Express Marketing Memo

Don’t Take Facebook So Seriously – Lighten Up!

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:00:20 +0000

When one of my clients complains that business is down, my first advice has been to get busy on Facebook and Twitter.

It's not the end all answer, but it's quick, painless, and free - a way to get your name in front of your local audience. It tends to result in posting a special offer or something that promotes the business. While there's nothing wrong with that ... other than the obvious loss of income from price discounting ... we may get better results if we have a little fun with our audience.

Make Your Website Work For You – Part 2

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:30:43 +0000

Your website should be significant to search engines. Do you know why that matters? At least 80% of all new traffic is the result of a search on Google, Yahoo, Bing, or one of the lesser known search engines. People type in what they’re looking for, and you want those words connected to your website. Where you rank on the search engine results page (SERP) depends on multiple factors. There are on-site things to consider, as well as off-site. Today’s post deals only with some of the on-site factors.

In this second post of our effective websites series, we'll continue to look at some common reasons that websites perform poorly, and show you what to do about it.

Make Your Website Work FOR You

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:29:26 +0000

This was originally posted in December 2006. I went back over it and realized you could really benefit from this information and several others on the same topic. I think you’ll enjoy my revisions of those earlier posts, and wanted to share them with you in my latest series, starting today. Let me know how this perspective influences the way you look at your business website!

Effective Results-Driven Web Sites

Is your website producing leads or sales? As many as you’d like? Or is it a monthly expense with little to nothing to show for itself? Effective online marketing isn’t mysterious. If your website isn’t performing as needed, there’s a reason for it. Let’s look at some common reasons that websites perform poorly. We'll break this down over several posts, one reason at a time.

It’s All About Local

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:42:17 +0000

For the brick and mortar small business, it's all about local.

Forget about SEO, blogging, gaining back links, and posting to Facebook and Twitter for a moment. If you want to draw visitors to your physical storefront, you need to focus on 'local' first.

Before You Buy That Domain Name

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:40:43 +0000

A common misconception is that having multiple domain names will increase your site’s search engine rankings. It’s not uncommon for a business to own their name as a domain, as well as several keyword-specific domain names. While that’s not a bad idea, don’t buy extra domain names with the thought that you’ll point them to your existing site for an SEO boost. It just doesn’t work that way.

Search engines index content - web pages, not domain names. ...

The Case for Monitoring Your Brand Online

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:05:25 +0000

Whether or not you've ever listed your business online, there's a good chance it's already listed in the major online directories. Did you know that many of those directories allow and encourage reviews, even on your unclaimed listings?

If you've never done so, NOW might be a good time to head on over to places.google.com, yelp.com, yahoo.com and bing.com to see whether or not your business is already listed and collecting reviews.

If you're already listed, either take the next step and 'claim' your listing on each site - taking care to fill out each profile completely - or enter ALL your profile information ONE time using our new local business listing service. Choose the latter and you'll be added to over 350 local directories AND we'll help you claim your listing on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Yelp. How's that for a time-saver? See our Local Business Listing page for details.

Make Sure You’re Not Spam

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:00:34 +0000

You may have a brilliant offer in your email campaign, but what if no one knows it?

The biggest hurdle for any email marketer is to make it to an inbox. Second to that is to have your message opened. Before you can get subscriber attention on that special offer of yours, spend some time working on that subject line and testing for spam. Click on the title to read more.

Does Your Small Business Also Need a Blog?

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:07:39 +0000

Not too long ago brick and mortar business owners wondered if they needed a web site. Most now see a website as an essential and integral part of their marketing mix, and the question has become "should I be blogging?"

What’s a business blog, anyway?

Ideally, your small business blog is the beginning of a two-way conversation with your readers because it's interactive by nature. You, the blogger, post fresh information on a regular basis. Your readers subscribe via an email form or by RSS feed, and they're notified of every new article you post. But they can do more than just view your content. Your readers have the ability to comment or ask questions.

Make sure to click through to read the rest of this article on-site, where you'll find a limited-time offer to help you get set up with a professional-looking, highly-functional business blog.

How Does Your Website Compare with Your Competitors’?

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:30:33 +0000

Who are your top competitors online? If you have a plumbing site, and you want to rank above the other plumbers in the area, it helps to have some insight into their website marketing strategy.

You can Google your competitors and take a close look at what they're doing, but an easier, more effective method is pull this information in via Market Samurai.

Small Business Website Tip: Check for Broken Links

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:30:37 +0000

Did you know that broken links on your website can hamper your search engine optimization efforts? When Google spiders your site, the last thing you want is for that spider to end up on a 'page not found.'

Broken links can pop up anywhere. Maybe you've shared a photo from Flickr on your post, then the photographer removed the picture. Maybe you've copied and pasted a link wrong ... adding a second http://. And quite possibly you've received comments from sites that no longer exist.

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