Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

http://feeds.feedburner.com/searchengineguide (19.08.2008 20:40:55)

Why Search Marketers Can Safely Ignore Cuil

by Mike Moran

Several people wrote to me asking me to review Cuil, the hot new search engine that everyone is talking about. Except me. I've explained in the past that I am not expecting any new search engine to come along to dethrone Google. But people persisted, "This one is really different!" So I looked and I listened and I read, and I'm sorry folks, but I don't know what all the fuss is about.

Let's start with the name. It's Cuil (pronounced "cool"). I have to tell you that anytime you start with a name that people have to explain how to pronounce, you're already in trouble. Look, search marketing depends on people being able to remember and spell your name. Any company that breaks that ruil is unlikely to be the search tuil that wins the Google duil. Now, I might turn out to be the fuil here, but the name alone tells me that this will have to generate massive word-of-mouth to take off.

And what would that word of mouth be based on? Well, Danny Sullivan has a detailed look at Cuil if you are interested in knowing all about it, but here are the highlights:

New results format. It's new, it's interesting, it's the easiest thing to copy in the world. If it is a bad idea, it will doom Cuil. If it's a good idea, it will be quickly copied and won't help them a bit. I actually like the results screen, but it in no way makes me optimistic about a search engine's chances.
Better relevance. Uh, right. A completely untestable notion under the best of circumstances, but completely at odds with another Cuil feature—better privacy. I believe that the biggest breakthrough in relevance will come from personalized search, so how can you ignore personalization and claim your relevance will be improved? This one makes no sense to me.
Bigger index. This is the big story for the PR machine, but it doesn't make a bit of difference. No one cares how big the index is but it makes for something to scream about in the blogosphere. If people think bigger indexes are good, expect Google to match it with ease. Billions of dollars make it easy to do things like scale.

So, Cuil might be cool, but it won't be a contender for your attention as a search marketer anytime soon. Yes, they'll at some point open things up to advertising, but even if they are a success that dwarfs any startup since Microsoft got in the game, they won't grab even a 10% market share. Almost all search marketers ignore Ask.com, and many ignore Microsoft and even Yahoo! now. There's nothing here that marks Cuil as a winner, even if it turns out to be a better search engine, which is debatable.

So what should search marketers be looking at? The upstart that beats Google will not be playing Google's own game. It will be making search easier and even more ingrained in a larger experience. Perhaps it will be social networking. Or media viewing (Google bought YouTube for a reason). Or the operating system of your computer (are you listening, Microsoft?)

But whatever it is, I am convinced it won't be a frontal assault on the Google search engine by another search engine. Whatever gives Google a run for its money will be a bigger experience than search that includes personalized relevance.

A social network could "know" so much about you and your friends that it could make your searches more relevant, searches that can be launched from within your social network experience. The operating system of your computer could work the same way, as a hub for everything you know that makes your searches smarter. Perhaps a mobile phone might do the same thing for some people.

But don't sit around waiting for someone to out-do Google. Each of Google's competitors over the years has claimed that it had a better search engine than Google at one time or another. No one listened, because Google is perfectly good, thank you. The next real battle for Google will be fought on higher ground than just search. Perhaps someone will buy Cuil to mount that attack on Google, but don't expect the battle to be won by Cuil itself.

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29.07.2008 16:30:12 - Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

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Interview: Michael Gray on Link Building and SEO Intervention

by Manoj Jasra

Search Engine Strategies (SES) San Jose is less than a month away and is always one of the biggest and most popular search marketing conferences all year. One of the speakers that will be featured at SES San Jose includes Michael Gray, President of Atlas Web Service. I had a chance to catch up with Michael to chat with him about a few of the topics he will be speaking on at SES San Jose, link building and SEO Rehab & Intervention - check out the interview below.�
��

[Manoj]: Do you think the importance of links has changed in terms of the weight they carry in an SEO Strategy?

�
[Michael Gray]: Well I guess that depends on the time frame you're looking at. Google's "Florida" update was the most significant change to the way links were evaluated. At that point trust/authority became the most important quality in a link's value. The tweak and make minor adjustment along the way but trust/authority is still the most important factor. IMHO they are placing to much weight on the trust factor which causes sites like Wikipedia to show up for more searches than it deserves too.

�
[Manoj]: We often hear about using link baiting as a strategy to attract more links, but is this a viable option for all types of businesses? What else can marketers do to attract links?

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[Michael Gray]: IMHO spending time on link baiting and getting involved in social media is the most effective use of your time for link building. That said it's much easier for some topics/websites than it is for others. It's especially difficult for B2B websites or sites that have very little to do with consumers. If you aren't going to play the link bait angle the most reliable way of generating links is creating flagship quality that acts as a resource and is very linkable. Glossary's, How to Guides are two examples.

�
[Manoj]: Why has PageRank lost it's credibility over the years and do you think webmasters and marketers should play less attention to it?

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[Michael Gray]: Pagerank isn't useless, but it's clearly broken, and nowhere near as useful as it used to be. Google has stated that in some circumstances they will actively go in and manually lower a sites page rank. This has a ripple effect on all sites "downstream". The key is to understand it's a quick down and dirty type metric. Use it in conjunction with Alexa and Compete, and when things don't line up it's probably a good idea to ignore the one that looks out of place.

�
[Manoj]: In your session: "SEO Rehab & Intervention" you guys will be touching on the topic of keyword density, How closely do search engines look at keyword density in their algorithms.

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[Michael Gray]: Unless you are using an automated content creation tool, KWD density is a bizarre metric. You always want the KWD on the page but aiming for something like 6.8% density and 23.25% prominence ends up with a document that reads like a badly translated movie. When you have goals like that it's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, it just doesn't work and the quality of your copy will suffer because of it. I'd much rather have a quality piece of content than a mediocre one with a higher KWD density.

�
[Manoj]: What are you looking forward to the most at SES San Jose?

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[Michael Gray]: I always try to attend one or two sessions that are about a subject I don't normally deal with. It usually exposes me to some new ideas and things I may not have thought about before. No matter what level of SEO you are there's always room to learn something. Oh and did I mention the Google Dance? I actually got to spend some face time with some of the engineers on non search related products last time and made some suggestions for improvements.

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29.07.2008 07:15:37 - Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

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Puppy's Picks - 07/28/08

by Jennifer Laycock

I scan a few hundred feeds and read dozens of articles a day so you don't have to. From surprise social media usage to keyword copy writing to an ongoing debate around how to be the best company you can be online...check out half a dozen posts I classify as "must-read" for the day.

David Meerman Scott makes a great point on his blog about the supposed lack of social media usage by Internet users. David points out that while many people may not think they read blogs or visit video sharing web sites, they do use search engines...and where do search engines often lead? Yep! Blogs and videos. (Hat tip to Mike Moran

A week after my own article explaining how search engines decide which of the words on a page are important, Karen Thackston delivers another killer article on SEO copy writing. Karen explains the best ways to work keywords and phrase into your copy while maintaining strong copy that's likely to convert. A must read for anyone tasked with writing SEO friendly copy.

The team over at the Blog Council has put together a set of open source documents aimed at helping companies understand best practices for blog outreach. The documents address issues like outreach, disclosure, compensation and blogger relations. The documents will continue to evolve over time, but look like good starting points to me! (via Conversation Agent)

Trying to figure out if local search is worth the effort for your small business? Larry Sullivan offers up seven reasons in a post over at Local Biz Bits. From the growth of Online Yellow Pages to an explosion in local search spending, find out why it's still not too late to get in the game.

Rohit Bhargava covers the current debate between 37signals and Freshbooks on his blog. The question is about delivering amazing customer service and the best way to do it. (You'll need to read his full post to get it.) My two cents? We've used both Basecamp and Freshbooks here at Search Engine Guide. While I love both company's offerings...I feel a personal connection to Freshbooks because I've interacted with them at conferences, on Twitter and via email. They put faces and personality behind their company. Combine that with their attitude about delivering the customer service people want, and I think they win this battle hands down. (Rohit asks if this type of customer service can scale. I'd answer simply by saying Zappos.)

I hope we're reaching the day when stories of small business owners being scammed in the name of SEO are gone, but it looks like we aren't there yet. Simon Hestletine shares the story of a friend who found her wallet $1750 lighter and her site not ranking any better after being sucked in by an SEO cold call. The post offers a good word of warning for anyone considering hiring one of these services after a phone call.

Free White Paper: How to Optimize for Google
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29.07.2008 00:19:44 - Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

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A Full Hour of Viral Marketing Video

by Jennifer Laycock

If you've been thinking about joining us at Small Business Marketing Unleashed this fall, but aren't sure if the content is going to be a good fit for you, here's your chance to find out. I'm about to completely revamp my viral marketing talk, so I've released my old one into the public domain by speaking at Podcamp Ohio. That means you've now got the chance to hear my one hour Viral Marketing talk (and test drive our SBMU content) for free.

So with apologies for the cartoon witch on the white board behind me (which I never even noticed and no one bothered to point out), here's the Viral Marketing talk you would have heard if you'd attended the first Small Business Marketing Unleashed. You won't hear it at our fall event, because I'll have completely revamped things by then.

Ready to join us? Spaces are filling up fast as we reach the final weeks of the early bird discount. Register now and get two days of easy to understand, business changing advice from some of the best online marketers in the business.

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28.07.2008 22:15:28 - Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

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Seven Building Blocks of a Destination Website: #4 Unique Value Proposition

by Stoney deGeyter

In its early years, the Internet was the great leveler of businesses. Anybody could jump online, start a business and hope to make a little money. Today, it's not so easy as it was, but unfortunately people still have that same mindset. It doesn't take a lot of money to start a successful business online, but it still does take a plan. And that's where many online businesses go wrong.

I talk to many website owners who are unable to put to words what it is that distinguishes them from their competitors. They don't know what makes them unique or have a reason why someone should buy from them rather than somebody else. This is a shame.

Running a business online is really no different than anywhere else. Just because it's easier to "build your store" doesn't mean that you'll be successful. You still need to create a solid business plan and develop a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) if you really want to succeed online. In fact, this is where building a business online may actually be more difficult than offline.

When building a business off-line, location is everything. In fact, you see business after business after business that are really no different from each other, just in different parts of town. Due to each businesses location, each can survive and even be successful. But generally, that's only until another similar business sets itself up in close proximity that has established it's UVP.

You soon find that because this new business has given themselves a unique advantage over the other, they begin to draw business away from the one that's been around a while. The same thing happens online, but it's only magnified.

See, where offline businesses can succeed simply by filling a need in a unique location, even in a town with dozens or hundreds of other similar businesses, online there really is no similar geographical limitations. Your business is not just competing with businesses in your area, but quite possibly you're competing with businesses all over the world. And if you're not unique or remarkable in any way, if nothing that sets you apart, then you're just another one of a million other businesses doing the same thing.

No business being in business

On- or offline, if you don't have a UVP then you really don't have any business being in business. Your business may be valid, it may be genuine, it may be profitable, it may meet a need, but if there are others out there doing the same as you, you need to find something that sets you apart. Something that gives people a reason to buy from you rather than from "them."

A UVP answerers the question, "why you?" Every shopper asks this question, whether consciously or unconsciously, before they make a purchase. If they have shopped with you before then it's easier to answer that question and purchase again. But it's not an automatic lock. If they find another store that can answer that question more precisely then it's still possible to lose your customers to that other store. If attracting new customers, this "why you?" question has to be satisfied before they'll continue through the purchase process.

That question can be answered in many ways, and usually includes many different answers of varying degree of importance. But one of the easiest ways to answer that question is to give your visitors something unique to focus on. Make sure they know what it is about you that makes you different from the next shop.

Before we go any further, let's take note of what unique doesn't mean. Two things come to mind off the top of my head: low prices and customer service. Sorry, there just isn't anything unique about these things unless you can definitively show that you do have the absolute lowest prices and/or the best customer service. And most likely you can't. Which explains why these points don't constitute a UVP: almost anybody can claim them for themselves... and most do.

I talked to one business owner that believed that he truly had the best customer service in his industry. He hadn't really sold anything yet as he was just getting off the ground, but that's what he wanted to build his business on. That's certainly a great goal, the problem with this approach as a UVP is that when dealing with transactions online, customer service is almost synonymous with problems that need to be fixed, not necessarily problem avoidance.

In a brick and mortar store, an associate can walk up to a person and help them find what they are looking for. Online, you have to wait to be contacted before you can help someone. And getting contacted usually only occurs when something has gone wrong. Of course there is nothing wrong with fixing people's problems and helping them find solutions, but you don't necessarily want to build a business model on that unless you expect there to be a lot of problems.

Online, good customer service is necessary, but it's not unique. It certainly can help you stand out if and when problems arise, but you want something that will help you stand out long before things get to that point.

What makes you remarkable?

So ask yourself, what is it that makes you truly remarkable? What are you doing that you can claim all for yourself? The possibilities here are virtually limitless. And to find something that you can claim as your own can be as simple as looking at your competitors to find an area where they are either week or absent.

Below are a few examples of some generic UVPs. You can use these to help get your creative juices flowing. As far as Unique Value Propositions go, these are not all that unique, but they can help you start moving in the right direction.

Unlimited customer support: This is one that's good for industries where customer support is going to be expected or needed, such as computer software or hardware. Buying from you means that I know I can call anytime, for the life of the product, to get assistance. This provides great comfort knowing that I'll be able to resolve problems without incurring any additional fees.

Similar UVPs: free upgrades, 24/7 customers support, free technical support, free installation assistance, free tutorial DVDs with purchase, etc.

Hassle-free returns: There are some products that are more prone to be returned than others. Making a point to let people know that they can return a product simply and easily for a full refund or store credit can be a great unique selling point.

Similar UVPs: Free-exchanges up to a year, trade the old for discount on the new, etc.

Offer proprietary products: Offering products that are proprietary is a great way to be unique among your competition. Especially if you can keep those products from being duplicated or knocked off, or if your products are demonstratively superior to the competition.

Similar UVPs: Products personally tested for durability, hand selected from the manufacturer, unique designs not offered to other re-sellers, etc.

Free shipping: Many companies offer free shipping so make sure you are truly unique in this... and that another competitor can't jump in and offer this too. To make this work, not only do you have to ship for free, but your prices must still be as low as the next guys.

Similar UVPs: free re-download of digital products, receive a free hardcopy with your digital version, free overnight shipping, free shipping with x amount purchase, etc.

Every industry has its own possibilities so it will be up to you to find something in your industry that's not already being done, or a need that's going unmet. The best UVPs are those that your competitors are unwilling to duplicate or finding a niche that you can be the first to dominate. There will be others that come in to steal your thunder, but you have the advantage having been first.

If you already have an established business but you haven't given much thought to your UVP, now is the time. You simply need to find a unique way of doing what you are already doing. It's can be easy for established businesses to find a UVP because you already have a customer base. Now you just need to do something that will surprise them and get them talking. Establishing a UVP can be a great way to get some fresh word of mouth going about your business.

But whether you're just starting or have been in business for years, building and growing your business online takes a little something special. Find out what it is that you can do to be special. Find a way to stand out from your competitors. Look for gaps that can be filled or ways to do what you do differently. Unless you're doing something wrong, standing head and shoulders above the competition is never a bad thing.

Read more about Destination Search Engine Marketing:
Part I: Do you Deserve Top Search Rankings?
Part II: What Would Sudden Exposure Get You?
Part III: Standing Out in a Sea of Thousands
Part IV: It's Not Just Marketing as Usual

Seven Building Blocks of a Destination Website
#1: Expert Information
#1b: Seven Types of Expert Information
#2: Usability
#3: Website Design
#4: Unique Value Proposition

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28.07.2008 16:33:47 - Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

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Site Clinic: Fresh Eyes Often Find Unmet Expectations

by Jackie Baker

It's easy to get so wrapped up in our websites that we don't always realize how they are perceived by our visitors. We know them so intimately that the gap between whether or not our sites live up to visitor expectations isn't obvious at all. Usually, we've done pretty well overall; the copy is good, the design is decent, the content is well-organized and easy to find, and the site is optimized. But there are always a few little hang ups we don't always notice because we are simply too close.

That's where fresh eyes can come in really handy.

This is certainly the case with this week's site clinic subject Tony Winyard, a disc jockey in London, and his website Streetlife.

The Streetlife website has a whole lot of good going for it:

Tons of great, compelling content. He covers all of the necessary information and a whole lot more.
Incredible functionality including a searchable database of all available music from which clients can find out what's available and create their own playlists.
Ability to check Tony's availability online.
A solid contact form.
Well organized content.
A simple but professional looking design that drives visitors to the content.
Some basic optimization tactics are in place.

Here are a few areas that Tony can improve to ensure that the website meets visitor expectations.

Plentiful Links That Look Like Links

Links need to stand out
One of the first things I noticed about Streetlife is that the link text doesn't stand out from the surrounding copy. On the left sidebar, the links are yellow to the white of the copy, which provides very little contrast. In the main content, the links are blue to the black text. While blue is the color of choice for links, as people always recognize it as such, it still doesn't provide enough contrast for the links to stand out as much as they should. Also, because some people have trouble distinguishing certain colors, it's necessary to provide another visual indicator that doesn't have to do with color. Likely all it would take is underlining the links, a conventional method that screams "I'M A LINK" to visitors, giving them that extra umph they need. It might also be helpful to implement a different shade of these colors that will provide more contrast with the surrounding white or black text.

Making links more obvious will encourage your visitors to follow them; keeping them on the site longer and making them more likely to reach your goal (which for Streetlife is page views and leads).

Visitors expect links to look like links.

In-site linking
Tony has done a very good job cross-linking between pages on the Streetlife site. Any time he mentions equipment, he links to the equipment page. If he mentions testimonials, he links to the testimonial page. You get the idea. If you aren't doing this on your site, start! While cross-linking doesn't have much to do with search engine rankings, it is one method of optimizing your site by telling the search engine what is on the page to come (if you are using descriptive, keyword rich anchor text), as well as ensuring that the spiders crawl that page in the first place. It also adds another means of navigation for your visitors, ensuring they can find everything they need.

Linking out
There are two good reasons to link to other websites from your own:

�� 1. linking provides even better information for your visitors
�� 2. linking to other websites may encourage them to link back to you.

Providing benefit for your visitors is always the best reason to do anything on your website, but getting some links back will help your site to perform better in the search engines and garner more traffic. While these so call reciprocal links don't always carry as much weight in the search algorithms, they do help. And even better, when a related site links to you they will be sending qualified traffic your way.

There are a lot of places on Streetlife where Tony has linked to outside websites when they are mentioned in his copy, but there is one severe lack. He has a great page with photos and names of venues in which he has worked ... but he hasn't linked to any of their websites!

It's not so long ago that I was planning my own wedding, so I know first hand how brides will take recommendations from vendors they like. If a bride chooses Tony as her DJ, his recommendation (aka link!) for a reception hall will carry more weight. In turn, if she chooses a facility that recommends Tony, she's more likely to take it seriously. Remember, link building is just networking online. If you build up a relationship with someone and then recommend them, they are more likely to recommend you too.

In addition to the benefits of joint recommendations (aka again links), making it easy to check out these companies you've referenced is an added benefit for your visitors. The more helpful you are, the more likely they are to do what you want.

Visitors expect you to make it easy for them to get to relevant information.

Don't Hide Important Text In Images

Search engines can't read images. Screen readers can't read images. Mobile phone browsers eliminate images. Dial-up takes forever and a day to download images. Right there is a huge audience Streetlife is loosing by posting all of the testimonials as images. This isn't even including the visitors who won't bother to or can't read the fuzzy, hand-written text that has been scanned and uploaded.

While I get that it's more personal and credible to post the testimonies in the author's own handwriting, it just isn't as effective as taking the time to re-type them and post them as text. These are pages that could be optimized to help more of your site pages rank for target keywords; instead the search engines don't even know they are there. They could be convincing recommendations for visitors considering your service, but they may not take the time to read them because it takes longer to load the page or is difficult to read. Good testimonies are convincing; make sure people are reading them.

Visitors expect you to make your content as quick and easy to read as possible.

A Navigation Link Doesn't Really Count As A Call To Action
The number one action visitors can and should take on Streetlife is to fill out a contact/booking form. Unfortunately, the only ways to get to it are a link in the main navigation and a few links from the content.

If you want people to reach your goal, you need to hit them over the head and ask for it. Subtle doesn't work on the web. You need to tell them exactly what you want them to do, and make it incredibly easy to do it.

Besides adding more call to action links to the content that ask specifically for the contact, image buttons in your sidebars are a great way to draw attention to your call to action. A few rules for a good call to action:

�� 1. tell visitors exactly what to do/ask for it
�� 2. make your call to action stand out in your design
�� 3. keep your call to action "above the fold" where people don't have to scroll to see it.

Visitors expect you to tell them what to do.

The Mom Test
At SiteLogic, we like to tell people to do the "Mom Test." Have a friend or family member who isn't familiar with the site play around on it. See where they get hung up, what gives them trouble, what they think of the design and usability, and what's missing. Fresh eyes are one of the best ways to identify problems with your website that you may just be too close to notice.

Linking, text hidden in images, and the missing call to action are the primary areas that stood out when I did the Mom Test on Streetlife. For Tony's benefit, here are some other issues I noticed that will need to be addressed:

Left align text. Only center small box less than 4-5 lines long.
Design is too image heavy. Get rid of some of the gradients and use more CSS so that the site loads faster and is more accessible.
The text in the left sidebar is very difficult to read with the gradient background (see above).
Add a tagline/benefit statement to the header to let visitors and search engines know what this site is about, no matter on which page they enter.
Always write in full sentences (a few pages aren't).
Add page titles that match the navigation so visitors know they ended up on the page they asked for (also an important optimization location).
Don't tell people you are targeting the search engines. This is good information for them too.
Pair your locations with primary keywords in your optimization.
Check your text formatting for missing line breaks between paragraphs (a problem throughout the site). Incorporate more headers and bullet/number lists to make text easy to scan.
Too much information in the footer. Pick a few of your most important pages and highlight them there.

If you would like to use me as your "Mom Test," submit your website to me at jackie@sitelogic.com. Be sure to include:

�� 1. URL
�� 2. Target audience
�� 3. Unique selling proposition/what makes you stand out
�� 4. and your primary goal/call to action.

�

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25.07.2008 18:56:54 - Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

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Yahoo Champions Internet Accessibility for the Disabled

by Ross Dunn

At Yahoo Anecdotal today Yahoo announced that they had recently opened the Yahoo Accessibility Lab; a place where only Yahoo employees (for now) can experience the world of the Internet as a disabled web surfer would.

The blog posting also states:

"In addition to simulating the disabled experience, the Accessibility Lab also provides a growing collection of books and videos that we hope will help visitors become more comfortable with the culture of disability. And help Yahoos keep disabled kids and adults clearly in mind as they design and code."

Congratulations Yahoo for taking the reigns and raising awareness of such an under-served topic. Now I am the first to admit that I have no concept of how difficult it must be to navigate the web with a disability. That said, I would love to get a sense of such an experience to provide valuable perspective when I create my own websites and to consult clients on their designs.

My friend Lee Roberts over at MerchantMetrix is an authority on website accessibility and through him I have learned a lot about just how difficult it can be to make a website accessible; however, difficult or not it must be done. There is simply no denying it is important to raise the awareness of this sizable demographic and Yahoo has taken a commendable step in that direction.

To quote Tim Berners-Lee the inventor of the World Wide Web:

The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.

What Accessibility Requires
Here is a summary of the 14 guidelines a website would have to follow in order to become officially accessible according to the W3C's Checklist for Web Accessibility Guidelines:

Guideline 1.� Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.
This covers such elements as the proper use of ALT attributes, adding redundant text link navigation for image maps, creating auditory equivalents of multimedia presentations (explaining what is happening in the presentation), etc.
Guideline 2.� Don't rely on color alone.
If color alone is used to distinguish essential elements of a page then this must be changed to provide accessibility to the color-blind.
Guideline 3.� Use markup and style sheets and do so properly
Do not fix incompatibilities your website has with particular browsers using poor markup because this can confuse accessibility-based navigation/reading software.
Guideline 4.� Clarify natural language usage
Properly specify the natural language of a document and note if and where a change to the natural language is made. Also in the markup provide expansions on acronyms and abbreviations so that screen readers can adequately decipher their meaning.
Guideline 5.� Create tables that transform gracefully.
Tables should only be used to properly present data tables where necessary; not for page layout. In addition there are certain accessibility tags that should be used when implementing a table.
Guideline 6.� Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully.
Ensure that your website can still be read even if significant technologies are disabled by the viewer (i.e. disabled Javascript or stylesheets).
Guideline 7.� Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes.
Flashing, blinking, moving content must have the capacity to be disabled or frozen to increase accessibility for visitors with sensitivities to visual stimuli.
Guideline 8.� Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces.
Script and applets must have an alternative form of navigation if they are not accessible in their own right.
Guideline 9.� Design for device-independence.
Ensure that your website does not offer barriers to any of the major devices that disabled visitors may use to navigate or interact with your website.
Guideline 10.� Use interim solutions.
Certain limitations exist in browsers that currently have no established 'fix'. This section of the guidelines provides sanctioned interim solutions for these problematic areas.
Guideline 11.� Use W3C technologies and guidelines.
To ensure maximum compatibility with current and future accessibility requirements it is recommended that everyone follow the W3C guidelines when designing a website.
Guideline 12.� Provide context and orientation information.
Where complex relationships exist between parts of a page it is important to provide descriptive text outlining the relationship.
Guideline 13.� Provide clear navigation mechanisms.
Ensure your website includes clear navigation formats such as textual navigation and sitemaps so that users have a better chance of finding what they are looking for.
Guideline 14.� Ensure that documents are clear and simple.
Make sure the language is clear and concise, the formatting and layout is consistent throughout the website, and always provide alternative descriptions to graphical content for the blind or visually impaired.

Most of Us with Web Sites Have a Lot of Work To Do
After compiling that list I feel disconcerted because I know of few websites that can safely say they are 75% accessible never mind 100%; including my own I am embarrassed to say. Something has to be done to incentivize designers and web site owners to make accessibility a priority. Perhaps Google should jump on board and provide a deadline for all sites to be compliant (or else); not a popular solution I am sure but it would sure get our butts in gear!

More Information on Website Accessibility
I have a lot to learn about accessibility and perhaps you do as well. Here are some websites that go into more depth on this topic:

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25.07.2008 00:41:42 - Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

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Seven Building Blocks of a Destination Website: #3 Website Design

by Stoney deGeyter

Just because you have a well-designed site doesn't mean that it is sufficiently usable. The web is littered with great looking sites that have a whole mess of usability problems. But it's also true that just because a website employs effective usability strategies that it's not necessarily pleasing on the eyes.

We've all seen those direct mail-like landing pages, the ones that scroll on forever telling you just how great the product is that you need to buy. Usually they have a big red heading, some pictures, testimonials and a lot of words highlighted to draw your eye to them. As ugly goes, these pages pretty much invented the thing, but you know what, they are extremely effective. And a lot of that is in their simplicity.

But these pages are meant to do one thing, and one thing only. Get a conversion. They are designed to sell the visitor on something. On the other hand, as we have been discussing over the past couple of weeks, a Destination Website is meant to engage the visitor. Yes, they can also sell products or services, but they go about it in an entirely different way.

The design of a website is an important aspect of building a destination that people want to return to time and time again. But don't go out and spend all kinds of money for the most current, up-to-date website design with all the whistles and bells. Stop for a second to truly consider what kind of website design you really need.

Evaluate your design

There are many levels of great website design. What works for one industry will absolutely not work for another. What looks good here, won't look good there. It's not about having the most advanced website that has all it's pretty in place, but rather having the website design that meets, and hopefully exceeds, the industry standards.

You need to first do your research. Check out all the sites in your industry. Not just your top competitors, but those further down the food chain. See what kind of functionality they have, what colors they use, read their content and investigate their special offerings (whitepapers, newsletters, etc.)

No, you're not going to emulate any site exactly, but this will give you an idea of where your industry is in terms of website design and functionality. Take that information and then move forward to ensure that your site is, at the very least, as good as the industry average.

That's not much of a benchmark, but it's a starting point. If you find that your site design is below average then you need to do something about it. If your site is at or just above average, well there is no reason to settle for that, there but it's not critically important that you do something about it right this moment.

Of course, everybody thinks their website is above average. Get a second opinion. Get a third opinion. Have unbiased individuals give you an honest assessment of your site compared to your competitors. That's the only way to truly know if your site is at, above or below the competitor's average.

Of course, we're just talking the bare minimum here. But building a Destination Website isn't about being minimum, or average, it's about being exceptional. And to be truly exceptional then your site design should be as good as, or better than, the best in your industry.

Again, best can be subjective so get some unbiased opinions to help you out. Find out what it is about the best site that makes it the best. Is it the colors, the layout, the navigation, the architecture, the content, or the added tools and benefits? Once you know what makes another site's design exceptional (and it may be more than one thing) you then need to find out where that site's weaknesses are.

If you just try to emulate another site's strengths then you'll find that you're likely to also emulate all their weaknesses. So you need to find out what those are so you can, at the very least, match their design strengths, but go a step further and excel in areas where they are week. This will not only help you build a better site, but will help you build a Destination Website.

Look for ways to improve

Of course, with websites getting re-designed on a continual basis, it doesn't make sense to employ a major re-design every time someone else does. There are two things you can do.

First, always be looking for ways to improve. Just because your designers have wrapped up this project and moved on to others doesn't mean that there are areas of your site design that couldn't be made better. Most of the time you won't know until after the site has been functional for a while anyway. But find those areas that you can improve upon visually and functionally and budget those into your marketing costs.

Second, it's OK to not always be the absolute best. Sooner or later someone is going to design a better site than you. Just keep improving upon yours and wait to implement a major re-design until it's absolutely necessary, or, until you find yourself getting closer to "average" than "exceptional". I think every site should go through a significant overhaul every few years anyway. Just keep an eye on your industry and always be improving.

One thing to keep in mind, when your website is poorly designed, or even appears to be compared to others in your industry, you lack credibility. Given the option between you and someone else, most people are going to gravitate to the better looking website as it gives the appearance of being more professional, and therefore, more trustworthy.

The one thing you don't want to have is a site that is so poorly developed that it looks like a hobby site. Unless, of course, that's all it really is. Just like an effective brick and mortar business has to consider its location and the appearance of their store, you must do the same with your site design. You're not some kid selling lemonade on the side of the road, so don't act like it.

Seven Building Blocks of a Destination Website
#1: Expert Information
#1b: Seven Types of Expert Information
#2: Usability
#3: Website Design
#4: Unique Value Proposition

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24.07.2008 17:21:26 - Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

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Local SEO Hero: An Interview With David Mihm

by Todd Mintz

David Mihm is more than just an SEMpdx Schwag Ho. He is one of the top experts in the ever-growing specialty of Local Search Optimization and he focuses his consultancy on helping small business clients generate online revenue in their respective marketplaces. His Mihmorandum blog is a "mandatory add" to the feedreader of anybody remotely interested in the Local SEO niche.

David is Portland's newest SEO transplant (...plenty of room for more of y'all to move here BTW...) and on the eve of his appearance at SMX Local & Mobile, he agreed to answer questions on topics on which he is definitely one of the pre-eminent experts.

1) Please give us your background and tell us what you do for a living.

(I usually give a stock answer here, which is on my "About" page, but I'll try to branch out with this one a little bit J .)

My fascination with SEO started way back in 2000, when I launched a college basketball webpage on my Williams College student webspace. I had started the page just to give my buddies and myself something to banter about over IM and email, and all of a sudden out of the blue I get an email from a random guy telling me I'd made a mistake in something I'd written.

He told me he found my site because I was ranking #2 on Yahoo for "NCAA Tournament Predictions." Amazed, I started to investigate a little bit more about why that was happening--Title tags, meta keywords, etc. but it remained a hobby (obviously, I was still in school).

In February 2005, after I'd tried graduate school and a couple of other "career paths," I got an email from a New York Times writer and a call from a producer for Stephen A. Smith. Within a couple of weeks, I had a front-page feature in the Times and an appearance on ESPN, thanks to my search engine presence.

So that experience proved to me the incredible potential that the web held, beyond just design, which I'd been interested in since high school, and I decided to pursue it full-time. And today I run my own web design and SEO shop in Portland, Oregon .

2) There were a lot of diverse opinions given in your Local Search Rankings Guide. Do you think local search will be easier to define and measure as time goes on?

Yes and no. I think there will be more agreement on the ranking factors once the Local algorithms start to settle down a little bit (if people think Google is mixing up the organic SERPs these days, they should pay attention to the results in the 10-pack!) and a broader set of search marketers get more and more experience with optimizing sites specifically for Local.

But as I said in some of my comments, the relative importance of each factor seems to vary pretty widely depending on your industry and level of competition. A big-city hotel, for example, where there are a lot of signals for Google and Yahoo to consider, proximity to centroid doesn't matter very much, and things like inbound anchor text and review quantity seem to matter more. But a plumber in Hays, Kansas, is probably going to do fine just by locating her office close to downtown and getting a couple of profiles that validate her information on Superpages and Insiderpages, for example.

3) My friend @ matthewjbrown twittered me the name of a local BBQ restaurant and when I looked at the comments, I was very impressed at how the owner actively engaged each negative reviewer. How can you convince small business to monitor and participate in relevant online conversations?

For small business owners, marketing decisions seem to come down to two main questions: how much time am I going to have to spend on it, and how much money can I make from it? They're incredibly busy running their business, so they need to prioritize what they spend their time and money on. If they're lucky, they may have a part-time marketing "executive" but rarely is there someone in-house responsible for marketing.

Obviously, the best incentive would be to show a measurable ROI in terms of web traffic, foot traffic, or revenue, based on other business owners' participation. The difficulty in making that connection in this case is that participation might not *make* you any money, but it might be something you need to do to keep from *losing* money.

So I'd show them a few concrete examples like the one you cited, and these great articles about the power of user reviews: two by search industry pros Matt McGee and Greg Sterling, and one terrific run-down in the San Francisco Chronicle.

4) What criteria should a small / local business use in deciding where best to place their online advertising budget?

Each business's needs are different, so this is a little bit of a tough question.

I'd think first and foremost about how much time you want to spend doing things yourself vs. how much you're willing to pay someone else to do them for you. Especially in Local Search, because the level of search engine competition is generally a little lower, there are a lot of things you can do yourself, if you know the right places to look and sites to target.

So if you're a DIY-er, I'd say your best bet is to schedule a site review and personalized consultation for a couple hundred dollars with a respected Local Search expert like Mike Blumenthal or Miriam Ellis and get his/her opinion about what your business needs. He or she will tell you the low-hanging fruit that you can grab yourself, and offer services where he/she thinks you'll get the most value from his/her expertise.

If you're a delegator, and/or have a little bit larger budget, I'd still schedule that consultation. But then you can also consider some additional options like signing up for a listing with Localeze, getting a premium listing on some high-traffic sites like Yelp or Citysearch, etc. You might also consider paying an employee or a contractor to blog on behalf of your business, if you don't have the time or the inclination to do that yourself. (See my answer to question #7 for more.)

5) Should a small business with a limited budget even bother with having a website? Could resources be better used elsewhere if a "suck" website is all they can afford?

Greg Sterling hosted an interesting discussion about this very topic on his blog just last month. I come down on the side of each business having a website of its own. That could be just as simple as having a landing page with that business's offline contact information and an email address.

Every business should have its own destination online. Even if they don't intend to build it out in the short-term, it's important not to be dependent on other "free" profile websites...who knows when they won't be free any more, when they'll require you to display advertising, etc.

These days, it's so easy to register a domain name and get set up with a reasonably snazzy-looking Wordpress blog with places like Dreamhost, using a templated Theme, that there's no financial excuse not to make that initial step.

6) This John Andrews post about mobile ads made me curious to get your opinion on how mobile search and local search might converge.

I think John's on the right track there. People on mobile devices aren't typically looking for a "rich" user experience. They're looking for information FAST , that they can use to contact a business right from their phone, or at the very least remember to check out in more detail once they're at a laptop or a desktop. The screen is smaller, so there should be more text and fewer graphics.

That's why I think we've seen Google and Yahoo integrate their 10-packs and 3-packs the way they have. Business information like address and phone is available right there , at the very top of the search results, without even clicking through to the website. And there are a lot of businesses listed Locally that don't even HAVE websites.

Some of the stuff that companies in Japan are doing with in-store coupon codes being served right to your phone via a text message is pretty fascinating, too. I think we'll start to see more of that kind of tracking/promotion in the States as a way to drive offline business via mobile. Offline and mobile will continue to reinforce each other, especially for retail stores dependent on a lot of foot traffic.

7) How can small business effectively engage with social media? What social media should they engage with?

HyperLocal blogging is definitely #1. Find out who the top bloggers in your area are (to get started, just do a search for "Portland, Oregon blog" or similar), read their stuff, and start to make comments on it (perhaps mentioning your phone number or address if it's appropriate--see #9). Write about events and other non-competitive businesses in your area and provide some credibility for yourself by demonstrating your expertise and how you stay on top of current trends in your industry.

As you know, I'm also a HUGE fan of Twitter, and I think it's probably the easiest kind of Social Media to understand, because the conversations are so direct.

Research your community and your industry with Summize. See what people in your city are talking about & follow them. See what people in your industry from around the world are talking about. Create content on your own blog or promotions on your own website that you think would interest them, and promote it on Twitter. Those kinds of connections lead to visibility for your own blog and can really help you hone your business messaging and positioning.

On Twitter, there's no such thing as a "power account," which is critical to success on Digg, StumbleUpon, etc. All the interaction is real, and if you are following the right people for your company or your business, and putting out content they like, your visibility, notoriety (and incoming links) can skyrocket.

8) Small businesses are the easiest prey for online search marketing "predators". How can they best protect themselves?

Say no to anyone who emails you or calls you soliciting their services. Seriously. Take down their information and do some investigating. Very few reputable SEO / SEM shops feel the need to troll for business because they've already got a steady growth in their customer base through word-of-mouth or search engine traffic of their own.

If someone refers you to a provider, search for their business name and look at the first three pages of results to see if anyone is making negative comments about them. Look at their own websites, look at some representative clients. If there's any question about their ethics, move on to another firm.

Beyond that, the best way to combat predators is to become educated about search engine marketing yourself. Teach yourself the basics of SEO and SEM so that you can spot a shyster who's trying to pull a fast one. SEOmoz's Beginner's Guide and Aaron Wall's SEObook are great, inexpensive places to start.

So is attending an SEMpdx event--or similar events for the group in your area. You'll generally get high-quality referrals, and meet high-quality practitioners, at events like these.

9) What action items can a small business perform if they read your " Citation Is The New Link" blog post and decided that they needed to better themselves in that area?

The #1 priority for all businesses that have Local customers should be claiming their listing at Google and Yahoo.

Beyond that, take a look at who is ranking well in the Local algorithm and specifically look at the 'Web Pages' tab within their own listings. You'll start to get a sense of the kinds of sites Google is considering as relevant to businesses like yours. Yahoo pulls from a similar set.

Sign up explicitly with your address and phone number for sites that are showing up frequently underneath those tabs for multiple businesses.

Localeze and UniversalBusinessListing.org are great places to syndicate your business information as well.

And just like real estate, "Location, location, location." Google in particular seems really big on citations from blogs whose geography it can pin down definitively. So you can get a lot more high-quality citations from HyperLocal blogs in your area, as I've already mentioned.

10) Please talk about online reputation management in a small business context.

Online reputation management goes hand-in-hand with Local optimization. The overarching strategy of ORM, as I understand it anyway, is to push negative search results further down the search result page by inflating the value of positive or neutral results. How does one do that? By creating profiles across a number of social media sites and industry platforms, getting mentioned in local press and online media.

Guess what--all of these positive or neutral search results that are pushing down the negative mentions are likely going to count as citations in the Local algorithm. So you get bang for your buck both organically AND Locally.

But unlike larger companies, smaller businesses also need to bear in mind reviews across a mushrooming number of portals that get a lot of traffic in their own right. Yelp, Google, Yahoo, Citysearch, MerchantCircle, InsiderPages, TripAdvisor, just to name a few. I don't see an analogous situation for larger businesses, except maybe in the tech and auto spaces where there are a ton of popular, high-trafficked review sites specifically focused on products in these verticals.

It doesn't help that companies like Yelp are putting up such high barriers to engagement by business owners. It's a tough situation -- small businesses have to work twice as hard as larger businesses to manage their online reputation, with fewer resources.

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23.07.2008 23:30:36 - Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing

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Small Businesses Need the Internet

by Mike Moran

Frank Reed had an interesting post on his Frank Thinking blog, lamenting how small businesses seem to avoid search marketing. They spend their money on Yellow Pages ads and other older forms of marketing that might not bring the best return on their investment. So, with the U.S. economy focusing every small business on making more from less, why is it that Internet marketing, and search marketing in particular, is so scary? What can we do to help small businesses take advantage of the Internet?

I am not a researcher (and I don't even play one on TV), but from talking to hundreds of small business owners over the years, I have some theories:

The Internet is still too hard. Most small business owners are not comfortable with technology, because it still requires too much expertise to operate, sucking up time and money they don't have. Time will solve this, because younger owners have more technology experience and because technology does get easier each year (I swear). We should expect that business owners that don't use computers will be suspicious of Internet marketing. But most small business owners have at least made their peace with computers, so what else is holding them back?

Internet marketing is scary. No matter what you try, there's too much to know to avoid looking like a fool or even breaking the law. Yellow Pages ads, trade show brochures, weekly circulars, and other tried and true small business marketing programs are at least understood. Sure, you could screw something up, but it's hard. But with search marketing, you can blow money on paid search and get no sales. You can send out e-mails the wrong way and run afoul of the CAN-SPAM act. You can breach some Internet etiquette and be a laughing stock. No, for some, it's just too dangerous.

Inertia. I honestly think this is the big one. Small business owners are the busiest people I know. They spend so much time just executing what they already know how to do that they are ill-equipped to spend any time thinking about something new.

So what can we do?

For one thing, we need to realize that small business owners couldn't care less about being experts in Internet marketing. They don't care what the trends are. They don't care what's hot. Mostly, they care about how they can learn as little as possible and be effective. And honestly, that's what all of us should be concerned about. If we can't explain the value of Internet marketing in terms small business owners can understand, they should ignore us.

But we also need to make Internet marketing easier—especially search marketing, which is so basic to any business. Why is it that the easy-to-use facilities that create Web sites don't help with organic search marketing? Or help business owners analyze the metrics that matter?

They don't. You still need to find your own Web page builder, do your own optimization, learn what JavaScript means so you can get metrics, and a dozen other tasks that we experts take for granted. But each one can baffle a perfectly intelligent small business owner.

It's time that we added the automatic transmission for Internet marketing. Do any of my readers know any examples of truly easy-to-use tools that help businesses sell, not just create a Web site?

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