Terry Payne | Internet Marketing Consultant

That’s a rather common question. My answer is always the same. It depends. What do you want your website to do? Is your website simply a virtual business card? A place where you can refer people for whatever reason. If so, then I wouldn’t bother with optimizing it. However if you want consumers to find you when they search for your products or services, then yes. Absolutely.

Unfortunately, many businesses publish a website and soon become discouraged when it doesn’t produce the results they hope for. “Build it and they will come” is a failed business philosophy. Online competition is simply too great. You must do more and better than your competitors.

Despite what some marketers will have you believe, there is not a secret formula or magic pill for a successful Internet presence. It requires doing a lot of little things very well. Optimizing your website for relevant keywords and phrases is one of those little things. Precisely how much noticeable effect website optimization alone will have on your search engine organic rankings depends on the difficulty level of online competition. But just as an automobile with damaged spark plugs may not get you where you want to go, your Internet marketing campaign is likely spit and sputter along if not properly tuned.

The most common problem that I encounter with client’s websites is they fail to successfully communicate to search engines such basic information as what the business is about. If a search engine cannot decipher a clear definition of your business, how can it be expected to refer consumers who are searching for your products or services?

Another question I’m asked is if optimization is normally included in website development. If you hired an individual or business to develop your website, search engine optimization may have been a part of the promotion. However, my experience is most of the time it was not or it was optimized very poorly. Keep in mind that knowing how to optimize a website does not mean that person is a good website developer. Likewise, being an excellent developer doesn’t qualify someone as knowing how to optimize a website for a particular business type and keywords. You will need someone who works with and understands search engine marketing.

If you have any questions about how well your website is optimized, go to my Support Services. In the Website Optimization section, you will see a box where you can enter your website address (URL). I will provide you with a free report of how search engines view your website. It’s an easy way to find out if your website is projecting the keywords and phrases you believe or hope it is.
Optimizing for search engines is only half of the equation for a truly successful website. It should also be optimized for user experience. Search engines optimization will drive consumers to your site, user experience optimization will convert those consumers into buyers.

Download a free report about the basics of optimizing your website for search engines.

Most everyone knows that Google ranks #1 for search engine popularity. If you’re marketing your business online, chances are your objective is to be on the first page of Google. It’s a wise goal. Google claims over 70% of the search engine market. But can you tell me the second largest search engine in the United States?

Is it Yahoo with approximately 14% of the market or Bing with about 10%. Although Bing is highly rated by consumers for returning relevant results and its popularity is increasing, it will likely be several years before it rivals Google.

So who is the second largest search engine in the U.S.? It might surprise you to learn it’s YouTube (also owned by Google). The video sharing site surpassed Yahoo for the #2 position in total search queries over a year ago and its popularity continues to increase.

Now the question is can video really help grow your business? The answer is YES! The benefits of including video in your marketing campaign are numerous. I will cover how to take full advantage of video marketing at a later time, but here’s how you can benefit now.

Including video on the landing page of your website is advantageous for search engine optimization and user experience. One of the factors contributing to your search engine ranking is how long visitors remain on your site. The average stay is one minute or less. If you publish an interesting or informative two minute video on your landing page, chances are good that the length of stay on your website will be above average.

Create a video that’s entertaining or informative, preferably both. Here’s an example of an entertaining video from Toyota.

If you watched the entire video then I just added 2 minutes and 36 seconds to your length of stay on this site, and you might also have a more favorable impression of Toyota’s branding. But not everyone has the funds of Toyota to produce a highly professional video. No worries. In fact, if you have a small business with a local consumer base, a professionally produced video may not be your smartest choice.

The factors that influence consumers have changed. In years past, small or home-based businesses used to market in such a way that they appeared larger and more corporate than they actually were. Today, consumers want to know who they are doing business with. Instead of taking their automobile to Acme Auto Repair, they prefer to take it to John (who happens to own Acme Auto Repair). By giving your business a face and personality, you can help to establish trust, increase buyer conversion rates and improve customer retention.

Consider publishing a video that introduces you, your business, or your product or service. Make it informative. What questions might the consumer have about your business? Use video to answer those questions and personalize your message. You may also consider using video to provide consumers with helpful information. For example, an auto repair shop might inform consumers about small adjustments they can make to their automobile and driving habits to save gas or increase the life of their vehicle.

Now let’s look at a video from a local pet sitting service.

This video is successful in many ways. First, it gives the business a face. Critter Sitters is no longer a sign or logo, it’s a person – and the person appears responsible and trustworthy. Would I trust that person with my pet? So far, so good.

The video describes their services (they go to client’s home, walk and feed the pets, clean out litter boxes, etc.) while showing a happy four-legged recipient. I’m becoming more convinced.

They also include a discount offer for new clients (contract 3 visits, get one free). Okay, I’m sold enough to make the call. At this time, I’m not sure that I will hire them (that depends the phone call and beyond). But the video answered my questions, established a measure of credibility and motivated me to take action. It did its job very well.

Once you have completed your video, I recommend that you create an account at YouTube and upload it. Don’t forget to include your keywords. Like web pages, videos should be optimized. When your video has uploaded, embed it on your website. To do this, go to your YouTube video page. Below the video, click “share”, and then click “embed”. Copy the code and paste it to your website.

If properly optimized, your video may appear in search engine organic results for your keywords. The image below shows a video (and a prompt for more video results) among other listings for one of my clients.

Take time to carefully plan and prepare your video. But also have fun (your happy face will show). Break a leg!

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