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Dec
21
Should You Always Design With SEO In Mind?
Filed Under Online Marketing, SEO, Video | 2 Comments
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And a quickie version for those of you sitting in cubes who can’t watch because you’re pretending your working:
This video is in response to a post by Jill Whalen on Search Engine Land this week following up on a debate in the High Rankings Forum about whether SEO is an extra skill or a prerequisite to being a website designer or developer. A lot of the conversation seems to center around what is best for the client or what the designers responsibility is to educate the client about SEO. I would argue however that the focus of the conversation should be what is best for your business as a web designer or developer. If you are not already offering SEO, you will be in the future. If you already offer SEO services but the client chooses not to invest in SEO at the time you design their site, they probably will invest in it later. If you were good at what you did for your client, they will most likely return to you for their future web services so you should make it easier on yourself when they do want SEO.
When you are designing and coding any new site, you should already be keeping basic principles of conversion, usability and code standards in mind anyway. So if you develop the site properly from the start, whether they are your SEO client or not, if they do become your SEO client you’ll have an easier time doing the optimization. And even if they do go to another company for their SEO services, you will want that company to see that you provided a top notch product to your client or you may quickly get a name for being a poor web designer. Anyway you look at it, keeping SEO in mind when developing websites for clients is a good idea for you and for your business.
Nov
28
Marketing Unique Products Online
Filed Under Online Marketing | Leave a Comment
Cyber Monday is over and the results are in. It’s no surprise that Nielsen reported a 10% increase over 2006 in shopping traffic and comScore reported a 21% increase in online sales.
So what does this mean for you? It means if you are selling a consumer product online the future’s so bright you’ve got to wear shades…if you’re facing the right direction. Sure, Cyber Monday 2007 has passed but there is plenty of holiday shopping to be done. And all of 2008 on the horizon so get moving.
There is a lot of information about how to sell consumer products online via eBay and Amazon, as an affiliate and more. But what if you have your own unique product?
If you have a unique product that may not be known to the public, but you know they just won’t be able to live without it once they hear about it, you will need to get creative with your online marketing to get the word out. Build it and they will come only goes so far. Develop content on your website that will get people interested and promote it on relevant niche networking sites.
For instance, let’s say you are selling solar powered dancing lawn gnomes (you know you want one now). You could post photos on your site of the gnomes dancing in unexpected places. You could place the gnomes somewhere that unexpected passers by will be stunned by their presence and film their reactions. Or take the sex angle and get bikini models to dance with the gnomes. Have fun with your products and don’t take yourself too seriously. But be thoughtful with your efforts. Try to find an angle that will create interest and be memorable but will drive interest in your product so you will actually convert some of the traffic you generate.
And don’t waste all of that effort. Make sure that it is very easy for users to convert from your buzz content without making it seem too commercial. Don’t force BUY NOW links down the visitors’ throats or you won’t make it far. Offer opportunities to learn more about your product with easy ordering after they choose to get more information. Be creative, be smart and be successful.
Nov
27
A quick video about how to market non-viral videos online
And the transcript for those of you who don’t like to watch 
TechCrunch recently had an article about the strategies behind viral videos with great tips about how to make your viral videos successful once you upload them. But what if your videos aren’t viral? What if they are simply informative or educational? What if you are a video blogger? How do you make non-viral videos successful?
First, don’t expect that you will get the views that the most recent skateboarding accident or kicked in the nuts video got. Understand who your target audience is and how big it is so you have reasonable expectations.
Next, treat your videos just as you would if you were writing the post. Use your target keywords in your video and talk about topics relevant to your market. Once you upload your videos you will want to include a compelling title, relevant keywords and ideally a transcript of the video where possible.
You should also promote your videos just as you would any other blog post. After all, in this instance, your video is just a spoken blog post. Embed your videos in your website with relevant surrounding text, share your videos with friends and colleagues, and most importantly be active in the communities you are promoting in. Friend people on YouTube just as you would on Digg or Stumble Upon. You’ll get social karma and exposure by subscribing to channels, commenting and rating videos.
It takes time to develop an audience for videos just as it does for a website. Be patient, keep producing quality content and promote promote, promote. Video is a great addition to any strategy and will pay off in the end.