A colleague of mine forwarded
this blog post to me and it was a fantastic way to start my morning. Someone outside of Compendium who truly GETS IT!!! This is probably my favorite part of the post:
"Search engines thrive on and reward web sites that publish content. Blogs are content management systems that make it easy for companies (or anyone) to publish that content. Publishing blog posts creates new web pages that can be linked to and therefore, discovered and ranked by search engines. The more blog posts and links from other sites, the greater the presence in the search results."
The only thing I'd like to add to this from the Compendium Blogware perspective is that it relates to long term organization of content. Lee is absolutely correct that blogs create new web pages for each post written. On most blogs, the original post goes to one vast well of content on one (singular) blog. Additional SEO efforts become manual; occasionally made easier (but not simple) with specific plug-ins. This is all in an attempt to organize all this blog content into categories so that the search engines can more easily digest the content.
For companies that want to leverage large portions of their workforce as bloggers AND want to use all that content to it maximum it's SEO potential, a blogging software designed for business is essential. The ideal situation can then be using the natural content management of one blog that Lee discusses in his post while organizing those posts across hundreds or thousands of specific keyword blogs that continue to be focussed and organized around individual, revenue driving search terms. This will give long-term ranking on targeted search phrases and deliver a measurable ROI on the company blog strategy.
As Lee so eloquently puts it in his post, "tactics used with a blog marketing effort should be based on some kind of goal." Exactly!
With so many advertisements being shoved down our throats every day, businesses are finding new and innovative ways to market their products and services. Pop up banners, newspaper ads, and Pay Per Click advertising just does not work the same way it used to. Marketing through blogging is a common way for the average customer to find you and purchase your products and/or services.
The common consumer just ignores those flashy ads. People are so bombarded with these tactics that it means nothing to them. By having a blog content management system such as
Compendium Blogware, everyone in your organization can share their thoughts and opinions. From the CEO to a customer service representative, it is important that these individuals are writing about what it is that their organization has to offer.
By having a platform to share these ideas, it makes it easier for your company to be found in the search engines. Let's face it, not as many people actually click on those paid searches anymore. So why not market in the organic search results? Most companies are worried about how they are going to market in this tough economy. To that we say, blog. It is a cost efficient and easy way to promote your company in its best light. It gives you the ability to write content that focuses on what your company does and the solutions that you can provide to your potential customers.
I was fortunate enough last week to have a really good meeting with a potential client who has been exploring blogging for her company. Over the past 60 days she has been doing research on basic blog software trying to determine which solution may be the easiest to use and manage from a blogging perspective and from an SEO perspective.
She had done her homework but was very discouraged about all of the time and energy she was going to have to spend in an area where she really knew very little. Needless to say when she asked the question..."so, how can Compendium help me" she was very pleased with what she heard.
We were the breath of fresh air she had been looking for simply because we took all of the blog management responsibilities off her shoulders and carried that burden for her. Not only that but our interface made it simple for her to get in create content and get out.
A one stop shop solution for everything she needed right here in one easy solution. So don't fear the things you don't know about. Employ someone who does and allow your business succeed.
Compendium has not simply designed our user administration interface with simplicity, we've extended that simplicity out to our standard template. During the sales and implementation cycles, we're often asked to mimic a complex web design, or customize the interface with lots of 'stuff' per other Blog CMS platforms.
We push back... hard.
The templating system we utilize is open and 100% CSS driven so that
anything is possible. The problem is that
anything is not the thing that will drive results to your business.
The value of blogging is simple from an SEO standpoint:
- People search.
- Search engines provide the relevant answer.
- People read the answer.
- Some people engage further.
There are quite a few articles and a couple of books on maximizing conversion rates and landing page optimization. All of them agree:
- Show the relevant content that people were looking for.
- Provide a compelling call to action for the person to engage your business future.
Sidebar widgets and gadgets and other information are diversions from the task at hand. They clog the interface, divert attention from the answer, and confuse the person's next step.
Here's an example from fellow blogger,
John Chow:
John's page has no less than 50 calls to action (text and image ads) on it. Why? John's page is
not a corporate blog, it's a blog to make money off of corporate sponsorships and advertising revenue. Other than to buy ad space, the purpose of the site is to make money from folks hitting ads.
The way to ensure this happens is to place ads everywhere you can find real estate. It's a great blog and it works at driving advertising revenue to John. John also does NOT rely on
search engine traffic for acquisition. In fact, I believe Google dropped him from the index a while ago.
Here's an example from
Compendium Blogware's Business Blog:
Our focus is not that of a content management system nor of the
off the shelf blogging software. We designed
our system + our standard template + our call to action strategy to drive business results from search back to your company. It’s a proven force already in the industry. Extraneous features are a diversion and will significantly reduce the conversion rates of those people who land on your blog.
We absolutely want to cross-promote your site – where you can have all of the gadgets and widgets you'd like (and hopefully information in a neatly organized, easy to find, and attractive interface). However, on your blog, it’s going to hurt your investment.
A minimalist approach is the best approach – with distinctive call to action(s) that leave nothing to the imagination for organic searchers who land there. I would add that we’ve proven this methodology by drinking our own Kool Aid!
Additional Resources on Optimized Landing Pages and Maximizing Conversions:
Books on the Topic:
There has been a lot of talk about the changes in search results brought on by Universal Search & Blended Search.
Basically, what this means is that Google and the other search engines are considering a lot more than just your website SEO when deciding what results to deliver.
Specifically, It's becoming really important to have frequently updated Corporate blogs, pictures and even video to greatly increase your chances of ranking on a wide range of keywords.
Blended Search is actually great for the marketers that are really trying to build trust and engagement with prospects and customers (
although in this case we are mostly talking about prospects since your customers typically shouldn't be searching for you). This is where people really need to rethink everything they have been taught about the Goals for Corporate or Business Blogging. Business blog strategy has to take into account and focus on the goals of Search Engine Optimization and Conversion.
When I read about Blended Search I tend to hear a lot of panic that these new strategies are both hard and expensive.
BALONEY.
Let me introduce you to my friends & client of Compendium Blogware, Greenfield Liquors. This is a tiny small town liquor store in Greenfield Indiana and they totally take advantage of Web 2.0 marketing strategies and business blogging with very little effort and lots of great results. Take a look at this Video that appeared in their blog. The winery featured is Paige 23.
Now,
Type Paige 23 wines, Greenfield into your google search box and see what happens.
Home run! Another great example of a Blogging Best Practice. Blog management software for business is affordable and easy. Try it!
www.compendiumblogware.com
Many of you may have noticed the announcement last week regarding ICANN dramitically increasing the suffixes available for domain names. Here is a blurb from the
New York Times:
According to new rules unanimously passed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers,
or Icann, at its meeting here, any company, organization or country
will soon be able to apply for a new Web address extension, called a
top-level domain.
That could smooth the way for Web addresses
that end in city names, brands and generic words. It could also sow
confusion in the minds of Web users, create a host of new ways to
exploit the Web addressing system and start a wave of legal skirmishes
over applications to register trademarks — .coke, for example.
Uggh! What a mess this makes for normal businesses & organizations. People are already having a tough time keeping track of your web address. By adding basically an unlimited number of .anything branding by domain becomes just about impossible.
If anything is going to drive people even more into the arms of the search engines, it's going to be this.
What are you going to do?
Incorporate blog management software company wide. The biggest benefit of enterprise or business blogging is Search engine optimization. The more people you have blogging, the more relevant content gets created, and the more likely you are to be found accross a lots of keywords.
Forget people remembering your domain...focus on getting found by using corporate blog tools.
I am pleased to announce that we were quickly oversubscribed on our most recent funding round.
Seeking $1.5mm we quickly had commitments from angel investors for $1.6 at which point we closed the round.
Whats significant about Compendium Blogware's Corporate Blogging software is we are able to get by on much smaller investments than a traditional software startup. This may not always be the case, but at this point because our client base is growing so quickly we are able to fund a great deal of the company out of operations......kind of old fashioned I know :-)
But obviously, we are really excited and proud to have the support of our investors and proud of the fact that that so many Organizations (from large enterprises to small businesses) are finding tremendous value in our blog management software.
Blogging for business is just beginning a rapid adpotion and organizations are recognizing the need for an easy to deploy SaaS solution with a solid ROI.
Follow this link to a nice article today on the announcement....
Compendium Blogware Funding Announcement
While planning my
next vacation I started to wonder why my research starts and ends at www.tripadvisor.com. I am in love with this website because real
people who have been to the destinations, stayed at the hotels, and dined on
the local fare write about their personal experiences with no agenda other than
to inform other travelers. I personally
don’t care about gold lists and stars, I care about what real people have to
say.
The same idea applies to business
according to The Edelman Trust Barometer for 2008. People
want to hear from people like you and me.
They don’t necessarily always want to hear from the CEO or the
webmasters and marketers who create a company site. By empowering everyone from the secretary to the sales team to blog you are giving your employees an outlet to share industry knowledge thoughts and expertise all while boosting your search engine rankings if done correctly and on the right platform. Compendium software is an affordable, blog management software that leverages blog content created by individuals to help with online customer acquisition and lead generation. Just as I look for feedback from travelers like me, potential customers in any industry are looking for insight from "other people like them". High levels of trust equals high levels of conversion.
Hey, I just wanted to give anyone interested in the ROI of Business or Corporate blogging a heads up about the quick webinar I'm hosting this Friday. You can't have an ROI unless you can measure it...so I'll be giving some best practices that apply to any blog management software, not just Compendium Blogware. So if you are one of those Companies that Blog, or want be, join us Friday. Register for the
blog tracking & measuring webinar here
