By Carl Weiss
When fall is just around the corner and anyone mentions “the
BIG Game,” most people immediately think of And why not?
With a viewing audience of over a hundred million people, for a sporting
event that commands nearly $4 million dollars for a 30-second TV ad, this is
one game that’s hard to beat. Well, at least
it is on TV. When it comes to that other
BIG Game, the online marketing game, we’re talking about a whole other arena.
Like it or not, the Internet is a game that has specific
rules. Play the game well and you'll be rewarded. Play it
poorly and you might as well stay on the sidelines. In this article, (and
on the BlogTalkRadio episode), we'll discuss the ways to create and
execute a winning game plan. (Hint: "Winging it" is not an
effective strategy.) We'll also talk about the difference between
offense and defense, as well as the difference between just winning the game as
opposed to creating a championship team. So put on your team jersey and
get ready to root for the underdog as we show you how to get ready for the
BIG game.
With a worldwide audience of nearly three billion, Internet
marketing is in a league of its own.
Unlike pro football, this is one game that literally every business
owner on the planet is forced to play. The
problem is most businesses are still sitting on the bench when it comes to
online visibility. Statistics show 95%
of businesses in the U.S. have little or no presence on Page One of the major
search engines. This is primarily because
this is one game where the rules constantly change.
Get Off the Bench and Into the Game
Nowadays, most businesses have a website. In the past, this was all you needed to get
off the bench and What
this means in plain English was that, once upon a time ago, all you needed was
a properly optimized website to get into the game. That’s because before 2005, the Internet used
a website-centric architecture.This was in the era before
such things as blogs, social networks and online video. Once these online elements became commonplace
on the Internet, the rules of the game changed forever. So much so, that by 2014, your website only
contributes 25% to your overall ranking.
The other 75% consists of activity related to your blogs, social nets,
podcasts and videos.
Sad to say, the days of set-it-and-forget-it online
marketing are over. If you want to
succeed online, you need not only to embrace these off-site elements of your
web presence. You need to feed
them. Regularly. Before you spend a lot of time and money
playing the game of online marketing, you need to start off by taking a look at
your current strategy. More precisely,
you need to ask yourself the following questions:
- What key words are my websites and landing pages targeting?
- How many Page One position does my site currently and on which search engines?
- How much traffic am I now generating?
- Where is the traffic coming from, is it organic, social, mobile or paid?
- How many forms have been filled out from my website/s?
- How many phone calls came from my website/s?
- How many sales per month are a direct result of my website/s?
If your answer to these questions is either “none” or “I
don’t know,” then you need to head back to the locker room and rethink your
strategy. Because if your current game
plan is not scoring points (i.e., sales), the only solution is to make some
changes.
If the name of the game is to score, then the first thing
that every business owner needs to do is define what is meant by scoring. That is, are you trying to generate leads? Sell
your products and services? Or simply brand your business? If you can’t define your online goal, how are
you going to be able to achieve it?
What is Your Starting Lineup?
Once you determine what you’re looking to achieve on the
playing field, then you need take a look at both your offense and defense. Where most people consider their website to
be the quarterback, in today’s online arena, it’s really only an eligible
receiver, ready to catch and run downfield with the content you create.
You really need to look at your blog as being the
quarterback, since it’s responsible for passing on timely information regarding
your business. Face it: once you create
or refresh a website, how often do you change it? Once every year or so? If you want prospects and clients to stay
current with your business, weekly blogs are the best way to move the ball down
the field. Of course, there are a number
of other positions that are vital to your offense as well.
We regard our social networks as part of our offensive
line. They give us the ability to run
interference so Like any
good offensive line, these players need to work out daily in order to keep in
shape. They need to stay healthy
throughout the long season. And they
need to get off the bench and into the game.
that our receivers can get in position to catch the pass before
the quarterback gets sacked.
That brings us to special teams, which is how we regard
videos and podcasts. It used to be that
the Internet was text only. Today that
isn’t the case. Back in the late ’90s,
people who found your business online would spend quite a lot of time clicking
around your site to check you out. Today,
you have less than two minutes to score.
Additionally, people are five times as likely to watch a video or listen
to a podcast, than read text. So you have to ask yourself if going multimedia
isn’t a winning strategy, you need to adapt.Good Offenses are Incomplete Without Good a Defense
When it comes to winning, defense is every bit as necessary
as offense, right? Think about what would happen to the quarterback if the ball
was hiked to him and there weren’t any offensive linemen to keep the other
team’s defense at bay. That would be
either a very long day or a very short day for that QB.
Before a consumer or another business owner decides to do
business with you, they need to check you out.
While your website, your blogs, your videos and social posts tell them a
little bit about what you do, what it doesn’t tell them is what your customers
think of you.
The main reason that prospects are reluctant to give you
their contact information or make an initial purchase doesn’t have as much to
do with price as it has to do with trust.
Today, the Internet is known to have many dens of scammers and
spammers. You read about it every
day. Nowadays, things such as reputation
management, online reviews, and video testimonials are vital to giving a
prospect the confidence to make an initial purchase or sign up for an offer.
That means potential clients want to read reviews and they
want to hear what your customers have to say before they do business with
you. If you aren’t cultivating positive
reviews and posting credible video testimonials, then don’t complain if they
decide to do business with someone that does.
Worst of all, if you don’t have a mechanism in place that
fosters positive reviews then that only leaves: Negative Reviews. I don’t care how conscientious you are;
sooner or later you’re bound to rub someone the wrong way. When that happens, don’t be surprised if the
disgruntled party posts negative remarks and ratings about your company. That’s just the way the web works today. That’s also why you need to make the effort
to cultivate positive reviews. This way,
if you take a hit, you’ll be able to get back on the field and continue playing.
A Great Coach Makes a Good Team Great
Last but not least, the thing that separates the dynasties
from the also-rans in the NFL is one thing: great If you’re still trying to put together a
winning team without a coach, or are trying to coach your team by yourself, let
me give you some food for thought.
Working the web to win is not a game to be taken lightly. The success or failure of your business could
well hinge on your company’s web presence.
Get it wrong and your website could languish in the backfield of this
money game. This also holds true for
anyone you hire to manage your web presence.
coaching.
Unless you personally have the mettle and intestinal
fortitude to lead your team onto the field week in and week out, you’re going
to have to hire a coach. While there are
many highly reputable online marketing firms out there, there are also a number
of firms that can do more harm to your business than a wily competitor. That’s because there are still some people
who make their money by trying to cheat the search engines in order to beat the
search engines. While black hat tactics
can jump you to Page One in a hurry, once discovered by the major search engine
bots, these tactics can cause your website to be banished from the playing
field altogether.
Therefore, it’s important you check out the credentials of
anyone who offers to help you promote your web presence online. Among the questions you need to ask:
- How many years have you been promoting businesses online?
- Can I speak to some of your current clients?
- What are your fees and what will I receive should I choose to hire you?
- Have they won any awards?
- Do they have content published on third party magazines you can evaluate?
- Have they published any books on internet marketing?
- How long is their basic contract?
- Do they offer any guarantees for organic search position?
- Do they offer any guarantees for traffic increases?
- Do they offer any guarantees social network growth?
- What happens if you fail to deliver?
- Who do I call if I have any questions or concerns?
- Have any of your clients ever been de-listed by the search engines?
- Are the terms of their agreement easy to understand?
- Do they outsource all or some of their work?
- Is any of the work performed overseas?
- Can part of their campaign be changed if it’s not working?
- Is there a mechanism in place to handle problems?
Last but not least, you should search online to see if their
firm has any positive or negative reviews.
(Havingno reviews is almost as big of a red flag as having a bunch of
negative reviews.) The last thing you want to do is trust the future of your
team to anyone who hasn’t been able to deliver a winning season or who has been
penalized by the league. Because when it comes to playing the game of online
marketing, you’re only as good as your last season.
In this article, I discussed how to put together a winning
strategy to improve your organic search position and get more business from
your overall Internet presence. It provides the steps you need to take to
improve your results and it also provides a list of questions you should ask
any Internet marketing company you’re considering to hire as your outsourced
marketing arm.
If you found this article useful, please share it with
friends, family, co-workers and associates. To learn more about this subject read,
"Team-Tech!
The next wave in Internet marketing,” “Is
Google Calling? Or is it Someone Else” and "What's
Up With SEO?," located on our blog. You can also search this blog by
keying in "SEO" in the search box to find other articles on the same
subject. If you have something to add or have a difference of
opinion, place that in the comments section. Thanks for taking the time to read
our blog … and by the way, don’t forget to smile for the camera.
If you'd like a free copy of our eBook, "Internet Marketing Tips for the 21st Century," please fill in the form below and we'll email it to you. Your information is always kept private and is never sold.
If you'd like a free copy of our eBook, "Internet Marketing Tips for the 21st Century," please fill in the form below and we'll email it to you. Your information is always kept private and is never sold.
Email Marketing You Can Trust
Since 1995, Carl Weiss has been helping clients succeed
online. He owns and operates several online marketing businesses,
including Working the Web to
Win and Jacksonville
Video Production. He also co-hosts the weekly radio show, "Working the Web to Win,"
every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Nice analogy re: football. Bring on the cheerleaders!
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