There is a lot of myths about how to get a good Search Engine ranking, and a lot of confusing and contradictory information on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which leads business owners down the wrong path and could possibly get them in trouble with Google, Yahoo or Bing.
Fact is, the basic elements of good SEO don’t change much and for most local businesses, just focusing on these 12 elements is all they need to do to get a top 10 (front page) listing for local search results.
This question is a prime example of a professional practice owner who has been following bad advice which is not only ineffective, but could also get her in trouble with the search engines.
Question:Is it bad, ineffective or neutral to have a large number of meta keywords on the home page? Including surrounding cities, misspellings and presenting problems I have 125 keywords in the meta data. I read that the suggested number is 45. I know I need to optimize individual pages for particular keywords but I’m afraid to lose any from the home page. Can it hurt me?
Yes!
Google considers this keyword spamming. It’s an old ‘blackhat’ trick for gaming search engines. Bad thing.
Also, you will confuse the search spiders as to what your content relevancy is, which again is a bad thing. They won’t know when to show your site in the search results.
And, meta tag data is no longer considered to be a critical factor for SEO, but using it the way you are is a red-flag to search engines that you are trying to beat the search engines instead of providing useful content to people searching.
Key SEO Elements For Getting Ranked
There are 12 major factors for SEO ranking. 4 On-Page elements and 8 Off-Page elements
On Page SEO Elements:
- - Keyword phrase in Page Title
- - Keyword phrase in URL (webpage address)
- - Keyword phrase in Description
- - Keyword phrase in Header Tag (the “H1″ tag)
You have full control over each of these elements. This means it’s your responsibility if they aren’t optimized. These 4 factors can make or break your site when it comes to getting high rankings in local search results.
Off-Page SEO Elements:
- Domain Age (how long has your website been around)
- Page Rank (how important Google thinks your website is)
- Google Index Count (how many pages from your domain are listed in Google)
- Domain Back Links (how many links to your domain)
- Page Back Links (how many links to the individual web page)
- .EDU or .GOV back links (.edu and .gov back links are hard to get and carry a lot of weight)
- DMOZ Directory listing (free, but takes time to get in)
- Yahoo Directory Listing (can be had for $300/year)
You have less control over these elements, but there are some you can influence such as getting back links, making sure your pages are listed in the search engines and directory listings.
Fight these battles only after you have done the on page elements and see what the results are.
The one exception is page listings in Google. If Google doesn’t know about your page, it can’t show it in search results. See the Google Webmaster Tools for instructions on how to check on your pages and submit them for indexing.
SEO is important if you are relying on Organic Search as a key source of traffic.
If you are not in the top 10 organic search results, you might as well not exist. over 80% of people click on the first page of search results (the first 10 results) and never go to the second page.
All local business websites should implement the 4 on-page elements!
Fact is, most sites on the Internet don’t even take care of the 4 on-page elements. What this means is, with a little knowledge and a little effort you can get a top 10 page ranking for local search results.
In some cases you can even do it for all search results, but you must choose the large scale battles that are winnable. I don’t recommend a small business owner do this type of SEO work. If you want to compete on a national or international scale, find an SEO pro to work with.
Use Pay Per Click (PPC) Ads
If you really want to guarantee you are on the front page of results for your keywords… use Pay Per Click! With Google Adwords you can have your ads up and running in about 20 minutes.
You can restrict your ads to only showing locally, which saves you a ton of money. So for a few dollars a day you can reach your targeted prospects. It’s a no-brainer.
And, you can find which keywords are bringing buyers to your website. Then you can optimize your landing pages for these keywords. Once you begin appearing in the organic rankings, you can cut back on the PPC ads.
(For the Hypnotists who are members of the NGH, See if you can get a copy of the video of my session on using Adwords from the NGH conference in 2008.)
As a rule I don’t carry business cards**. When people ask me for one they are shocked. They can’t imagine why I wouldn’t have one… until I ask them how many cards they have at home which they have no clue about who the person was that gave them the card.
So far 100% of people I ask admit this is true.
Then I ask “Why should I want to add yet another meaningless piece of paper to your home?”
The point of this is not to say you should be like me, but to point out that most people have a business card only because they heard (or read) somewhere that it’s one of the first things you do when you have a business.
In the last few years, this same wrong thinking has applied to websites… “you have a business? You NEED a website” And the result is a large population of websites that are nothing more than a giant BORING business card online.
THE PROBLEM
No one ever stops to think about the purpose of the business card (or website) and what is it’s place in your marketing funnel BEFORE you bother to have the card (or website) made.
If you have been following my teachings at the NGH conference, on the Hypnothoughts Internet Marketing Group, and here on this site, you will have heard me talk about the importance of 2-Step Lead Generation.
I won’t go into all the reasons Hypnotists should use 2-Step Lead Generation, but I will say the ones who have listened to me and are using it are going gangbusters even in the middle of a recession. I’m talking 6-figure incomes.
PERMISSION BASED MARKETING
So here’s my point… you aren’t likely to get a sale from a business card. There’s not enough room on it for a decent pitch. But there is plenty of room to get a likely prospect to give you their contact information so you can do follow up marketing.
This is them giving you PERMISSION to market to them. It’s like they are raising their hands and saying “please tell me more”. In sales lingo, you now have a ‘qualified prospect’. A very valuable prospect. And one who is much more likely to buy if you develop the relationship correctly.
So, with this concept in mind… the question becomes “what can I put on my business card to attract the kind of client I would like to work with?” And “what can I offer them of value to get them to give me their contact information”
Think of this as a sale. It’s an exchange of value. You offer them information on how they can solve a very important problem. They give you contact info, which is ‘permission’ to send them follow up information.
As my friend Craig Garber likes to say, even if you are giving something away free, you have to sell it as something of value.
Key Point: Like any sale you need GOOD SALES COPY to increase conversions. This means eye-catching headline, listing of benefits, and an offer… at a bare minimum.
And yes… (almost) no one else does this. That’s why so many business cards are freaking BORING and you can’t remember who gave them to you.
Finally, I leave you with this thought provoking video by Joel Bauer. Joel is a magician who got tired of barely scraping by and studied Direct Response Marketing. He now works trade shows and gets at least $10,000 a day. He does this by guaranteeing tons of traffic for the booth, which is what all business want who spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars on a trade show.
I have his business card and saved it even though I’ll most likely never hire him. It’s one of the few worth showing to other people.
Cheers,
Craig
P.S. I have articles on Lead Generation and Copywriting on my website.
** I do use highly specific and niche targeted business cards when I speak at conferences. Each card has a headline, and an irresistible offer. The offer is tracked by using a keyed URL so I can measure conversions and ultimately determine ROI.
I also put my photo on the card so people know it came from me and I make it brightly colored and unique so it stands out from the pile.
I don’t give a rat’s whisker about image or “looking professional” (whatever the hell that means), I only care about effectiveness of the marketing piece.
Thank you for your explanation of 2 step lead generation. I had a eureka moment a day after watching your vid and already began implementing. I’m offering a free hypnosis relaxation download => $10 specific hypnotic downloads => a $97 hypnosis program that is FREE when they sign up with me for hypnotherapy sessions.
My question is, is a referral system in any way different than this funnel?
It’s similar in concept. But you need to have a way to encourage people to refer.
And even referral is tricky because it can mean so many things.
- professional referral (like a massage therapist)
- medical referral (Doctor sends a patient for stop smoking)
- former hypnosis client referral
- online referral from a review (like Yelp.com)
- networking group referral (like Chamber of Commerce)
Each of these referrals starts in a very different place, and for different reasons.
But the one thing in common is, it’s essentially “word of mouth” that brings the new clients in.
So you need to think… how can I stimulate these kind of word of mouth referrals?
And what is their next step in my marketing process? It might be that you want to test the same sequence you already have. Then again, you might want to have a referred client come in for a face-to-face free evaluation.
When you get all that working, you have a referral system which should mostly run on auto-pilot.
