Address Reporting Error at Google Local / Google Maps
Posted on August 27, 2008
Filed Under google maps, Google Local | Leave a Comment
Has anyone else ever had this problem? I manage a website where Google continues to report the address incorrectly. It was an address that was used to register the domain years ago, but has since been changed at the registrar AND in the Google Local business profile. There is no real way to contact Google to discuss this, but updating and even removing the business profile has not fixed it.
When you Google the business, the domain comes up showing an address that is nowhere on the site and no longer associated with the business. When you click on the listing, the address actually changes to the correct address but it won’t show it in the search results.
Any thoughts? Matt? Google? Bueller? Bueller?
SEO Basics for Web Designers
Posted on August 27, 2008
Filed Under SEM, SEO, SEO Basics, web design | 1 Comment
I don’t have to try really hard to find content to blog about because I live this stuff, but finding time to write, now that is the real challenge. Today, I had to post something about my latest client interaction. I did a site analysis a while back and was told that the clients design team would handle the changes. I assured him that his design team, while very skilled in design, most likely did not have the skills necessary to implement the recommendations effectively. I went as far to offer to chat with the designers if they had any questions, but never heard from any one. Today, he contacted me to ask me to review the implementations, and truly, it was one of the worst things I had even seen. Not only had they taken a site designed with a flat architecture and a site map and convert it to a dynamic site with no site map, they left the default Joomla coding in the pages, so here is what the titles and meta data look like:
< title>domain.com - Home
< meta name="description" content="Joomla - the dynamic portal engine and content management system" />
< meta name="keywords" content="Joomla, joomla" />
For you designers out there that want to be WAY ahead of the competition, I will share some pointers with you.
First - make sure you know the difference between a flat site architecture and a dynamic architecture. If you are building a non-ecommerce site, DO NOT use a dynamic architecture. It just doesn’t make sense. While I am not a Joomla programmer, I understand that they even had a module to correct this and you should learn it.
Second - PLEASE put something other than the defaults in the title, keywords, and description. If it were all the same on every page that is still better than nothing. Here are some recommendations.
Title - Don’t put just the URL and by all means, don’t leave the defaults in there (you know, Home, New, etc.). Just put the company name in there. If you don’t know what they do, look at the website you just built then describe it in five words or less. For example for this blog you could put “Old School SEO - Search Marketing Blog”.
Description - If you really can’t figure it out (and you should be able to) go the extra mile and ask your client what they do. Then put that in the description in two sentences or less, but at least 10 words.
Keywords - Without using generic words, list the first five words that come to mind when you read the site and separate them by commas. For example, with this blog, you might use “search, engine, marketing, blog” This is better than nothing, and in my example above, FAR better than putting Joomla on a site that has nothing to do with Joomla.
I hope you appreciated that because if you implement it, you will look like a genius compared to the competition. If you need an SEM partner, let me know and I will do what I can to help you or refer you to a trusted colleague
A Tribute to LeRoi Moore of Dave Matthews Band
Posted on August 20, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Friends, we have lost one of the most gifted musicians of this era. LeRoi Moore of Dave Matthews Band passed away due to complications following an ATV accident. Here is a tribute video that someone put together.
$47 Per Lead… No Problem - NOT!
Posted on August 18, 2008
Filed Under SEO fraud, PPC fraud, Unethical SEO, SEO scams | 2 Comments
Today I got a business associate who said he was solicited by an Internet Marketing firm with an offer that seemed a bit out of sorts. As much as I’d love to expose it all, I will just say that the generous offer to generate about 200 leads per month at the cost of nearly $10,000 per month ($47 per lead) was a bit more - actually exponentially more - than this site needed to spend. Especially when you consider this person runs a successful business already without doing hardly any online marketing.
I discussed things like organic search and effective web design with him and how that could help his business, for a fraction of that cost and produce far more leads. There is the up front cost for site re-design and the ongoing search engine marketing activities, but again, the cost for a small business should not be anywhere close to $10,000 per month as most cannot afford this. So you may be asking “is this one of those clients where the top position in Google costs like $30-$40 per month?”. The answer is no and in fact, I have done lead generation for this company on a contingency basis in the past, so I already have the numbers. For paid search, this client would do very well for well under $8.00 per click. So even if we used $8.00 per lead figure AND marked it up by 25%, he would still see 800 leads for his $9,600 MONTHLY spend, not the proposed 203.
As in all things - BUYER BEWARE. If something seems a bit out of range, get a second opinion. Sadly, I am sure this company exists because they are able to find people who are willing to over pay for search marketing for the promise of a few leads and then sold on the fact that they will close “x” percent of them, even without addressing usability - and that could be no further than the truth. Or they sell them on the fact that they are going to offer a deep discount (if their manager approves it).
If you are looking at a search marketing proposal and you are unsure of it’s legitimacy or cost, contact us and we will gladly review it for you at no charge.
How Come Stumble Upon Isn’t Working for ME?
Posted on August 7, 2008
Filed Under Social Media, Stumble Upon, Social Networking, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Networking, StumbleUpon, Social Bookmarking | 8 Comments
I have been asked this question on more than one occasion, and in true “Old School” fashion, rather than answering everyone individually, I like to take the opportunity to create a blog post to answer the question.
First, lets talk about your goals. If your goal is to just promote your website on website, then you have failed to understand the purpose of Social Networking. Social networking is the equivalent to offline networking; with the exception that it can be done from your computer. Your goal “should” be to meet people in your industry and people that share your common interests in en effort to mutually benefit one another.
So How Does One Get Started?
It’s pretty simple actually. Build a profile - a REAL profile. There has been lots of talk in the blogosphere lately about people who use fake pictures on their profiles. That’s no different than meeting someone in the real world and giving them a fake name - it’s bogus and it doesn’t fly online either. Would you introduce yourself as a “Trump”, “Bush” or “Rockefeller” in real life, just so people would think you are important? If your answer is yes, I will have my wife call you - she is a THERAPIST. The right is answer is NO, it’s not acceptable behavior. The same goes online. If you aren’t willing to divulge who you are online, then Social Networking isn’t for you.
Secondly, reach out and make some friends. You can search by topic, but the best way I have found is by viewing peoples Stumble Upon profile as listed on their blog, or viewing the profiles of those who like the same articles as I do on Stumble Upon.
What if it Doesn’t Work?
My guess is that you are guilty of one of the following:
1. You are primarily promoting your own website. That’s the equivalent to going to a party and just handing people your business card and walking away without showing interest in them or what they do. You will get the same reponse online - not much.
2. You are a “waver”. You may just thumb up other people’s websites and never review them. That’s the guy or gal who goes to a party and just waves at every body without ever talking to them. No one gets to know them, and therefore no one ever refers anyone to them.
3. You are networked with the wrong people. If you have friended people that are interested in nothing you are interested in, they won’t care about your website or anything you send them. If they haven’t logged in for a month or so, they don’t know you exist. That’s like being friends with the guy that never shows up at a party. People start to think you have imaginary friends. Or if you see a “silhouette” where they once had a picture, they could be under investigation for allegedly breaking one of Stumble Upon’s rules/
4. Your profile seems like it’s a fraud. I have had people “friend” me and when I look at their profile it look like a knock out of a woman, and then the description says it’s a guy. Well, cross dressers aren’t on my list of related or interested topics, but that’s not even what it’s about. It’s a lame attempt for someone to try and lure me into becoming an “Stumble Upon Friend” by using sex. Sorry - it doesn’t work. Perhaps if I were single, or just trying to find parties it might work, but for me, Stumble Upon is about building professional relationships, sharing quality content, and finding new and interesting sites, blogs, and news stories.
5. You aren’t making the transition away from Stumble Upon. Social Networking is like online dating; if all you do is chat online, you’ll never go out with anyone. Make it clear what you are looking for from those you are networked with - ask for the order. Send someone an offline email (what - give a stranger my email address?). If they are strangers, then you haven’t built an online relationship with them. Even better, set up a phone call with someone to talk about business.
I hope that helps. Feedback and comments are welcomed.
