Here at Web Gnomes, we stay on top of the ever-changing world of Internet Marketing so you don’t have to. We enjoy learning new tricks of the trade and putting them to practice in the work that we do for our esteemed clients. Here is some of the most helpful Internet marketing info we came across this week:
How To Devise A Psychology Based SEO Strategy
This article, written by Norwegian SEO consultant Trond Lyngbø, does a really nice job of defending the role of SEO strategy in Internet marketing and web design. As he points out, SEO is often an afterthought in a website development project (if it’s even considered), and this is very frustrating when we know that if SEO was considered from the get-go, the website’s success rate would likely be much higher.
I’ve worked as an SEO consultant and strategist in Norway for over 10 years, and one of my biggest grouses over this period is how an SEO expert is sidelined, usually being the last person to be consulted about a web development project. ~Trond Lyngbø
Lyngbø highlights the fact that SEO is more about psychology than technology. Some of the key points revolve around keywords. It’s one thing to do the keyword research and make sure that those keywords appear in the right place at the right time. But you can take that a step further and really gain some insight into how your prospects and customers are thinking. You might even be able to discover new opportunities for your business!
The article summarizes this thought with several actionable points:
- SEO is about human behavior: Keyword research can really help you understand what your customers are looking for and what their pain points are.
- SEO is about your clients: Center your content around your audience (more on this in an upcoming blog post on SEO Writing!)
- SEO is about sales: Don’t get too hung up on clicks and traffic. It’s about designing your pages to answer the questions your visitors have and convert visitors into customers.
- SEO is about keywords: What keywords are your prospects using to search for products and services? Those are the ones you’ll want to be using in your content!
- SEO is about being smart: Focus on stuff that matters – like conversions.
- SEO is about treating your website as a salesperson: Give it a little respect — and don’t make it an afterthought!!
The author closes by encouraging fellow SEOs to really get to know and understand the businesses with which they work. This is key to SEO success, which is why we pride ourselves on being a research-based Internet marketing company. We do our homework and deliver unique strategies that work for individual businesses and organizations – because no two are the same.
Why Content Marketing Is King
There it is again: “Content is king.” It’s so important that people can’t stop writing about it (including us!). This article from Entrepreneur.com takes an interesting look at the importance of “content marketing” compared to other tools in the marketing strategies toolbox. In fact, it states that content marketing is now the most important marketing strategy for the b2b entrepreneur, based on a recent survey.
The author, columnist Mikal Belicove, defines content marketing as follows: “It’s the creation and publication of original content — including blog posts, case studies, white papers, videos and photos — for the purpose of generating leads, enhancing a brand’s visibility, and putting the company’s subject matter expertise on display.”
Makes sense! However, I want to make a point of clarification as it relates to the article’s statement about content marketing surpassing search engine marketing (or SEM). In this case, I suspect that the author is equating SEM with paid advertising (which is a valid definition — the one that Google uses, in fact). Specifically, I want to make sure that it’s clear to our readers that content marketing is in fact a central component of a successful SEO strategy, not a separate activity.
Without content, there is no keyword relevancy, no links, and no visitors. Without content, the Internet is nothing. Without content, you might as well go back to TV commercials and newspaper ads.
So yes, content is king, and it is the cornerstone of any Internet marketing strategy. (And we will keep writing about it!)
Google Says SEO Is Not Spam
If you have been thinking about hiring somebody to help you with SEO, you may have come across information that says that SEO is a shady practice full of people waiting to steal all your money and leave you with nothing to show for it. Unfortunately, these people do exist, and they’ve given SEO a bad rap.
The good news is that there are plenty of awesome SEOs out there who really want to help you succeed online. Google has even released a video where Matt Cutts (the head of Google’s Webspam Team) answers the question: Does Google consider SEO to be spam? The answer is no.
In fact, he points out that SEOs can help website owners identify opportunities to improve their rankings in search engines:
- Accessibility: Can the search engines find your content?
- Keyword Research: Are you targeting the keywords your prospects use when searching for your products/services?
- Usability: Is your website easy to navigate and digest?
- Site Speed: Speed impacts the user experience and is one of the many factors impacting how your site ranks in Google.
The video is informative and well-done, so I would suggest you take four minutes out of your day to watch it:
Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!