Why Business Blogging? Because even my grandma surfs the web, and now with the growth in popularity of the netbook, business blogging is only becoming more and more relevant.
With Yellow Pages evening out tables and propping up kids booster seats accross the usa, when will businesses start putting serious marketing dollars online? NOW! Not only the front runners are investing in Blogging anylonger. Check out these two clients of Compendium Blogware for some proof:
Roto RooterCarharttWhether you are working on 24 hour plumbing, outfitting a hard working outdoorsman, or selling retail in your local community. What Blogging offers is relevance in the search engine battle. Your business is in this battle today, whether you like it or not. The question becomes, are you coming to battle with a knife, or with a bazooka!
I wanted to share this article about the power of Blogging to earn customers.
Blogs Outweigh Social Nets on Purchase HelpThe article is further support that Business Blogs are influencing the decisions of consumers in both B2B and B2C marketplaces. Human beings do business with people like them, and appreciate opinions of those whom they align with.
Is a C-level executive any different?
As we all continue the work of sharing our stories to influence consumers on all levels to consider doing business, keep a close eye on how simple blogging software can be a springboard for putting your message in front of the right customer at the moment they are searching for you.
I own a furniture store in Allentown, PA. This store has been in the family for three generations, and now I am President. We have been cable advertisers, had the same 10 billboards, and run ad's off and on in our local newspaper. The reps with each marketing channel have been trusted friends to the family for years now, and they consume nearly all of our budget for marketing and advertising.
I know I need to get a grip on Google, and how our store can capitalize on local search in our area, but who can I trust?
The business owner above is not alone. She is actually mainstream when it comes to SMB's in marketing. Her lack of trust in giving a new opportunity to drive leads to her store has set them in a rut when it comes to sales. There is plenty of branding in her area, but on Google the targeted, measurable, qualified traffic is completely untapped.
This is why we Blog to earn customers, and why Business Blogging is so important for a furniture store in Allentown, PA. Pick whatever city you'd like, and this family owned company exists. The people are genuine, and the stories are rich with tradition, values, and love. Telling that story to the wideset, most relevant, audience possible is what Humanizing your Marketing is all about!
For a moment, take a look at the data, the real results, that businesses are realizing by winning organic search. Then reach out to us at Compendium to learn how Blogging for Search can be a cost effective and fully measurable way to drive foot traffic to your business.
When you Blog for customer acquisition and to win search, the urge to over publish your content becomes a concern. Should I publish my Blog posts to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and any other social media portal that I have membership in?
The answer may be a bit frustrating: It depends.
My friends get irritated by seeing that a large portion of my Tweets are published posts from my business Blog. However, my business Blog has recieved traffic from Twitter that has been business related. So, the question is, what is my motivation on Twitter?
Here is the comfortable solution that I feel best engages and entertains all parties. I am who I am whether at work, play, with my family, or anywhere else. My story and who I am is not conditional based upon what hat I have on. Work, play, father, husband, friend, teacher, student, etc. I will continue to publish my Blog posts to Twitter (and all other social media outposts that I am invovled with) while making the committment to produce updates/content outside of those posts.
I am passionate about my career and Compendium Blogware, so the industry knowledge about business blogging, Blogging for SEO, and developing robust customer acquisition strategies is relevant to those who follow me in any fashion throughout the Web 2.0 sphere. I am also passionate about my family, faith, sports, comedy, 3rd world philanthropy, and being witty. My content creation accross the board is a relfection of my character in any environment. Humanzing your marketing means being real. Even making mistakes.
If you want to see the flow of content from my Blog to Twitter feel free to follow me on Twitter.
No one has time to Blog, or market, or go to networking events, or do anything outside of the blocking and tackling involved in our day-to-day as business professionals. Yet, we must.
Think about all the waste that goes on day to day at the office. How much time is being wasted by excessive use of email? More than you think. What if 10 minutes per day could equal meaningful qualified search engine traffic to your business? What if by using simple blogging software 10 minutes per day your business could be generating qaulified leads through organic search?
That's what we do.
Blogging for SEO is less about rankings on Google, and more about bottomline return on investment. You don't have time for this right now. Two less refreshes on your work inbox per day... Now you have time, with real ROI.
If you are even considering Blogging don't make a decision till you've had a free Blogging consultation with an expert at Compendium Blogware. Social Medi
"Shhhhhhhhhh..... I have my fake spreadsheet up as I watch the NCCA Tournament live on my browser."
If you are serious about humanizing your marketing, remember what it means to be human. At businesses throughout the United States today productivity is slowing to a drip. Where are all those eyeballs? The Internet!
The worlds greatest communications tool is also the worlds greatest distraction. If you Blog for Search and for SEO, you can monetize this space for your business. Pick the keywords that you want to win on the search engines, and apply your relevant knowledge on the topic to reach your target customer.
Most bosses look at how their employees are wasting time on the Internet during the day. Be the boss that figures out how to capitalize on the fact that the same people work at the companies that you want to do business with.
Blogging can be a key customer acquisition strategy in this space, and now, when your key employee brings up that "spreadsheet," pat him on the back and say I've got UNC winning this one.
Wink. Wink.
Most business owners and executives that I have conversations with each day are putting their customer acquisition strategy to heightened scrutiny. Looking to move away from "proven" channels that are no longer the most efficient or cost effective means of generating qualified leads for their sales team.
When you take your value proposition, your core differentiators, to a Blog strategy you've primed the pump to earn new leads. Blogs are a vehicle to easily provide the search engines frequent, relevant, topically focused content that will drive up your natural search rankings.
When your Blog is found on search, having a strong call to action is how you will acquire the user information to have a conversation with a new prospect. This is why earning customers through blogging is a proven method to win the "right" prospects everyday.
If you interested in learning more about the in's and out's of Blogging
Why business blogging you ask? Why humanize your marketing at your company? One reason, is that you can make a difference. Individuals can have a significant impact on your company, and the world.
A great example is being set by Tyson Foods with their Pledge to End Hunger. By going to this site and taking the online pledge, Tyson Foods will donate 35 pounds of food product to food banks:
http://www.pledgetoendhunger.com/This took me less than 30 seconds to do this morning, and now 35 pounds of food are going to be delivered to people in need. Please link to this post, directly to the site, or email to as many people as you can today. 30 seconds to deliver 35 pounds of food to the needy. This is why I love America!
Thank you in advance for taking the pledge, and sharing.
How am I ever going to generate enough content on my Blog to win search? The answer is, that you have generated enough content for years and years worth of search engine optimization that will drive qualified leads. All you have to do is look at the facts.
You know your business better than anyone else (or you should). Here are 200 post ideas that will fuel your Blogging for Search strategyand Humanize your Marketing.
200 Post Ideas -- Act Now!... Someone was just looking for you, are you there?
1
1 Blog post per day
This is the habit that will lead to a customer acquisition strategy that will take your words and turn them into massive net over organic search engine results. Google is inundated with 250 million plus requests everyday for everything under the sun. It only takes 1 to make a play in organic search with simple blogging software from Compendium Blogware.
1 conversion
Turn one of the unique visits to your Compendium Blog into a paying customer and you've experienced the power of organic search to your bottom line.
1 site visitor on your analytics from Compendium
is the equivalent of a visitor to your store, office, or networking interaction. That number 1 is a real live human being who has an interest in whatever keyword phrase they just typed to find you. Their money is the same as a person who hands you a check in your office. Don't discriminate!
1 opportunity to be a leader
Leaders are forward thinking and take meaningful risks with their time, resources, and dollars. Being a leader in winning organic search by Blogging for SEO has cash value today, but that will only increase in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. If you know SEO you realize you can't fake age. So, waiting to get a start is setting you further and further behind.
1 is all it takes.
How often do we buy an experience? Not just like a "vacation" style experience, but a product/service experience. Blogging to earn customers is an ideal way to share the "experience," of your product/service while leveraging local search.
The keyword "Leather Couch Dallas" commands approximately 58 individual searches per month. If you happen to sell leather couches in Dallas, those are 58 potential customers that could be reading about the value of shopping at your store. This is why we always emphasize blogging for rankings at Compendium.
There is affordable blogging software that will earn you organic search traffic by sharing your workday experiences. It doesn't have to be about furniture, it can be about whatever products/services that you offer. You are literally creating content that can win you search every minute of the day.
Here is my parting shot as it pertains to Blogging for SEO, or to earn organic search traffic. The keyword, "septic tank overflow" earns approximately 240 unique searches per month.
I wonder what they are looking for...
Seth Godin has wisely said that, "Consumers believe stories. Without this belief, there is no marketing."
The question I pose to you is, "who is telling your story?" If you are not writing it, sharing your experiences, crafting a narrative around your main competitive advantages, and simply becoming more than needle in a haystack who is? This is yet another case, not only for business to business blogging, but for Blogging for SEO (search engine optimization) and Blogging for rankings.
We've already established that Google is the superhighway where humans of all shapes and socioeconomic stature are looking for... Well... Just about everything! What do I have to do to find you? When (and if) I find you, what will engage me enough to consider a conversation with you?
If you run an independant paint store, jewerly shop, or a glass manufacturing company, no one is more capable of telling your story, what makes you special, than YOU!
I would like to personally have a conversation with any of you who read this, and would like to engage in a conversation about how Compendium Blogware can leverage your story to drive qualified organic search traffic.
The shrinking world we live in. While listening to NPR this morning the reporter delivered news on the global economy. The theme was "shrinking." As I jumped on the elevator this morning to head to the office, I shared a quick convo with a woman who moved her offices, to "shrink" her practice. This shrinking in a lot of cases is leaving customers without a provider. This is when smart hard working marketers can make a mint.
The need for most products and services has not diminished, it's the collective psyche of businesses around the world that has been altered. The question I'm posing to you is, instead of tying your stomach in a knot over customer attrition at your business, how are you acting on the same problem your competitor is having?
Decision makers in the household and at the office are online using search everyday to find new options for suppliers and better deals on a giant package of toilet paper. The data around the volume of search for keywords and phrases is public and available to all comers. If there is a more economical way to leverage SEO to win customers from competitors, I haven't found it yet.
Blogging for SEO is a turnkey way to show ROI from your first play in optimizing search to earn customers. There is affordable blogging software with all of the built in consultation necessary to realize ROI for small businesses and enterprises alike.
Customer attrition is a real issue right now, are you addressing your problem by capitalizing on the same problem your competitor is having?
Rand Fishkin, of SEOmoz, recently wrote about the power of search versus the power of social media on his blog.
Here were some of the highlights:Social media has emerged as a "next big thing," but in fact, it's been around since the dawn of the Internet. Forums are social media. EBay is social media. Craigslist and Epinions and Friendster (remember those guys?) are social media, too. There's definitely a lot to like, but I worry that businesses and marketers are going crazy over social right now simply because it's hot. This is almost always a bad idea - go after a new channel because there's value, a path to revenue and a solid set of tactics that fit with your overall strategy, not just because it's in the press all the time. (
full post)
Please read the bold line again... This is a conversation I am having nearly everyday with SEO's and Internet marketers. Community, engagement, and interaction without a scalable model to drive traffic is haphazard marketing. It is putting the cart well before the horse.
SEO Techniques are necessary to drive organic search traffic to your Web 2.0 sites. All too often marketers get enamored with "shiny object syndrome" (I've been guilty more than once), and forget how critical traffic generation is to the success of their strategy.
If you are considering how you are going to apply SEO Techniques to your community or social networking site, give us a call at Compendium Blogware for a free consultation on how to apply a turnkey approach to driving organic traffic.
You are only as good as the people that drive your company. Ideally, your talent should be passionate and fully buy-in to the goals and culture of your company. If that is true, they all should be blogging on behalf of your company to share that story in a manner that will be relevant to the search engines.
Top talent is expensive to find, but know that top talent use Google everyday always on the look out for new business partners, or even new career opportunities focused on industries and areas that interest them. Your company is special, and when you Blog for search engine rankings the right people can now find you.
I love Chris Baggott's analogy that your website is like planet Earth, and a single blog strategy is like a single satellite driving traffic to your brand. Why not have thousands of satellites?
We have case studies of mom and pop companies realizing ROI with their Blogging campaigns. Blogs can be a serious acquisition tool if you leverage the right platform and create content.
Don't get lost in myopic SEO techniques for one site, when you can be casting the wide net over search with a scalable business blog network.
Below is the keyword search volume around
paint related topics.
When you apply SEO Techniques to Blogging that search traffic becomes the playing field. The term, "Discount Paint" fetches over 5,400 searches on average per month. If you paid for these terms via PPC, you would be investing in 10% of click through traffic for the numbers listed above. For example, a term that has 4,400 monthly searches, you are only competing for 440 clicks.
Compare this to an organic strategy, by Blogging for SEO you will be competing in the space where 90% of click throughs happen. Organic search. For example, 4,400 monthly searches would equate to 3,960 searches that you would be competing for.
Give us a call at Compendium Blogware today for a free Blogging consultation, and evaluate how your current SEO strategies compare to the Compendium platform.
Leveraging search engines to generate leads is not a new concept. However, the tools in the market to effectively harness the lead generation power of search have fallen short.
Some are entirely too expensive, and others are unproven to actually convert traffic into viable opportunities.
The Best Blog Software, is a platform that can deliver all of the social media benefits, while having the SEO and marketing built in. Making an investment in the search space with a proven platform in this market is a strong play.
We have clients saving over $2K per month in PPC investments by converting organic traffic into sales opportunities. Give us a call today for a free blogging consultation, and an in depth look at the results we've delivered for businesses just like yours.
Please, can the content question be put to rest! You are an expert in your industry. You work hard everyday to get better at your craftand help clients grow their business. You know how to close business. You know your POD's better than everyone else. You are a CONTENT MACHINE!
Think about all of the emails you send each day, the client testimonials you hear, the problems you solve, the unbelievable deals in your store, and the marketing language you've worked so hard to perfect. All of this is content that will supercharge your blog for SEO. The content you create everyday may seem almost nonexistent to you because, "It's just my job, it's what I do." That makes all of those relevant stories even more SEO worthy! Stop hiding them from the search engines.
By having content indexed in one location (ie. your website), you are limiting the SEO power, and subsequently limiting the amount of search traffic you will earn everyday. By applying the content you already create to a Compended Blog you will realize 10X or more the search traffic. That's with the same amount of content you are already investing time and energy to develop.
Make the decision to educate yourself on the customer acquisition and lead generation power of Blogging. The content is already there for your business, and the results with Compendium are suported with data and are real.
Give us a call today for your free blogging consultation.
It's all about linking to increase onsite SEO right? Uhhh... At your own risk. Consider your website as your credibility. Your integrity. This is literally the online identity of your organization. Now links are great when they are sanitary and are isolated to credible sources. However, do you know all the partners that the sites that link to you have been with?
That sounds silly, but it is how your site can be easily impacted and infected by Black Hat SEO practitioners. One bad apple, in this case, will literally ruin the bundle for everyone else. Is it really worth the time, effort, money, and risk to build a linking strategy?
What if you could Blog for SEO, and have content security and realworld ROI for good measure? A much better option yes? By leveraging affordable blog software, and opting for blogging as your core SEO technique, you can win search with a targeted nuclear strike. Focus your energy on legitimate content creation around keywords that you deserve to win. Searchers will love it, therefore, Google will love it.
If you'd like to learn more about the problem with linking and Blogging for SEO give us a call at Compendium and we will provide a free blogging consultation and provide real data to validate our recommendations.
