Create a Business Blog
Marketing your business in a tough economy is vital to earning customers. Many business owners make the decision to cut marketing expenses when times get tough. The truth is that marketing is more critical to your success than ever. The focus needs to be getting more out of each dollar you and invest.
By creating a business Blog with Compendium Blogware you are able to humanize your marketing and organize your content for SEO. Now when a qualified customer Googles a keyword phrase that is tied to your business, you can earn a first page position. Not pay for page one on Google... Earn it.
As we head into November and the holiday season, there is no better time than now to take advantage of the power of business blogging with Compendium. It doesn't matter what stage you are in your search for a more effective solution to drive customer aquisition and lead generation. We are here to provide consultation and get you a step ahead of your competitors who consider cutting back as a strategy.
Click to the right and let's get the conversation started about creating a business blog, Blogging for SEO, and winning search through Blogging.
Posted Thursday, October 30, 2008 by
Brian McKay
Let's humanize our marketing today, and start telling stories that show that there are actually real human beings that add significant value to our business. The photo to the left is me at The Bubble Room on Captiva Island. This destination is one of the most unique places I've ever been. The entire theme is cheesy old school Christmas decor, at a restaurant in a sunny and warm vacation spot.
On another trip through Cumberland Valley Pennsylvania I ran into McKay's Cave. This bar had an extremely unique logo, and it had the same last name as me so I will never forget it.
When you choose to Blog for SEO and tell your story, use pictures and anecdotes from your life that tell the human side of your business. We can share spreadsheets and hard core business principles anytime. When do we have the opportunity to show that real, fun, and intelligent people fuel the success of our businesss.
When you choose to earn customers through Blogging you are taking action, and taking control of how people will find you on search engines, and how they will view your business. I've had the opportunity to travel and experience some very unique places, and by sharing those stories with you it reinforces that my experience has relevance to you and your business far beyond business Blogging and earning customers through Blogging.
Posted Wednesday, October 29, 2008 by
jennifer buscher
It seems more and more people are saying, “you know the
economy is down, budgets are tight”. I
realize this is an issue whether you are a small company or a large
enterprise. However, there are plenty of
businesses that succeed and grow in tough times.
I’ve talked to many different companies since I started with Compendium and overall it seems the larger companies that I’ve talked to are stuck in the Stone Age when it comes to internet marketing compared to smaller companies that tend to be much more innovative and smart about their marketing dollars. I realize this is a blanket statement, but I’ve been shocked by some of the immeasurable tactics and tools companies use to drive business. It seems that as budgets get tighter, it’s a knee jerk reaction to want consistency and use old partners, vendors, and systems. I think this is business suicide! Successful companies find ways to win and thrive despite the economy. Now, is the perfect time to try new, trackable lead generation initiatives. Hmmm.... business blogging comes to mind!
I realize that blogging as an online acquisition and lead generation tool may seem like an “unconventional” SEO strategy to many people, but results are transparent. If 80-90% of people use search engines in their buying decisions then it is really important to be found on keywords related to your products and services. There are many inherent qualities about blogs that the search engines like, but our easy to use blog software actually organizes blog content in such a way that makes them more searchable.
Posted Wednesday, October 29, 2008 by
Kaila Woodside
Trying to get into a routine is always tough - and I didn't realize how tough incorporating something new was until Monday night. On Monday I adopted a 9 week old black lab.
After much consideration (and a borderline identity crisis from the pup) I finally named her Willow Ophelia Woodside-Garrison. A mouthful, huh? More than a mouthful - this little sweet face has stirred up my routine like nothing else. Change of sleeping patterns,how long I can stay out after work, where/when I eat, etc etc etc!! But we are slowing getting into a consistent routine.
Okay okay okay.. I am trying REALLY hard to incorporate my excitement of my new pup into a blog post... so I will get to the point: have to create a routine for blogging. Especially when you are blogging for SEO!
Here are a few quick tips:
1) set a time for blogging - mornings are better for most
2) turn off distractions - IM, email, phones - just concentrate on blogging!
3) incorporate your passions - make the blog post fun and personal!
4) check your feeds/google alerts - get some fodder for those blogs with up to date industry information.
5) set a time limit - if you cant create the blog in 15 minutes.. its probably too long and too verbose. cut it off and stick with something simple!
Cheers!
After much consideration (and a borderline identity crisis from the pup) I finally named her Willow Ophelia Woodside-Garrison. A mouthful, huh? More than a mouthful - this little sweet face has stirred up my routine like nothing else. Change of sleeping patterns,how long I can stay out after work, where/when I eat, etc etc etc!! But we are slowing getting into a consistent routine.Okay okay okay.. I am trying REALLY hard to incorporate my excitement of my new pup into a blog post... so I will get to the point: have to create a routine for blogging. Especially when you are blogging for SEO!
Here are a few quick tips:
1) set a time for blogging - mornings are better for most
2) turn off distractions - IM, email, phones - just concentrate on blogging!
3) incorporate your passions - make the blog post fun and personal!
4) check your feeds/google alerts - get some fodder for those blogs with up to date industry information.
5) set a time limit - if you cant create the blog in 15 minutes.. its probably too long and too verbose. cut it off and stick with something simple!
Cheers!
Posted Tuesday, October 28, 2008 by
Brian McKay
Doug Karr is a Blogging Evangelist. I'm serious, he's actually our Vice President of Blogging Evangelism. As you work to earn customers through Blogging, we continually work with clients on best practices for content creation.
It is way easier than you think, and Doug has provided a list of over 200 Blog post ideas for your business. Check out his powerful post here:
200 Blog Post Ideas for your Company Blog!
When you Blog for SEO, having a Blogging platform that is built to be found on search engines is key. Once you've read Doug's post, click to the right to begin a conversation with Compendium and begin realizing the SEO and customer aquisition value of Blogging.
It is way easier than you think, and Doug has provided a list of over 200 Blog post ideas for your business. Check out his powerful post here:
200 Blog Post Ideas for your Company Blog!
When you Blog for SEO, having a Blogging platform that is built to be found on search engines is key. Once you've read Doug's post, click to the right to begin a conversation with Compendium and begin realizing the SEO and customer aquisition value of Blogging.
Posted Tuesday, October 28, 2008 by
Douglas Karr
Traveling amongst your favorite sites and blogs can take quite a bit of time each day. Thankfully, modern browsers have RSS subscription capabilities built right in. If you're using Microsoft Office 2007, it's easy to subscribe to your favorite corporate blogs. Utilizing Google's Blogsearch, you can even subscribe to your keywords or key phrases in searches of blogs on the Internet.
If you're using Outlook 2007, the first step is to set the default program options in IE7 or Firefox to open RSS feeds with Outlook rather than the browser or other program. Open Tools > Options and select the Applications tab. Scroll to Web Feed and select other for the program and navigate to Outlook.exe (Usually C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice12Outlook.exe)
Now you can easily subscribe to RSS simply by clicking the orange RSS button viewable in the Address Bar:
You'll then be presented with a subscription option in Outlook:
Now, when those sites publish their content, I am instantly updated within Outlook and need not navigate back to the website. One downer with Outlook, though, is that it won't play audio nor video in an RSS feed like Google Reader does. I hope Microsoft expands the flexibility of Outlook in the future to support those features.
If you're using Outlook 2007, the first step is to set the default program options in IE7 or Firefox to open RSS feeds with Outlook rather than the browser or other program. Open Tools > Options and select the Applications tab. Scroll to Web Feed and select other for the program and navigate to Outlook.exe (Usually C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice12Outlook.exe)
Now you can easily subscribe to RSS simply by clicking the orange RSS button viewable in the Address Bar:
You'll then be presented with a subscription option in Outlook:
Now, when those sites publish their content, I am instantly updated within Outlook and need not navigate back to the website. One downer with Outlook, though, is that it won't play audio nor video in an RSS feed like Google Reader does. I hope Microsoft expands the flexibility of Outlook in the future to support those features.
Posted Thursday, October 23, 2008 by
Kristen Raves
Google is constantly changing their algorithm, and no wonder. The Internet is changing all the time and they have to stay up with them to stay on top. There has been quite a bit of debate around which Google sees as more important, relevance or linking? While linking is important and I do it all the time, it is no longer a "deal sealer" if you are trying to get high page rank in Google's search engine. Spammers have come out of the wood works and figured out how to manipulate this and Google has done something about it. Their algorithm takes into consideration more seriously the importance of relevance. If you are updating your website or blogsite with topics that people are searching more often than your competitors, you are going to win the search.
So, why not blog for seo (search engine optimization) and win rankings that way? It is a great idea that we do everyday at Compendium Blogware. After reading a great article by Kaila Colbin from Media Post, I am reaffirmed in my faith of blogs. Although we do still think it is important to get people to link to you we agree with Eric Schmidt (Google's CEO), "The company's algorithms are trying to find the most relevant search results, after all, not the sites that best game the system. The fundamental way to increase your rank is to increase your relevance."
Our blogging platform optimizes all of these ideas. Additionally, it gives you a place to share with others while winning page rank in the search engines.
Posted Thursday, October 23, 2008 by
Jim Hyslop
Well, I would imagine that most of you reading this post are currently in the middle of figuring out how a corporate blog is going to help your company in 2009 with all of your new social media initiatives. Search no further, as the answers are all around you.
I daily talk to Marketing Directors who are researching corporate blogging software to gather more information on how the blog can help them create community to drive business. If you take anything from this post remember this. People can only JOIN your community if they can GET to your community. As a company you should let your blog work for both. You must be found for people to participate in interacting with you. So, your first order of priority with your blog is making sure to blog for search engine optimization. If you can leverage a blog to allow you to live at the top of the organic search rankings the community aspect will follow.
The benefits of blogging can trump many other types of on-line strategies because of their ability to aid a company with all of their main initiatives at once. We need to win search...done. We need to relate to customers on a personal level....done. We need to create community....done. We need to grow our search traffic.....done. We need to drive our bottom line...done. We need an affordable on-line marketing solution...DONE. All can be accomplished if the blogging architecture is correct.
Don't fear the blog, embrace it. Stop researching, stop worrying, stop thinking about "I hope this works". Embrace a blogging strategy and the desired results will follow. It is time to get to work on your business, it is time to concentrate on return..it is time to blog.
I daily talk to Marketing Directors who are researching corporate blogging software to gather more information on how the blog can help them create community to drive business. If you take anything from this post remember this. People can only JOIN your community if they can GET to your community. As a company you should let your blog work for both. You must be found for people to participate in interacting with you. So, your first order of priority with your blog is making sure to blog for search engine optimization. If you can leverage a blog to allow you to live at the top of the organic search rankings the community aspect will follow.
The benefits of blogging can trump many other types of on-line strategies because of their ability to aid a company with all of their main initiatives at once. We need to win search...done. We need to relate to customers on a personal level....done. We need to create community....done. We need to grow our search traffic.....done. We need to drive our bottom line...done. We need an affordable on-line marketing solution...DONE. All can be accomplished if the blogging architecture is correct.
Don't fear the blog, embrace it. Stop researching, stop worrying, stop thinking about "I hope this works". Embrace a blogging strategy and the desired results will follow. It is time to get to work on your business, it is time to concentrate on return..it is time to blog.
Posted Thursday, October 23, 2008 by
Brian McKay
Fast Company is my favorite magazine, and in the November 2008 issue there is a great article on MTV's Digital Makeover. How does this relate to earning customers through blogging? I'm getting there. Here is the excerpt that I want to discuss:
"Unfortunately for Toffler, a substantial portion of MTV fans watched Rogen and Franco's stunt online -- and many not at MTV.com. As he would discover the next day, this year's Movie Awards reached about 3 million viewers, an 18% decline from the previous year and about half the audience from a few years ago. Parent company Viacom's Media Networks Division -- which includes Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and BET as well as the MTV channels -- increased its revenue by 12% in 2007. But MTV has been under pressure, as the attention of its 12- to 24-year-old demographic wanders to online media and video games. The channel's overall ratings fell to an average of 920,000 prime-time viewers in the first half of this year, a 15% drop from 2004."
Believe it or not, MTV was not forwarding thinking enough to realize the power of the Internet to their brand. You are researching Blogging for SEO right now, and you are on the verge of being part of a smarter more direct way to position your brand online. Winning search is within your grasp with Compendium, and by using our affordable Blogging software you take control and reclaim control of your marketing budget.
MTV has traditionally been the forwarding thinking rebel of the TV world, now we read about how they missed the mark when it came to online strategy. That fact that you are reading this Blog proves that you are that close to making the smart decision to move forward.
"Unfortunately for Toffler, a substantial portion of MTV fans watched Rogen and Franco's stunt online -- and many not at MTV.com. As he would discover the next day, this year's Movie Awards reached about 3 million viewers, an 18% decline from the previous year and about half the audience from a few years ago. Parent company Viacom's Media Networks Division -- which includes Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and BET as well as the MTV channels -- increased its revenue by 12% in 2007. But MTV has been under pressure, as the attention of its 12- to 24-year-old demographic wanders to online media and video games. The channel's overall ratings fell to an average of 920,000 prime-time viewers in the first half of this year, a 15% drop from 2004."
Believe it or not, MTV was not forwarding thinking enough to realize the power of the Internet to their brand. You are researching Blogging for SEO right now, and you are on the verge of being part of a smarter more direct way to position your brand online. Winning search is within your grasp with Compendium, and by using our affordable Blogging software you take control and reclaim control of your marketing budget.
MTV has traditionally been the forwarding thinking rebel of the TV world, now we read about how they missed the mark when it came to online strategy. That fact that you are reading this Blog proves that you are that close to making the smart decision to move forward.
Posted Wednesday, October 22, 2008 by
Brian McKay
This statement is simply NOT true. Blogging is an essential piece to a well prepared internet marketing strategy. Blogging allows your business to earn customers by having a consistent voice on a topic relevant to your industry. Most importantly, Blogging is a proven way to be found on the search engines when properly implemented.
textual content still thrives on the Internet due to the fact that it is easily indexed by the search engines. When you Blog for SEO your presence becomes textual content that can be indexed. Successful Internet marketing is about being found by highly qualified people and then engaging those people in a conversation that leads to a relationship that leads to your bottom line.
Earning customers through Blogging will work for your business because you'll be leveraging the same stories that keep your current customers happy. You will also be delivering the type of specific solutions that potential customers are searching for right now on Google.
If you're questioning whether Blogging will work for your business, give us a shout at Compendium and we'll get the conversation started.
textual content still thrives on the Internet due to the fact that it is easily indexed by the search engines. When you Blog for SEO your presence becomes textual content that can be indexed. Successful Internet marketing is about being found by highly qualified people and then engaging those people in a conversation that leads to a relationship that leads to your bottom line.
Earning customers through Blogging will work for your business because you'll be leveraging the same stories that keep your current customers happy. You will also be delivering the type of specific solutions that potential customers are searching for right now on Google.
If you're questioning whether Blogging will work for your business, give us a shout at Compendium and we'll get the conversation started.
Posted Tuesday, October 21, 2008 by
Ellie Cummins
Today on the Profit From Business Blogging webinar Chris Baggott and Debbie Weil spent some time talking about who should and could blog for your company. Should all employees participate in your company blog platform? Should C-level people blog? Are marketers the onlyl ones doing this? Well, I think it depends. It depends on your company blogging strategy, your goals (to blog for search engine optimization, show voice in various levels of the company, build your brand, etc...). However based on both contributors comments today really any strategy can work. Whether you have two or twenty bloggers, you can find employees to post, some of whom may already be blogging and are excited to share why they love their workplace. It was also discussed that employee bloggers can be up to five time more likeable and engaging than a C-level (perhaps a ghostwriter) is. Not onlyl does freeing your employees to blog increase your chances of engaging your searchers it will also make your company look good in the eyes of the public and help your employees warm and fuzzy about their jobs. Who doesn't want that warm fuzzy feeling!? Compendium has freed me to blog and I the warm fuzziness is certainly coming my way.
Posted Tuesday, October 21, 2008 by
Brian McKay
Blogging for SEO can be equated with Blogging for sales. Your business needs to be aggressive in earning new business in the current economy. Having feet on the street is how most B2B operations pay the bills.
What about feet on the search engines? Where is your sales team now?!
Let's call our guy to the left here Closer Pete. Pete is a customer centric seller, he can really get to root of a customers problem and make the most of your companies offerings. His insights have been pure gold for your bottom line.
Why not get Closer Pete Blogging for your business?
With Compendium, Closer Pete can get maximum value for all of the customer success stories he is able to share on behalf of your company. With his keyword rich content saturating the search engines, businesses with similar problems will find your Blog through search, and click on a call to action. (similar to mine on the right there)
Now Closer Pete is closing on the street and Blogging for SEO back at the office. You just multiplied the power this one individual will have on the health of your business.
To unleash your search engine sales machine click to the right and we'll get you a free Blogging consultation to get you started. Let us show you how to Blog for sales!
What about feet on the search engines? Where is your sales team now?!
Let's call our guy to the left here Closer Pete. Pete is a customer centric seller, he can really get to root of a customers problem and make the most of your companies offerings. His insights have been pure gold for your bottom line.
Why not get Closer Pete Blogging for your business?
With Compendium, Closer Pete can get maximum value for all of the customer success stories he is able to share on behalf of your company. With his keyword rich content saturating the search engines, businesses with similar problems will find your Blog through search, and click on a call to action. (similar to mine on the right there)
Now Closer Pete is closing on the street and Blogging for SEO back at the office. You just multiplied the power this one individual will have on the health of your business.
To unleash your search engine sales machine click to the right and we'll get you a free Blogging consultation to get you started. Let us show you how to Blog for sales!
Posted Sunday, October 19, 2008 by
Brian McKay
Blogging to earn customers means knowing what a Blog actually is. Here is where traditional definitions and mine will differ, but here we go anyway. Here's what Wikipedia calls it:
A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Now it's my turn...
That definition of Blogging doesn't even begin to describe the power of how we deal with it at Compendium. Blogging for business takes all that's powerful about a Blog and makes it uber relevant for search engines to drive potential customers to your business. It empowers you and your team to attack important keywords, and make them your own. Google becomes your yellow pages, your newspaper, your television, and your billboards. When you Blog for SEO, you take control of the battle to win a top 10 listing in Google.
To put it simply, a traditional Blog is a Dodge Neon, a Compendium Blog is a Mac Truck.
At the end of the day, what would you want your business to be driving?
A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Now it's my turn...
That definition of Blogging doesn't even begin to describe the power of how we deal with it at Compendium. Blogging for business takes all that's powerful about a Blog and makes it uber relevant for search engines to drive potential customers to your business. It empowers you and your team to attack important keywords, and make them your own. Google becomes your yellow pages, your newspaper, your television, and your billboards. When you Blog for SEO, you take control of the battle to win a top 10 listing in Google.
To put it simply, a traditional Blog is a Dodge Neon, a Compendium Blog is a Mac Truck.
At the end of the day, what would you want your business to be driving?
Posted Sunday, October 19, 2008 by
Brian McKay
The next time I hear about someone spending a fortune on Yellow Pages I'm going to be sick. Advertising written on paper is a one way street. It is not a conversation, or a dynamic way to earn new customers. By Blogging for SEO you become far more relevant than AAAAAA Plumbing or AAAAA plus towing service.
Business Blogging is about becoming relevant where billions of people are searching everyday for very specific problems that your business can solve. Actually, you are the perfect match for the problem they have. Oh, and here's the kicker, they live within 5 miles of your location!
Wait, that story is not relevant. You aren't trying to Blog for SEO. You've already burned your marketing budget on "traditional" advertising. Or are you one of those businesses that just has to wait for the economy to turn and tighten up on that marketing budget. Please tell me that is not you. If you are reading this, I'm confident that you are not. Let's hope your competitors are!
Blogging to earn customers means profit for your business, not expense. Learn how to make an educated decision with this powerful tool to be found on Google. The most relevant directory in the entire world, and definitely in your neighborhood. Here's a great first step:
Profit from Blogging Webinar! (Click it)
Business Blogging is about becoming relevant where billions of people are searching everyday for very specific problems that your business can solve. Actually, you are the perfect match for the problem they have. Oh, and here's the kicker, they live within 5 miles of your location!
Wait, that story is not relevant. You aren't trying to Blog for SEO. You've already burned your marketing budget on "traditional" advertising. Or are you one of those businesses that just has to wait for the economy to turn and tighten up on that marketing budget. Please tell me that is not you. If you are reading this, I'm confident that you are not. Let's hope your competitors are!
Blogging to earn customers means profit for your business, not expense. Learn how to make an educated decision with this powerful tool to be found on Google. The most relevant directory in the entire world, and definitely in your neighborhood. Here's a great first step:
Profit from Blogging Webinar! (Click it)
Posted Saturday, October 18, 2008 by
Brian McKay
Really? I mean... Really??
This is an objection to Blogging that we hear far too often. If you knew that business Blogging would drive new customers to your company that you would otherwise never have met, would they have time now?
When you Blog for SEO, it is far easier to get your employees engaged and create relevant Blog content from just about everywhere. From the moment your employees come to work to the moment they clock out they are creating content. Emails, conversations with customers, problem solving, customer testimonials, and the list goes on. You are a content master when it comes to your business!
Blogging to earn customers really works, and when your team finds another great use for the work they are doing everyday, Blogging get's very easy. By being focused on your industry, the content you create will have you Blogging for SEO with every post you submit.
There is profit in Blogging for your business. Click below to join us for our latest Webinar. It will be a great investment of time for you or anyone in your business who is curious about the power of business Blogging.
You’re Invited! New Webinar
Profit from Blogging:
An Exclusive Webinar with Debbie Weil and Chris Baggott
Get the details here!
This is an objection to Blogging that we hear far too often. If you knew that business Blogging would drive new customers to your company that you would otherwise never have met, would they have time now?
When you Blog for SEO, it is far easier to get your employees engaged and create relevant Blog content from just about everywhere. From the moment your employees come to work to the moment they clock out they are creating content. Emails, conversations with customers, problem solving, customer testimonials, and the list goes on. You are a content master when it comes to your business!
Blogging to earn customers really works, and when your team finds another great use for the work they are doing everyday, Blogging get's very easy. By being focused on your industry, the content you create will have you Blogging for SEO with every post you submit.
There is profit in Blogging for your business. Click below to join us for our latest Webinar. It will be a great investment of time for you or anyone in your business who is curious about the power of business Blogging.
You’re Invited! New Webinar
Profit from Blogging:
An Exclusive Webinar with Debbie Weil and Chris Baggott
Get the details here!
Posted Friday, October 17, 2008 by
Jim Hyslop
Well....it happened.....I was one of low men on the totem pole of content contribution last month to our corporate blog. So, instead of making a sour face I am going to take the lemons that were handed to me and make lemonade.
In all seriousness, I don't mind making a blogging example of myself. To use a Blog for SEO one of the most important factors is recency and frequency of updated content. To do that it is no blogging secret that you need to contribute content often. Last month I was a "blogging slacker" and everybody knew it.
One of the biggest problems associated with blogging for many companies is finding the resources. Luckily for me everybody at Compendium has a blog account so last month my teammates carried me.
The real issue for me last month wasn't resource. I had everything I needed to blog. I had top notch blogging creation software, tons of content, and the guidance I needed to make it all work together for search. I just didn't realize how my lack of contribution would result in a lot of blogging mockery when it was announced that I was the low man in front of the entire company. Therefore I personally was really only missing one thing...motivation to blog.
This month I know what my blogging motivation is.
Blogging as a business is fun. Not just because of the ability to share stories like this but also the atmosphere that it creates in the office. It is a good way to create some friendly competition but at the same time leverage a tool that can really drive your business.
Set blogging goals for your business, make it known when people hit those goals,.....AND WHEN THEY DON'T. Most importantly have fun with it!
Cheers to your future Blogging Success!!!
In all seriousness, I don't mind making a blogging example of myself. To use a Blog for SEO one of the most important factors is recency and frequency of updated content. To do that it is no blogging secret that you need to contribute content often. Last month I was a "blogging slacker" and everybody knew it.
One of the biggest problems associated with blogging for many companies is finding the resources. Luckily for me everybody at Compendium has a blog account so last month my teammates carried me.
The real issue for me last month wasn't resource. I had everything I needed to blog. I had top notch blogging creation software, tons of content, and the guidance I needed to make it all work together for search. I just didn't realize how my lack of contribution would result in a lot of blogging mockery when it was announced that I was the low man in front of the entire company. Therefore I personally was really only missing one thing...motivation to blog.
This month I know what my blogging motivation is.
Blogging as a business is fun. Not just because of the ability to share stories like this but also the atmosphere that it creates in the office. It is a good way to create some friendly competition but at the same time leverage a tool that can really drive your business.
Set blogging goals for your business, make it known when people hit those goals,.....AND WHEN THEY DON'T. Most importantly have fun with it!
Cheers to your future Blogging Success!!!
Posted Friday, October 17, 2008 by
Chris Baggott
Meantime, I saw a great post by Gord Hotchkiss yesterday. Gord tells us that most search has nothing to do with Brand and in fact people search hoping for an alternative. If the Brand doesn't show up in the top results, it's probably a lost opportunity:
"When I use a search engine for consumer research, I'm thinking in terms of the specific thing I'm looking for, not a specific brand. Generally, when I start, I will not use a branded search term. I am building a consideration set. Yes, I likely have brands I have an affinity for, but I won't explicitly include them in my query. I'm looking for the search engine to provide me some alternatives to consider. Typically, searchers will look at four to five results before making their selection. These are usually the top sponsored, and the top two or three organic, results. This represents the prime and very limited "shelf space" of the search results page. If a brand appears that the consumer has an existing affinity for, the chances are good that the site will capture a click-through. If the brand doesn't appear, the company has likely lost the opportunity to connect with a consumer that will soon be ready to buy."
Well said Gord, and a great arguement for a widespread corporate blogging strategy focused on search. Blog Companies; meaning organizations that are focused on empowering many if not all of their employees to participate in a passionate, informed dialog about the company, it's products and soultuions will find great success in organic search accross a wide range of topics. The main point is to be human without being too commercial. Another quote from Gords post:
"....the act of searching is done with the left brain. It is a rational, logical interaction, not an emotional one. That's why text-based advertising does well, and graphic or rich media doesn't. We're intellectually engaged in a task, and we're looking for information that will help us succeed in accomplishing that task. We're not looking to be influenced by an emotionally charged message. In fact, we block anything that smacks of overt commercialism or looks like advertising out of our consideration."
This is why business blogging is so powerful. Well organized blog content will not only help you rank highly on the wide range of targeted terms, but blogging win's the engagement (called conversion in the business world) with not-too-commercial human content that talks about the thing I searched on. Learn more about Corporate Blogging Best Practices at Compendium Blogware.
Posted Friday, October 17, 2008 by
Brian McKay
Blogging for SEO requires effort in an area you already know. You don't have to be an Internet marketing professional to win the search engine battle. What you do need is a partner that can take your industry specific knowledge and turn it into keyword rich content to fuel customer acquisition online.
Back in the day the saying, "Don't forget to write!," was made popular as friends and family departed for a long trip. In this economy the same rules apply, but for a different reason. Positioning your business at the intersection of a prospective customer and their search, requires content. Text content is the powerful driver for search relevance. Blogging about what you do, how you do it, and success stories is how you fuel this machine.
Reach out to us at Compendium to learn how to Blog for SEO. This is our business, and we're eager to share our success with you.
Back in the day the saying, "Don't forget to write!," was made popular as friends and family departed for a long trip. In this economy the same rules apply, but for a different reason. Positioning your business at the intersection of a prospective customer and their search, requires content. Text content is the powerful driver for search relevance. Blogging about what you do, how you do it, and success stories is how you fuel this machine.
Reach out to us at Compendium to learn how to Blog for SEO. This is our business, and we're eager to share our success with you.
Posted Thursday, October 16, 2008 by
Chris Baggott
A new study by TopRank asks over 400 marketers about their marketing plans for the next 6 months. The question was: "What 3 internet marketing tactics will you emphasize most in the next 6 months?"
Number one answer across the board was SEO followed by blogging as a close second (36%&33% respectively)
“Corporate Web Site” received only 7% of the votes.
In uncertain times, why does Corporate Blogging and SEO stand out? Well for one, because they are both two sides of the same coin. Corporate blogging has a primary benefit of Search Engine Optimization. Ask almost any respectable Business Blogger and they will tell you that the majority of their traffic comes from search engines.
If you follow this blog, you know I'm kind of a broken record on this point. Everyone searches before they do anything related to a business, product or solution. Organic results carry a lot more credibility, so therefore it's critical that organizations not only target keywords for PPC but do everything they can to legitimately rank on all of their targeted terms orgnaically.
Enterpirse-wide blogging is the means to this end. Business blogging best practice is blog content organized around keywords or topics as opposed to, or including, having that content be author-centric. Success in targeted SEO requires pages that are titled and populated (frequently) with content specific to the single keyword. This requires lots of pages and lots of content. Employees are a great resource for passionat, honest and human content about your business, your solutions, products and customer experience. Free them. But then rather than have content organized around the authors....organize it around the topics...that's what turns normal business blogging into an effective and non-spammy SEO weapon.
Number one answer across the board was SEO followed by blogging as a close second (36%&33% respectively)
“Corporate Web Site” received only 7% of the votes.
In uncertain times, why does Corporate Blogging and SEO stand out? Well for one, because they are both two sides of the same coin. Corporate blogging has a primary benefit of Search Engine Optimization. Ask almost any respectable Business Blogger and they will tell you that the majority of their traffic comes from search engines.
If you follow this blog, you know I'm kind of a broken record on this point. Everyone searches before they do anything related to a business, product or solution. Organic results carry a lot more credibility, so therefore it's critical that organizations not only target keywords for PPC but do everything they can to legitimately rank on all of their targeted terms orgnaically.
Enterpirse-wide blogging is the means to this end. Business blogging best practice is blog content organized around keywords or topics as opposed to, or including, having that content be author-centric. Success in targeted SEO requires pages that are titled and populated (frequently) with content specific to the single keyword. This requires lots of pages and lots of content. Employees are a great resource for passionat, honest and human content about your business, your solutions, products and customer experience. Free them. But then rather than have content organized around the authors....organize it around the topics...that's what turns normal business blogging into an effective and non-spammy SEO weapon.
Posted Wednesday, October 15, 2008 by
Ellie Cummins
What is the key to a successful business blog? Considering I am new to Compendium and the SEO and internet world I am sharing my beginner knowlege here. As we know, the power of the internet for marketers is incredible. Blogging is an incredible solution for businesses looking to win in SEO and get found in organic search resulting in increased lead gnereation. To take it to the next level, business blogging with compendium will produce better blogs and quicker results for your business.
Marketers today are no longer reaching out and often times interupting potential customers, Google and others allow customers to go online and tell us what they are looking for. A marketers job is now to make sure they are the first answer to the customers question, which is the keywords they search. One solution to this is to use pay per click to be the first on the list however research has told us that people click on items in the organic listings near 95% of the time and the paid listings only 5%. Therefore companies need a way to be at the top of that organic list. That is where compendium blogware comes into play. This blog post software will undoubtedly help your company be at the top of organic search listings for key words related to your products and services. So, the first step in successful business blogging? Learn more about Compendium Blogware's SEO blogging solutions for your business and start your business on the path to success.
Marketers today are no longer reaching out and often times interupting potential customers, Google and others allow customers to go online and tell us what they are looking for. A marketers job is now to make sure they are the first answer to the customers question, which is the keywords they search. One solution to this is to use pay per click to be the first on the list however research has told us that people click on items in the organic listings near 95% of the time and the paid listings only 5%. Therefore companies need a way to be at the top of that organic list. That is where compendium blogware comes into play. This blog post software will undoubtedly help your company be at the top of organic search listings for key words related to your products and services. So, the first step in successful business blogging? Learn more about Compendium Blogware's SEO blogging solutions for your business and start your business on the path to success.
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