MassNet Marketing Blog

I’ve posted on this topic previously, but this dilemma is one that absolutely deserves more attention as it continues to be one of the most frequently asked questions that we receive from clients who currently have websites created by others.

It is an unfortunate reality that many small business owners do have websites that simply have not pulled in leads as expected. And, it’s even worse that many of those websites were never optimized correctly to begin with – which will automatically eliminate the possibility of search engines being able to give your site the rankings that you want.

However, with that being said; it’s also important to realize that your website is not a “magic bullet” - it is only one part of many tools that you should be using within your marketing arsenal.

But, let’s get back on topic and discuss some things that need to be realized when it comes to search engine optimization:

Have you ever heard the old saying “a watch pot never boils?” It basically means the more you hover over the pot waiting for it to boil; the longer it seems to take to boil. How does the ‘watch pot’ compare with search engine optimization?

The basic point is, that your website is probably not going to shoot to the top of the search engines over night. Each search engine has its own methods of listing and ranking websites – which can vary drastically from one search engine to the next. If you have a ‘new’ website it is imperative that you give your site time to be indexed by the search engines, but beyond that, it is even more important that you continue to update and feed your site new content. A dull, outdated and static website is not going to be rewarded with high search engine rankings.

Today’s search engines tend to give higher rankings to sites that have the most new, as well as unique, content. You may have heard the web saying that ‘content is king’ and it’s absolutely true!

A few things you can do to help your search engine rankings:

1. Don’t let your website become an outdated ‘bulletin board.’  Update your website regularly or pay someone to do it for you.

2. Optimize your website with the correct meta tags and keywords for your industry.

3. Consider integrating social media into your marketing mix.

4. Advertise your website everywhere – the importance of well placed ‘back links’ to your website cannot be overstated.

5. Ask for help from experienced online marketers. (Kentucky small business owners can contact us for a free no obligation website blueprint.)

It’s important to learn as much as you can about search engine optimization, but you don’t have to become an expert on it yourself (and you probably don’t want to!) As my father always said; “smart people put smart people around them” and it still holds true – even in today’s techie world!

There are several elements of marketing which include: public relations, promotions, publicity, advertising and sales.  The below story was written by an unknown author and helps define marketing and all its pieces.

If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday”, that’s advertising.

If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion.

If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity.

And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.

If the town’s citizens go the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they’ll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that’s sales.

And, if you planned the whole thing, that’s Marketing!

If you want to make a powerful difference in boosting your ad response rates, then pay particular attention to your headline.

Why? Because five times as many people will read your headline than your copy. Quite simply, a headline is…an ad for your ad. People won’t stop their busy lives to read your copy unless you give them a good reason to do so. So a good headline promises some news and a benefit.

Think about the last time you browsed through your local newspaper. You checked out the articles, one by one, and occasionally an ad may have caught your eye. Which ads were the ones most likely to catch your eye?

The ones that looked like an article.

The ones with the headline that promised news.

The ones with fonts and type that closely resembled the fonts and type used in articles.

The ones that were placed where articles were placed (as opposed to being placed on a full page of ads, for example).

The ones with the most compelling headlines that convinced you it’s worth a few minutes to read the copy.

Remember that the headline you use is extremely powerful and very important to the overall response rate that your ad receives.

Ad copy is one of the most important aspects to consider when it comes to grabbing the attention of your target market. However, it’s often confusing as to whether you should focus on benefits or features when writing your copy. Let’s take a quick look at the differences…

What are features? They are descriptions of what qualities a product possesses.

· The XYZ car delivers 55 miles per gallon in the city.
· Our ladder’s frame is made from a lightweight durable steel alloy.
· Our glue is protected by a patent.
· This database has a built-in data-mining system.

And what are benefits? They are what those features mean to your prospects.

· You’ll save money on gas and cut down on environmental pollutants when you use our energy saving high-performance hybrid car. Plus, you’ll feel the extra oomph when you’re passing cars, courtesy of the efficient electric motor, which they don’t have!

· Lightweight durable steel-alloy frame means you’ll be able to take it with you with ease, and use it in places most other ladders can’t go, while still supporting up to 800 pounds. No more backaches lugging around that heavy ladder. And it’ll last for 150 years, so you’ll never need to buy another ladder again!

· Patent-protected glue ensures you can use it on wood, plastic, metal, ceramic, glass, and tile…without messy cleanup and without ever having to re-glue it again—guaranteed!

· You can instantly see the “big picture” hidden in your data, and pull the most arcane statistics on demand. Watch your business do a “180” in no time flat, when you instantly know why it’s failing in the first place! It’s all done with our built-in data-mining system that’s so easy to use, my twelve year-old son used it successfully right out of the box.

Just remember, it’s more important to focus your ad copy to emphasize benefits not features.