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Sometimes What You Really Need Is Not SEO

I had a client contact me this past week and ask me to perform SEO code optimization services on his website as he felt he was not getting enough business and thought it was due to low search engine placement. As part of our process of working with a client, we did a statistical analysis of his site to find out exactly where his placement was and if SEO was really what he needed versus maybe link building.

What we found out was that he owned the number one and two spots on both Google.com and Bing/Yahoo on nearly every single keyword. We also reviewed his website traffic and found it to be relatively high, and then we carefully reviewed his website content. After our review it was clear that the issue was not the website look or feel, not the optimization, or the organic placement, but rather the website content was not communicating his authority or longevity in the industry. was rife with typos, and did not include a strong call to action.

For an e-commerce website typos and website layout issues are the kiss of death. A lack of attention to these details sabotages all the good things you do and creates an impression about you online that is not necessarily as professional as you would want. All of these issues may even impact your sales as e-commerce is all about trust, transparency, authority, and confidence.

If you feel like you are not getting enough leads or sales it is important to work through a process to clearly identify where the issues that are impacting your performance are. Don’t throw money at one thing that ends up not being the real root of your problem. Take time to analyze and then act smartly!

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Should Local Selling Businesses Start Using Twitter

With the real push from search engines to integrate social network activity into your personalized search results Twitter for local selling businesses has become meaningful. The best feature with Twitter is its totally viral nature. Follow people of interest, write interesting tips and news, get retweeted widely and you have just tapped into a huge social network that spans both locally and nationally.

With search engines now showing reviews, the location, and status updates from those in your network in your search results, getting retweeted or even mentioned is now more important than ever for local businesses. You can’t harness the power of this social networking tool if you are not in the game!

So how would you use Twitter for a local focus? I would recommend first looking to follow people particularly in your geographic area that are on Twitter. If they retweet your information or tip, you may be tapping into a whole local network driven by this one local user; neighbors, friends, colleagues, family members.

Use hashtags to focus attention on your location and service category. You just never know if someone will search on Twitter for a resource or review. Additionally, as search engines figure out how they will use Twitter in their search index, early embracers of Twitter may find themselves way ahead of their competition because they have established a better “SocialRank” based on the number of followers and the authority of who these followers are.

We are not exactly sure what the search engines will be doing with Twitter, but we do know for sure they are carefully considering how to implement Twitter results in their indexes. With the link sharing benefits of Twitter and ability to build a viral base, Twitter may end up being the best new link building, web authority register that search engines will choose to utilize as part of their organic placement ranking. One thing we know for sure is that full social integration with search engines is coming and Twitter is a very important part of the social mix.

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What You Can Expect From Social Media

I have had a few clients say “Facebook is not working for me, I am not making any sales from it!”  It is important to understand what Facebook is and what Facebook is not. I do not consider Facebook, at this time, a strong lead generation tool. That being said, I do recommend that every business have a Facebook Business Page and actively work to connect with client’s and prospects.

Facebook is about connections and creating web authority and a reputation. Facebook is a place for prospects and customers to interact, share information and insights, ask questions, and get to know each other on a more personal level. Now, don’t flame me just yet if you disagree, I have personally done business on Facebook, but creating sales is not the real purpose for Facebook. From my point of view there is no better tool for lead generation than Google AdWords and Facebook is not Google AdWords.

“So if Facebook is not a strong lead generating tool then why should I use it?”  You will want to use Facebook as this is where your prospects and customers are hanging out. By exposing people to your products, services, and your business culture, you can move them off Facebook and into your website where your message is more tightly focused and is about lead generation.

Consider Facebook as a snap shot, a gateway, a teaser, an introduction to your business. With the right impression on Facebook you can encourage a migration to your website where your message is more selling focused.

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Responding to Unfavorable Online Reviews

Getting a bad review online can be maddening, but don’t make it worse by responding without putting in a lot of thought to how your own response will be perceived by other future customers.

I have a client who had a very poor review. When you are in business, you can’t please everyone, but in this case the office manager shot off a rebuttal that when I read it, I just cringed. It made a bad situation much worse. It portrayed the office staff as angry, resentful, argumentative, and vindictive. OUCH!

Sometimes a bad review can be a wakeup call. When you get a bad review, step back and look at it, could it be truthful, or have a grain of truth to it? It is very important to take a careful look to make sure that there is not a change needed on your part such as a change in office policy, customer service, or staff retraining.

If you feel that a rebuttal must be made. Focus on the positive, express concern for a problem, offer special attention from top management to repair the situation. Encourage the reviewer to recontact the office for a refund, redo, or credit on future service. Don’t write a hot rebuttal that trashes the reviewer or accuses them of being unfair or dishonest. This will only work to hurt you and make you look like the review was really true based on your hot angry response.

You can’t fight unfair reviews, but you can work to soften the blow and maybe even become better by taking the review as constructive criticism. Just be careful in your response and work to repair a poor situation not to make it worse with your own comments.