Blogging as a tool for SEO

Welcome to the Blogosphere

Well hello there! My name is Jim Hyslop and I am an executive with Compendium Blogware. I am excited to have entered into this new, and exciting porthole of the blogosphere that is focused on blogging for business. The blogosphere is a powerful place and when leveraged correctly it can bring unmatched levels of trust and comfort to your clients which in turn correlate to huge returns for your organization.

My goal as we head out on this journey together is to be able to advance our knowledge of the benefits of a corporate blogging solution and even have some fun along the way. I am sure there will be a lot of questions that arise as we share thoughts, ideas and beliefs so speak up!!!! If there is one thing in this life that I have learned it is this; it is the combined ability to look, listen, learn, and communicate that enables us to clear our path to creative solutions for success. With that being said let's clear our minds....woohsah...... and explore the blogosphere to develop ideas, imagine success, and create blogging strategies that work!!! Buckle up......

Don't wait for the case study

Thursday, November 19, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

I talk with a lot of people every week about Compendium's value proposition as an inbound marketing tool that leverages blogging for search acquisition and more often than not the conversation always ends up with the question "can you send me a case study?" the response is "of course I can"

We obviously wouldn't be in business if we didn't create success for our clients day after day. We have case studies that you can download directly form our website as any smart, results driven company should. The thing here is that success looks different for every business and every vertical.

There is nothing easier in the world than selling using a similar situation type of sell...trust me. But at the end of the day, I think it is important to ask yourself "do I want to read the case study, or BE the case study?" Chances are if you are reading it, it isn't about your company and you may have already missed out on a large portion of market share because you made the decision to NOT adopt new strategies for business growth. Some of the most successful companies today are where they are at because they were forward thinking and allowed someone to write a case study on them.

Blog World!!!! Vegas Here We Come!!!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

That's right, Blog World is happening again and Compendium Blogware is going to be there. Come on by and visit us. We will be talking about blogging best practices and are more than willing to walk you through how a simple blogging software like Compendium can get you in front of those who drive your bottom line.

We are excited to be out there for the second year in a row and are looking forward to visiting with all of our Friends of Compendium from last year....that means you Southwest.

Chris will be speaking on Thursday as well at 11 am so if you are going to be there, make sure you get to listen to him. It is always a productive use of time.

Viva Las Vegas Baby!!!!

Online Holiday Sales and You....How Slick is YOUR Online Presence?

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

I read some interesting information today in Retail-Week in regard to on-line spending for the holidays, but this was the one thing that really caught my attention.

Google retail industry leader Peter Fitzgerald agrees, saying: “There is going to be a lift year on year. I’m very confident in that. The average order value has trended downwards for a long time, but sometimes this just means consumers are purchasing more often.”

Increasing consumer expectations will benefit retailers with the slickest on-line operations, rather than sending shoppers back to the high street, according to Fitzgerald. He explains: “If there is a shift it will go to those that do it well. In every product category there are a number of choices.”

So how slick is your on-line operation? How are you targeting every product category? The name of the game here is search marketing. If you sell 100 different products that can be identified with 10+ different search terms each what are you doing as an on-line marketer to appear in the organic rankings for over 1000 different search terms? If you are only using your website to do this I am telling you right now, you are missing out. A website and website SEO alone is not the "slickest on line operation".

I am sure a lot of you have your site and are "getting into" social media as well which is a great starting point, but you need to constantly be asking yourself "how is all of this going to make me money?" It starts with SEARCH. You ALL should be blogging for Search Engine Optimization.

It is the perfect way to incorporate and target thousands of keywords surrounding your information, solutions, and products in organic search. Allow yourself to be found in the areas that your customers are looking for you and provide them with the information they are searching for. If you can do this then you can forecast a very profitable holiday season.

Only my mom cares about MY blog

Thursday, September 17, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

My mom is probably my number one fan. She LOVES to stay up to date with my life and how things are going for me but I am going to guess she is probably one of a handful of people in this world who really care about me, Jim Hyslop, and what I have to say.

So why should I use my blog for search marketing if only a few people in this world actually care about what I have to say? The simple answer here is I shouldn't use a personal blog if the PURPOSE of my blog is to drive business through search acquisition.

People search for answers to their problems on-line with topically focused search terms. If I am a company that can solve those problems it is my job to show up with answers to those questions based on the way my potential customers are searching. If you are reading this post today I have a feeling you probably don't know me but you found me because you searched a term like "business blog software" or "best blogging software" or something of this nature. If this is the case, then good for you. We should talk soon because I can help you. And good for me as well, because as an on-line marketer for my company I have done my job. We both win.

And Mom, if you are reading this, I will probably be calling you tonight because I think we are going to need a babysitter this weekend. Tell Dad I said "Hey". Love you guys!

Writing Good Blog Content

Thursday, August 27, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

As a forward facing figure for Compendium Blogware I spend a lot of time on the phone consulting with businesses and marketing professionals on how blogging can be a strategic marketing tool for them to drive traffic and conversion on their web site. Recently one of the biggest obstacles that most organizations seem to be facing is what we here at Compendium call "quality content".

Businesses, and more specifically, the individuals within a given business who are responsible for the brand and reputation of the business, are often leary of allowing just anybody from the organization to have the ability to talk about the business through a very public channel such as a blog. But often times what they fail to consider is that just because you don't allow them a channel to talk about their job and the organization, that doesn't mean they aren't. In fact I am pretty sure they are, you just aren't in control of it.

Think about it, social media is everywhere now. People spend the majority of their time at work, and usually they are in front of a computer.....so what would you imagine is top of mind for them to write about? You got it, THEIR JOB!

They are going to spend time talking about their life and their job and their role in their job. So how do you harness that as an on line marketer and use it to your advantage? The answer is simple. Provide them with a channel that gives them focus and permission to talk about the business under your control. Provide them with focus that matches your objectives, and let them know in real time that they are good at writing about your company goals. By doing so you will create a company in tune with the overall message that can drive positive ROI through the collective human representation of the company.

Is everybody in your organization a professional writer, probably not. But ask yourself this, do they have the capacity to talk about your organization if provided the proper focus and coaching, absolutely!

Empower everybody.

Did you miss me?

Friday, August 21, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

Guess Who? Yep that is right, I am back from my blogging hiatus. Believe it or not I actually turned into everyone of you who have said at one point or another "I just don't have time to blog" I hate to admit it but it is true.....

but here is the thing,

As inconsistent as I have been with my blogging effort, Compendium as a company has been great! Ahhhh the reassuring feeling of sharing the blogging responsibility!

Seriously, not everybody in your organization is going to be the best blogger. Heck, some may never blog AT ALL! The point is, if you don't allow those who enjoy it to do it you will never know who they are.

We live in an age of limited resources in most businesses. Time, money, and people seem to be scarce these days and most business count on the efforts of a select few to keep the doors open and lights on. It is for this exact reason that tools such as ROI focused business blog software can be such a great addition to the company who is spread "thin".

We allow minimal effort, from a few contributors, to be magnified x100 by simply incorporating a easy to use blogging solution to help you work more effectively and efficiently leaving the heavy lifting and automation to US.

I want to thank all of my fellow bloggers here at Compendium for keeping up their effort while I was busy moving and adjusting to some rapid changes that kept me away from my blogging duties. I vow to be a better blogger form here on out!

Don't Offer Me Anything

Thursday, January 29, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

I'll tell YOU what I want.....

I am not sure if you listen to any of the work done by satirical rock duo Tenacious D but Jack Black hits the nail on the head with this statement in the drive thru. This is exactly what search is all about.

Everyday your customers are doing this exact thing. They are telling you what they want via search, so who do you have manning the first drive up window? Anybody? If you aren't showing up then the answer is NO. It probably wouldn't help any of the major fast food chains if they didn't employ somebody to man the window where they collect your money. So what makes you think your business is any different. You may not serve value meals but it doesn't mean you don't provide value right?

It has been many many years since I wore my uniform with one of the major fast food chains (yes I admit it) but I am going to assume that the money they shell out now to employ the person at the first window is well worth the return the get from having them stationed back there in the back of the building taking orders and making change for the large amount of money that passes through the window everyday. Why wouldn't you employ the same type of strategy.

The best part is you don't have to actually employ a person for this at all. All you need is a presence where it matters and that place is at the top of the search rankings. Your blog can serve this purpose for you. If you set up a blog for search engine optimization you are literally allowing yourself this opportunity. You are making yourself available to rake in the dough when people are hungry for the products you provide.

A company blog can get you where you need to be, you just need to put proper architecture behind it. Let your keywords serve as your menu. Let your customers tell you what they want.....

The Blogging Chum Line

Thursday, January 22, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

Being a fisherman I often relate to a Compendium network of blogs as a chum line. If you have ever been fishing before you probably know what I am talking about. If you haven't then let me tell you. A chum line is a fishing line that gets thrown out in the water with many hooks on it. Each hook gets a sinker and some bait and then the feeding frenzy begins.....and now you are asking yourself....how the heck does this relate to blogging.....I will tell you that as well.

Imagine a blog page as a fish hook in the water. How many fish can you catch with one hook? Yep you got it....ONE. Now imagine instead of fishing with one hook you fished with 50 hooks or 200 hooks how many fish could you reel in all at once? Yep, you guessed it....probably more than one as long as you are fishing in the right spot. Another associate of mine here at Compendium Blogware wrote a blog post about this same thing a while back. Marketing is strategic....if you are baiting one hook with really great bait why wouldn't you bait 50 hooks with great bait in hopes that you can bring in more than one fish. We all want to catch a lot of fish for our business. Use a chum line, I promise it will be worth your while....trust me. A picture is worth 1000 words.

Google is Closing Their Newspaper Stand!!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

Yep you heard right. Brian Womack with Bloomberg.com wrote an article on Google closing their doors to their division that places ad space in newspapers.....are you surprised? I'm not.

Womack wrote:

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., owner of the world’s most popular Internet search engine, will close a business that sells advertising space in newspapers, saying the effort failed to deliver the impact it wanted.

The program, which had attracted more than 800 U.S. newspapers since it began in 2006, will stop selling ads on Feb. 28, Google said today on its blog. The ad sales will continue until March 31 for customers who already had campaigns booked.

“Some advertisers have seen good results,” Spencer Spinnell, director of Google Print Ads, wrote on the company blog. “But as we grow, it is important that we focus on products that can benefit the most people and solve the most important problems.”

I would like to address the last statement here. This is so true. As a business you should be interested in solving problems for your customers and doing that with a newspaper ad just doesn't cut it anymore. Search is where it is at and blogs are the way to address your customers concerns directly. I actually find it ironic that the explanation for the shut down of Google Print Ads was actually addressed in their blog.

The point here really goes back to a post I put up earlier today on budget and where priorities fall. Put a corporate blog at the top of the list. if you don't have a blog for your business start a new business blog today.

The future is headed in this direction. You need to focus some urgency to your search strategies and leave the newspaper for the wolves. If it isn't growing your business STOP SPENDING MONEY ON IT!!

No Need To Freeze

Wednesday, January 21, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

Listen up all of you online marketers....just because it is cold out doesn't mean you need to freeze. According to all of the news stories and documentaries on high mountain exploration I have read, nothing good can come from freezing. Most common effect from freezing is frostbite next to death. Either result is not one that I would imagine your business is eager to experience.

Yesterday was an interesting day. A huge stock market drop and a brand new President. Unfortunately the day was reflected through the reaction of many businesses and their decisions to "freeze" their marketing budgets. Multiple times yesterday I had conversations with companies who have decided to cut or "freeze" budgets and I just don't get it. We have already addressed what happens when you freeze so what is happening here? Are we all just setting ourselves up for death?

The absolute way to avoid death via freezing is we need to layer. We need to strategically layer. We need a base layer, a shell, and an outer layer. We need to be ready to deal with all types of conditions. We need to be able to roll with the unforeseen conditions that we all know are not anywhere near being passed us yet.

You may be able to sense a little frustration in my tone today and that is valid. I am frustrated at the fact that yesterday I spoke to 5-6 different companies who may never make it off the mountain because they aren't preparing for their trip strategically. It is unfortunate.

In tough times we need to incorporate all strategies that are a must for survival and in this day and age if attention is not given to your online strategy and presence you will surely suffer. Business Blogging is one of these strategies. Incorporate it and embrace it. Blog for SEO, blog for acquisition, blog for ROI....let your blog act as many layers all at once.....do whatever you can to keep your business moving forward.

But please please please whatever you do.....don't freeze.

Why Are YOU Starting A Blog?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

My charge for you today is to really think about WHY you are starting a blog. As some of you know I recently started a blog on one of the free platforms out there and I have been blogging about my free blog set up process on my Compendium blog. So far it has been o.k. A few challenges here and there but nothing too difficult to over come. The reason I can say that is because the obstacles I have faced so far have been around the bells and whistles of the blog....NOT the optimization of the blog.

I actually started the blog for my wife to be able to post family updates and communicate with her network of friends that share her same enjoyment of scrapbooking. The intent of this blog was NOT for her to make money with her blog. If that was the case, my tune may sound a little bit different when it comes to the success of my blog set with my measure of success based on search ranking.

If you plan on using your blog for an author-centric purpose these platforms do the trick. Minimal fees for your bells and whistles, help from multiple forums that involve others who have or are experiencing the same problems as you, some custom design and templates if you are willing to add the charge to your bill...and most importantly a spot, one single spot, on the web to communicate your thought.

NOW.......

On the other hand if you are a business who wants to leverage their blog for SEO and ROI, a business who needs ultimate control over content and messaging, or, you are a business that doesn't want or care to spend the time manually managing a blog to drive the business you need to substantiate the effort then you need a different type of solution. You need a Compendium solution.

I have had a lot of people ask me since I set up her blog "Jim you work for an awesome blogging company, why didn't you just use Compendium for her blog?" My answer to that is "it isn't the proper tool for her need. I wouldn't use a flat head screw driver to turn a phillips head screw." It's not that I couldn't, it is that it would take a really long time and chances are the screw would be crooked and not as tight as it could be if you know what I mean.

The point here is before you begin blogging, before you pigeon hole yourself with the wrong type of solution, understand what you are building. Then you can make sure to use the right tools for the job.

Blog Posting Challenge

Monday, January 19, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

As a company that obviously embraces corporate blogging and the power that blogging can bring to your SEO rankings we often times take part in interoffice blogging challenges. These challenges are usually arranged by our Marketing Director and they revolve around the concept that content drives traffic. So as you can imagine the end objective is for the company to produce as much content as we can over a months time.

Many employees with Compendium Blogware have discussed this bubble chart in the past which explains why content creation is soooo important. The more frequently a company can update content then the better ranking they can expect to see.

If we win as a department the prize is minimal and we are allowed bragging rights for the next month but it is fun to compete. Our content creation does more than create pipeline to drive our business, it creates culture...internally and externally.

Here at Compendium we are passionate about what we do because we know it works. We work hard and play hard and the majority of the time the highlights of our days are centered around the good conversations we have with those potential customers that really understand the value that a blog could bring to their business.

Free-Blog-Platform.edu Part 3

Thursday, January 15, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

Plug-ins.....let's talk plug-ins. So as I continue on with adding functionality to my free blog I am finding that plug-ins are now becoming somewhat of an issue. Not a big issue, but for a blogging platform that is supposed to be easy to use I seem to be running into obstacles that tell me otherwise.

There are tons of plug-ins out there...some are free...some are not (see part 2). The problem I am running into is that it is the blog hosting that makes a difference in how plug-ins can be used.

Once again this is one more thing that Compendium users do not have to worry about. We host these blogs and plug-ins are a non issue, they don't even exist. I always hear "well I can add whatever functionality I need with plug-ins". Well I say, why do you want to worry about that at all. Who needs plug-ins to do what your client success manager can make happen for you. Yep you heard right, we do this. You right content, we manage your success with processes that go way beyond those pesky plug-ins.

We may not be free but we are easy to use and convenient for your business.

Free-Blog-Platform.edu Part 2

Thursday, January 8, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

O.k. so I have been moving along with the free blog set up and things have been going o.k. but what I am finding is "free blog" was short lived. As someone who is decently familiar with all types of blogging platforms out there and have a background with CSS I decided I would do some custom things to make the blog look a little bit less like a template and more like MY blog. It was going just fine until I couldn't actually publish it without paying for it. I wasn't mad but I also sure as heck was not going to pay extra for this. Being a personal blog I don't really have a "brand" to adhere to that would demand custom CSS. But for a new business blog, brand identity is still very important. Problem with not paying is that my blog now probably looks like all of the other blogs out there that utilize the same blog template.

Most businesses probably wouldn't have a problem paying the fee to be able to allow custom CSS, as it is nominal, but it really is more so the principle behind the matter. Is it really free? NO! Now not only have I invested time into the set up and the content writing but I need to invest more to allow for the development I invested time in to be effective. Nickles, dimes, and time investment all add up especially when business time is being spent to do things that others that are more capable can do for you.

How nice would it have been if my Client Success manager with my "free" blog could have helped me with my publishing issue...oh wait.....I don't have a Client Success Manager. I bet they will let me pay for support though!

to be continued............................

Free-Blog-Platform.edu Part 1

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 by Jim Hyslop

As somebody who discusses the differences between Compendium Blogware and all of the free blogging platforms out there on a daily basis I decided it might do me some good to actually set up a free blog to really be able to discuss the differences in depth.

I find myself in hours worth of conversation every week revolving around "what makes Compendium SOOOOOOOOO different than some of the free platforms" Well from here on out I am going to be answering that question in depth. I will be keeping you "posted" on my progress and speed bumps throughout all of my set up with the blog and the way it relates and differs from what we do here at Compendium.

Free is one thing......easy to use, easy to set up, easy to manage is another thing. I know a lot of those I talk to have already invested a lot of time into learning about how to blog effectively for your business or may even be spending time on a free blog right now that is ineffective. Remember that invested time equates to lost money as well.

Hopefully this series of posts will not only educate but also help those that are thinking about setting up a blog understand the ins and outs of what really needs to be done to leverage the blog as an effective tool for your business to grow through on line customer acquisition and lead generation.

Stay tuned....we have only just begun...............

Blogging for Candy Canes

Friday, December 5, 2008 by Jim Hyslop

Jason, one of our marketing interns, came by my desk today and told me that I could have a candy cane if I wrote a blog post....so, before digging into my holiday treat I though I should uphold my part of the deal.

You may be thinking about employing some type of corporate blogging strategy yourself right now but are struggling with the idea of "how do I get my employees to blog" .....my answer is.....give them candy.

We all like to be rewarded, and all it took for me to write this post today is a little candy cane. The reason I could equate a candy cane as being a proper reward for my efforts here was because I know how easy it is to write a post. I am not talking about the latest advancement in blogging for SEO, or the way that blogs can drive serious ROI for your business. I am talking about writing a post using an easy to use blog software for candy. Pretty simple. This post has taken me 10 minutes and I am now off to enjoy my treat. Happy Holidays!

Oh yeah, for those of you that are still worried about motivating people to blog you may want to consider chocolate as well........who doesn't love chocolate!!!

Hey Bill- This Post Is For You

Monday, November 24, 2008 by Jim Hyslop

I received a complaint over the weekend from one of my RSS subscribers that I hadn't put a new piece of content up in a while so Bill...this post is for you!

A lot of conversations I have had recently revolve around the question..."how do we use blogging effectively as a business that may not be in a vertical that caters to blogging?"

My response to that is "there is no such thing".

If you have a business that needs to make money then you should be blogging. People are looking for you. These people may not read blogs, or like blogs, or subscribe to blogs...but they do search for things online. They are looking for you and business blogs are one of the most affordable and effective tools you can use allow your company the ability to be found.

If you don't show up how will you ever talk to the people that ARE looking for you? If you are a small business, a small business blog can serve as the perfect multi-tool for your online marketing but you need to leverage it for every kind of value it can bring. The beauty of it is if you are a large enterprise it can do the same thing. Scale your blogs to your objectives and you will see results. It is that simple.

Blogs for businesses should serve the purpose of ROI...if you are a business who is not concerned about ROI but instead want to blog only for communicating I suggest taking a look at the big picture and ask this question "how will my blog drive my main business objective of realizing profit". Let your blog work for you from all facets.

If you think your business is in a verticle that may not cater to blogging you may want to re-examine how your business is evolving in this world to continue focusing on profitability. I think you will then realize a blog can be a powerful weapon in your arsenal to accomplish more than JUST communication.

Blogging as a Tool for SEO

Monday, November 10, 2008 by Jim Hyslop

Well, the title of my blog is "Blogging as a Tool for SEO" so I thought I should put up a post pertaining to this topic. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to talk with one of my good friends and recent Compendium clients about blogging and the true searchability that it can bring to a company. As we were discussing I decided to do my own little test search...for my own blog....the results were amazing.

Showing up in the number 2 and 3 spots in the organic listings of Google...out of 14,500,000 links was my blog. Now, any of you who possibly follow my blog know that I am diligent with my blogging effort but I am not the best blogger in the world. I have been blogging for about 6 months on Compendium Blogware's platform and I would say over the past 6 months I have really invested about 2-3 hours total time into contributing content to my blog.

My point today is that this is not rocket science and it doesn't need to be over thought. Blogging IS a perfect tool for SEO and anybody can do it..I am living proof. If you can support decent content with the proper blogging architecture you can create an effective solution for building community, communicating with current customers, search engine optimization, new customer acquisition,and conversion for ROI all in one single spot. If you don't believe me...try it...it works!

Getting Straight To Your Answers!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 by Jim Hyslop

As I was on my way into work this morning I happened across a new radio spot promoting Yahoo Search....the final tag at the end of the spot stated "Switch to Yahoo! Search and get straight to your ANSWERS".....Finally, that is what I am talking about....get them to the answers not to your website!

On a daily basis I discuss the goals of the search engines and how they strive to deliver the most relevant information to the searcher. This is the platform of thought on which Compendium was built. If you are a business that can deliver relevant information to those who are looking for you then the engines WANT to put you at the top of the organic search rankings. It isn't magic, it is relevance. As the engines crawl the internet they are asking one question to every page they come across and that question is "does this page contain relevant information to the searchers inquiry?" If the answer is yes you get ranked. So as an organization how can you continually provide this relevant information? Blog about it!!!

By using business blogging software you can allow your organization to provide answers and solutions without spending a lot of business time to do so. The search engines love blogs because they are so easy to update and they can contain lots of relevant information on many specific topics. The thing is, to use a blog effectively, you need to make sure the solutions you are providing can be found through search by topic NOT by author. Organize your content correctly and you will have very happy searchers who now understand exactly how your company can help them.

Anybody can blog but the key for an organization is to leverage the proper blog tools to blog effectively.

Get your customers straight to the answers they are looking for...put them in a blog!