Month: February 2009

Search Engine Rank Improvements Take Stamina and Evolution

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A lot of people are frustrated with their organic (Not a pay per click service) search engine rankings.  When they finally have had enough the frustration usually takes the shape of wanting to rank first for almost any related keyword.  Barring a massive budget and a group of talented web professionals, that isn’t likely to happen.  Start out gradually with Search engine optimization and gear up.

Think of SEO as a marathon.  No one decides the morning of a marathon that they’re going to do it (Well maybe someone has tried that but I guarantee they had a painful and unsuccessful experience).  It takes months and months of training.  Marathon runners set a running schedule that is designed to get them into their best running shape on that single day. 

SEO should work the same way.  Pick small steps and vital keywords.  Focus on a single geography before hitting wider reaching areas.  As you achieve success you can evolve from there.  Once certain keywords or areas point to your site, put new keywords in place.

There are a lot of Search Engine Optimizing strategies online (several have been covered here).  However, none of them will immediately propel a site to the top of search engines for every desired keyword.  Start slow and use your experiences and victories to achieve more.  It takes some thinking and work but if you stay consistent and keep the stamina up you’ll find that one day you’ll have built your site up to rank among all your desired keywords.

Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

Email Marketing is for the Long-Term

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With the economy sagging many people are looking to email/online marketing as a way to open new opportunities for them or their companies.  Of course, that’s something I love to hear!  However, in the case of email marketing I’m noticing a disturbing trend.  I’m calling it “The Down Economy Panic”.  People who have lost some clients or feel that their existing base is shrinking are desperately trying to use email marketing for added exposure.  No long-term plan is put in place and the only ground work laid is for an immediate send.  These short sighted email marketing attempts almost always fall flat and waste valuable time and money while providing limited results.

I remain a proponent that “email blasts” don’t work.  This can be  a one-time large promotional send from either a rented/bought list or a dormant in-house  list.  It’s the same thing really.  The explanation I’m recently hearing is “I need to send out now to prop myself up over the downturn.  If I do an ongoing campaign the economy might be righted by the time I’m in full swing and I won’t need it.”

If that’s the line of thinking, save yourself the trouble, don’t get started.  You’re just creating one more selfish SPAM message.  We have plenty of those to go around!  If there is no commitment to an ongoing campaign that provides value to recipients and then drives sales or leads, it’s a waste of time and money.

For those people that want to use it as a method to generate new business and feel that it can be a valuable vehicle down the road, despite the market conditions, go for it!  That is the mindset that will reap rewards.

Anyone trying to do a short-term marketing email to solve their current losses are likely to find another loss in a wasted marketing effort.

Email marketing is a great way to communicate with potential clients but only if done appropriately.  It will surely help bring new opportunities during a down economy.  However, it needs to be designed in an ongoing way that will provide opportunities in any market condition.

Email Marketing