.  Still others, (and everybody, really) are attempting to build quality external links and track the search ranking results.

Choose the Right Keywords

Your analytics data will always be misleading if you do not do adequate keyword research.  While you can “guess” and be pleasantly surprised from time to time, be sure to balance out your hunches with solid research, and by scouting the competition.  As always, these words must be targeted to your business.  Much money has been wasted by companies who are simply going after the wrong keywords!

We’ll review more tips in the coming weeks.  Just remember the three big issues in investment: understanding the technology, your personal ROI plan, and the best keywords for your business.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at 800-548-2153