How To Be "Google Approved"

Search Engine Optimization isn't astrophysics. People who specialize in writing SEO content often talk about staying on top of the latest rules and "gaming" the system. Don't let them fool you.

Everything you ever needed to know to achieve a top Google ranking can be found in one place -- Google's Webmaster Guidelines.

Their big tips for achieving high ranking success?

1. Create a well laid out site.
2. Create quality content.
3. Get other sites to link to you.

It's that simple.

Sure, meta tags matter. Keywords matter. But when everyone jumps on the latest "black hat" SEO method, Google necessarily instigates an algorithm shake down in response. They don't want useless and irrelevant content showing up at the top of your searches any more than you do. Then, anyone caught "gaming" the system has to revamp their sites all over again.

So, the trick to staying on top (according to Google) is to be relevant and useful.

If you research and use keywords, try to incorporate those words into phrases. For example if your site deals with real estate instead of using the word 'houses' as a keyword, instead try using it in a phrase such as 'houses for sale' or 'houses for sale in Austin'. These are 'long tail keywords' and you'll find not only that there's less competition for them but that the traffic you receive from folks searching these keyword phrases is more highly targeted.

To create links back to your site (essentially "votes" of confidence in the Google Mind), try writing and posting articles in high traffic article sites or important blogs that include a link back to you in the author's bio.

As always, if you need any help creating quality content for your site, newsletters, articles, or blogs, be sure to give Steve or I a call. We're here to help.

The Power of Words

It's our business tagline:

"Need a wonderworker? Behold the power of words."

This 2008 Cannes Film Festival Short Story winner couldn't be more demonstrative.



He began with a sign that begged for compassion, but only made people feel guilty. He ended with a sign that didn't ask for anything, but made people feel grateful and generous.

What a difference!

Shattering Branding Myths

Branding Myth #1: I don’t need a brand.

Yikes. Yes you do! If you’re in business, you need a brand. Think of it as a business essential, like your phone or your bank account. You can’t very well do business without those, can you? If we learned anything from the branding alphabet, we discovered how branding affects us all. If you want space in your customer’s mind, you need a brand. End of story.

Branding Myth #2: I can create my own brand.

How do you feel when you’re handed a laser-printed business card with a perforated edge? Or you’re given a brochure printed on a home ink-jet printer? People notice quality. If you want a snappy brand identity, you need professional help.

Even if your alter ego can create paintings to rival Picasso, so much more goes into branding than good art. Think about logos for a minute. A great logo doesn’t simply look good; it must be scalable, meaningful, and symbolic. It must match the rest of your brand identity and work well in both color and black & white.

Do you do your own corporate taxes? Diagnose your own diseases? Some jobs are best left to professionals. Branding is one of those jobs.

Branding Myth #3: It’s too expensive.

While hiring a marketing and design firm to create your marketing materials and help brand your company may come with a surprising price tag, consider the costs of not hiring a professional. Amateur work may come back to haunt you in the form of fewer sales and less repeat customers.

We’ll bust more branding myths in our next few posts. Stay tuned.

How much does branding really affect you?

Earlier this week, I read an interesting lesson plan posted by Carrie McLaren at the Center for Media Literacy. Armed with PowerPoint slides, she walked into a room of high school seniors and asked them to identify several plants and trees in their Brooklyn neighborhood.

Silence.

She then put on a slide of the alphabet comprised almost entirely of brand logos. Without fail, the group of students named them all.

I’d be willing to bet you can name most of them, too.

Still think branding doesn’t affect you?

Crazy as it sounds, we are a branded culture. Not unlike the seared hides of cattle, our psyches have been indelibly marked by corporations and businesses salivating over our dollars. Even the youngest among us has no problem identifying those golden arches.

You’d think the sheer variety of brands would do us in, that the average consumer would have no way to keep this all straight. Our brains only have so much room!

But no, once branded, always branded. That’s why they call it branding.

So, what’s your brand? How are you leaving an indelible mark on your clients and prospects?

Cross-posted at the Full Moon Design Blog.

The Power of Specificity: When to be specific (and when not to be)

Which of the following headlines catches your interest more?

1. How to get 2,736 new customers in a single day.
2. How to get more than 2,000 new customers in a single day.
3. How to get tons more customers in a single day.

Clearly, the first option steals the show. Why is that? Specificity sells. Specific claims trump general ones time and again. When we read about specific results, we trust those results. We believe them. And, we want to find out how we can get them for ourselves.

Anytime you can use specifics, you should. You'll create curiosity and establish an aura of authenticity. In many cases, using generalities will harm your credibility. Just take that third headline from above. Do you believe it? Would you be willing to click through to an article with that title?

That said, sometimes specificity can hurt you more than it helps. You wouldn't want to be specific if you don't have any verifiable specifics to use. Creating exact numbers out of the thin air of your imagination is morally ambiguous at best. You also shouldn't make precise claims if they'll land you in a heap of legal trouble. We don't want people to sue you because you promised an unobtainable outcome.

A less obvious crime, though, is what I call the "detailed to distraction offense." Unnecessary technical details bog readers down, causing them to wade through a confusing swamp of irrelevancy. If you're at all passionate about what you're writing, you may not be aware that your readers don't share your enthusiasm. In cases like these, be specific, but subtle.

Happy writing!

Personal vs. Impersonal -- What Customers Want

I hate automated phone systems. I prefer talking to a real person.

The smiling cashier gains my business. The sour cashier fails.

Apologetic form letters fall short. Personalized care succeeds.

Engadget.com recently shared Nathaniel's tragic Xbox tale. He sent in a sentimental Xbox to Microsfot for repairs -- assured by more than one customer service agent that the prized graffiti on his Xbox would not be harmed. Of course, someone who didn't know about this arrangement thought they'd do him a favor and thoroughly clean his box, removing the artwork and leaving only a few smudges to demonstrate that it was the same machine. Nathaniel thought he had only his bitter tears for consolation. But Microsoft (and Bill Gates) had another idea of how to make it up to him.


A thousand times better than an apologetic letter, Bill Gates and all the members of Microsoft's Xbox team autographed his machine.

What do customers want? They want you to care.

Merry Christmas

We've been amazingly busy the past few months, and the light blogging has reflected that. It is our hope to add more blogging and article writing into our daily work routines during the coming New Year.

In the meantime, Steven and I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Thanks for making this a fantastic year!

Wishing you all the best this holiday season,
Kristen