Im sure you have read this hundred’s of times in small business marketing advice articles.

I don’t disagree.

But, Simply “having”  a Facebook Page is not the end of the journey.

Consumers and your potential leads are increasingly turning to Social Media as a means to investigate your business before firing the trigger on a sale or request for service.

Utilizing your Facebook Page to the max and keeping it updated with relevant industry news to show your expertise and sales, offers and updates to keep them coming back can only help you.

But what about the flipside to this situation? 

Is your Facebook Business Page a Ghost Town?

Competitive analysis and SEO/ Web Presence Audits are a part of my daily routine. I have been increasingly surprised at the shambles many brands, even ones of considerable size and reputation often leave their Facebook pages in.

When customers find your Facebook Business Page, they expect that it is a legitimate contact point. When information is outdated and the layout is not up to par with the “recent” updates to the Facebook platform, this reflects very poorly on your business.

I frequently see businesses with pages full of messages – requests for phone calls, complaints, mediocre reviews that go unanswered by the administrators of the pages. It isn’t the customers job to judge whether your page is properly monitored!

If a Customer or lead accesses you via a more “traditional” contact point such as email, a dedicated web contact form or a phone call – How long do you feel is acceptable to leave them waiting for a return on that request.

A few hours within the business day, 24 hours .. more?

Leaving a possible lead or client foundering on your Facebook page is disastrous to your image. People will notice. They will never tell you … because they have already moved on to your competitors to fulfill their needs.

Does your page lack “Fans” – that doesn’t look to good either, does it?

Get that Facebook URL into your company email signature and add it to printed marketing materials, get those creative juices flowing and create a promotion or reason for customers and potential clients to “like” and follow your social presence. The return on investment can be huge when done properly.

Social Media is a very powerful tool but it can turn on you …

I get it … you went through the motions and set up your Google+ account, a Twitter account and a Facebook page … just like you were told to

But that is not the end of the process.

Take the time to fill out each profile to the best of your ability. Use the About options offered at Facebook, connect your address to Google+ and Facebook to encourage “check-ins” and help your Local Search visibility.

Most importantly get in the habit of setting up a schedule of checking your social contact points and updating them.  

Wont ever have the time or inclination?

If you can only do this weekly or monthly – why not say that on the profile?

Let your clients know that these aren’t monitored contact points, point out a location that would be preferable.

Hire an intern …. give the task to an administrative task – see if one of your employees has a teenager that would take a small fee to post updates based on a script you create each week or month and can alert you when a customer is left hanging.

There is a solution as long as you actually recognize the issue exists.

Monitor Your Social Presence!

Get in the habit of doing a search for your own brand name, check out all the first page returns, if their is 3rd part directory sites and social media appearing, make sure you can administer and respond to anything customers might post.

It will make a huge difference!

Remember, Facebook is not “set and forget”

Did this post get the hamster wheel spinning? Share a little love by clicking any of the social media icons below:

Is Facebook Hurting Your Business – Social Media as a Contact Point

Many Business Owners have more important things to do with their time than learn the language and intricacies of Search Engine Optimization.

The Search Engine Optimization Specialists here at Sunforged Media understand that.

We specialize in Search Engine Optimization so you don’t have to.

Some of the factors we introduce below  may expose why your last web developer  failed to create a product for you that resulted in the targeted, converting leads that you require in order to focus on what you do well, your own business, or what you should be asking about and considerate of when starting development on a new project.

Back in 2010, Google Officially Recognized that Page Speed is a recognized ranking factor in the Algorithm that defines Search Engine Result’s Placement (SERP’s) i.e. How you rank in Google for the terms you want to be visible for. Its direct impact as a factor amongst over 200 factors is limited but it’s effects on Usability and parallel effects caused by frustrated visitors clicking back, leaving your site quickly and never being exposed to your message can be massive.

As we as internet users become more accustomed to faster and faster connection speeds our patience for slow loading sites has been increasing.

We can evaluate your site for programming errors, over-use of 3rd party scripts, extraneous or improperly organized content and poorly optimized images. An audit of this type can make considerable positive change to your potential clients experience on your site and greatly increase your ROI from your online presence.

Building upon a strong Information Architecture (IA) at the onset of your project is ideal.

During the planning phase of your site development, initially dedicating some time to anticipating for the growth of your content and your business within your information architecture structure can save you countless hours and dollars spent on organizational fees in the future.

Information Architecture relates to the often forgotten aspect of search, “Scannability” , before a Search engine can rank your content it must find, scan and understand it.

Creating an intelligently organized site which allows and controls how search engine spiders access your site is a certain requirement.

At a technical level, this can speak to properly managing your site structure via,

• domain – subdomain
• categories
• types of content
•  media

so that is easily recognized and understood. Also using 301 and 302 redirects correctly, limiting orphan pages, 404 pages,  and  interlinking your content in a manner that helps your visitor and makes semantic sense.

URL structure on your page should be understandable, consistent and utilize semantic relationship whenever possible. As of recent development, proper use of canonical tags has become imperative to avoid  inefficient and possibly confusing duplicity across your domain.

In brief, A proper Information Architecture system will allow your pages to be indexed quicker and correctly.

In a similar vein as Information Architecture, strong on page optimization stems from properly describing and laying out your pages and site in a manner that semantically describes your content. At the most basic level, this will involve using descriptive terms to describe your images, at the file level, directory level and using the alt tag appropriately. This is especially appropriate for images as the visual content can not be “scanned” by spiders and bots so search engines must rely on textual descriptions.

Using Heading tags to organize the hierarchy of your content around your keyword terms.   (Title -> H1 -> H2 -> H3)

The skill and challenge comes in not only knowing the proper placement and usage of keywords to optimize a page or site but also in properly selecting the keywords that will perform, draw in and interest your target visitor.

Although, usage of your target terms and related synonyms are great tools for identifying the purpose of your page and site, over-use or unnatural activities intended to fool or mislead the search engines and your visitors can be damaging to your site. Natural, appropriate organization and language is necessary. Creating the appropriate balance between “find-ability” for search engines and “readability” for your human visitors is an art.

Whether we are creating landing pages to sell your physical products or helping to position an entire site. On Page Optimization and discovering what terms to market and optimize around are  integral to your long term online success.

When performing Keyword Analysis of your current or planned site, utilizing an intelligent and experienced Researcher and Optimizer can make the difference between 10 visits a day and 10,000.  But despite, what common sense may assume, pure volume of traffic should not be the ultimate goal. Utilizing a skilled SEO for your keyword analysis will allow you to focus on developing your traffic around the types of searches and visitors that convert. Whether your capturing leads for your Mortgage Loan Company, offering physical goods via ecommerce or doing online reservations for your restaurant,  precise and focused keyword selection can contribute to reaching the untapped market that is already actively searching what you have to offer.

Keyword Analysis is also important in regards to gauging your competition in your chosen space and working to beat them in visibility in the top rankings.

We can utilize paid test campaigns to judge the value of  target terms before fully committing to a keyword optimization strategy for your business and use advanced tracking to truly understand the behavior, value and conversion rate of target keyword terms

Social Media Integration is no longer an optional element in a SEO campaign, it is a requirement. As the leading search engines rely more on social triggers, branded identity, authorship and trustrank, an active presence on major Social Networks with an engaged audience can do wonders both directly and indirectly.

An engaged audience can quickly spread your content and message and having your finger on the pules of near instant feedback assists greatly  in molding your message and application in a manner that can reap the most rewards.

Link Building is often seen as the backbone of SEO. We can provide the strategy and tools to access and create strong related links within other Authority’s within your industry or niche.  In conjunction with Social Media, an Intelligent, Entertaining, Quality driven Content marketing plan and our Professional network we can help your site gain the links it deserves using traditional content syndication, social interaction and innovative special projects distinct to your business.

Links are still very important to a sites overall health, but the Spammy, cheap and irrelevant methodology lesser SEO services may provide have quickly become a bane rather than a boost to the health of your Business.

Video Marketing is a clear necessity to stay competitive and smart in  the online market. Regarding on-site video  it has been reported that, Blog posts incorporating video attract 3 times as many inbound links as blog posts without video. Video usage on site leads to increased page view length. Video creates a stronger sense of Authority with the visitor and viewers who watch product videos are 40% more likely to make a  purchase.
Online video now accounts for 50% of all mobile traffic and up to 69% of traffic on certain networks. This is projected to continue to grow exponentially as high Speed wireless and data plans continue to drop in price and speed on the major carriers. According to Google, Video will soon be 90% of all internet traffic!

Video results are quick to display in blended results on traditional SERP’s and have higher click through than traditional listings.

It is foolish to ignore the power of video based content on your site and video marketing across the web.

The above is intended to give you an overview of the comprehensive nature of what a Search Engine Optimizer is concerned with and to introduce you to some fundamental concepts to bring up with your web designer or to mull over during your own development process.

If you are considering a new Web Development project and you have the budget and energy for a comprehensive and powerful presence, I do encourage you to utilize our Website Planning Tool

Further Resources:

Introduction to Search Optimization for Small Business Owners

1. A Web Hosting Server

A computer connected to the internet that stores the files and information that make up your website. Every server has an IP address. This IP address is what allows browsers and other computers to differentiate and locate your websites information.

An ip address is made up of numbers: e.g. 253.16.44.27

2. A Domain Name

The second and top level domain must be registered and purchased.

Subdomains are controlled by the owner of the domain name and can be used to create organized sub sections of their overall site.

e.g. howto.ihostpress.com ( a collection of video tutorials for hosting customers)

Selecting the best domain name

Proper domains selection strategy  follows two distinct methodologies and purposes.

Branding:

When you have an established brand or name it is  important  to own the domain name that matches it.

e.g. Apple.com, Microsoft.com, TonysPizza.com

This is the most intuitive way for your existing customers to find you.

Search Engine Optimization:

It is also wise to own and control terms that your customers are likely to use in order to “search” for the service you provide.

Using the “TonysPizza” example:

The owner of Tony’s Pizza might be wise to own “Pizza12601″

search term + location zip

The best choices for such terms often require some background research and an understanding of your target market.

“The Radio Rule“

It is wise to select a domain name that can be easily “said”

Imagine, your ad is being spoken on the radio and your domain name is said or spelled. Will it stick in the listeners mind?

Traditionally, avoiding difficult spelling and awkward / cutesy misspellings is wise although many businesses have been built by finding short available domain names and building brands around them i.e. Flickr.com

Should I buy a .com , does the Top Level Domain (TLD) matter?

There are many, many options regarding top level domains that can be registered. Some are limited to certain organizations, regions and types of businesses.

The most commonly known by your target viewers are .com, .net, .org

Search engines do not (at this time) give any special considerations based on the TLD.

There are some minor price variations for yearly registration among the various Top Level Domains.

But, because most visitors and “type-in” domain searches will based on the common association of .com to all web addresses, it is wise to pursue a .com address whenever possible. (and relevant)

(exception) In certain fields the .pro TLD domain is showing to have some benefits to eligible parties.

Domain Cost and Registration

Through our business at iHostpress.com, Sunforged Media Group is an ICANN certified Domain Registar and Reseller (all domains are purchased through the ICANN governing body)

We can provide .com addresses at $15 yearly. (managed purchase)

BUT – The domain industry has a handful of top and long established sellers that can greatly beat our prices and often provide coupon codes for even greater discounts. They can undercut smaller sellers by making up costs with mostly useless add-ons such as “certified” domains and email packages.

As a result of the better price options and the relative lack of distinction between Domain registrants we suggest the following two companies:

Godaddy - Click here for purchase with integrated coupon code

Normal price per year at Godaddy is currently $11.99 per year – with some price decrease for multiple year registration.

Using the above link, you will find that your final cost is $7.99 per year.

When registering be sure to skip all the suggested add-ons and upsells they push.

Its is NOT a bad idea to register your domain for 2-5 year stints if you have an established brand. There is some evidence that search engines “trust” a domain that is registered for multiple years more than a single year registration (possible SPAM indicator)

Namecheap - Click here for purchase with integrated coupon code

The Namecheap registration cost is about $10.69, but they provide a free year of domain privacy.

Established businesses with public address information do not require privacy, but often those who work primarily online prefer the anonymity of domain privacy, traditionally this service can cost between $5 and $15 a year among the various providers.

Should I “protect my name” by purchasing various versions (TLD) of my domain.

e.g. Mydomain.com , mydomain.org and mydomain.net

Registering an existing trademarked brand is an actionable offense. If you have a Brand name where you reason to be concerned about copycats or parasites hwo might attempt to gain traffic or customers by using your brand, it may be easier to simply register the common variants of your name or be prepared to cover the legal costs associated with combating a “domain hijack”

The great majority of smaller businesses should have no need to buy multiple versions of their address.

If you are using a keyword based domain:

e.g. BankruptcyAttorneyNY.com

then you would have no legal protection if a competing agency or company attempted to utilize your brand name to siphon visitors. In such a case, the decision should be based on your budget, peace of mind and the skill of your search engine optimization and marketing team.

What is the best domain name for my business

3rd Party Uptime Monitoring via Pingdom

For the month of December, 2012

Limited Managed Care Plans Available – Click for Details

2013 Sunforged Media Hosting Benchmark and Uptime report

Web designers and developers utilize many technologies to improve communication and make experiences more exciting and engaging, but often times their mindset seems to be overcome by the technology rather than by the end goal that the technology helped to achieve.

I interact with many in the Web Design and Marketing space and see their online presentations and conversations filled with jargon and technical references.

A favorite in the web design space is the list “technologies/languages used” in portfolio and services section.

You have seen it a thousand times :

• XHTML
• HTML5
• CSS3
• Javascript
• PHP

Perhaps, in some buying scenarios or searches this has a value.( The above list isn’t very impressive, btw)

That observation isn’t intended as a condemnation of the process, just an observation that the mindset of the promoter includes the invalid consideration that these languages/technologies have much real relevance to the problem that the ultimate product is created to solve. As a tacit add on to a more developed explanation it would make sense, but it is often a primary focus to the “portfolio” or service setting.

Discussions on usability and best practice traditionally lean on references to “the user”  and “best practices.”

Of course, this is a great attitude and a step in the right direction, but it is still a disconnect from “human, real person, Mrs. Sally Watson”

When we create, design and market in this space we tend to or should have a much tighter understanding of who our reader, viewer, visitor is. This problem is often solved by utilizing persona modeling and is likely a non-issue with the top tier developers, artists, writers and communicators who know their audience implicitly. We do need to use some descriptor to identify our “target” this is an unavoidable fact.

But, be wary that you are using a word to describe people and not falling prey to taking the language as gospel and objectifying the humans that will be exposed to your messaging.

This abstract concept is hard to delineate for me and I can only reiterate that we communicate with humans via technology and all of our language and jargon is merely a means to an end, not the actual goal.

The Lines blur further…

As responsive design, mobile usage, augmented reality and integration’s like Google Glasses become more and more a part of every day life for humans, the line between communicating via technology and code and the experience the human has with that technology will become even more abstract.

One can witness a “Designer” sitting at their desks staring at their little screen contemplating the best arrangement of colors and type to fit across the 320px viewport while hacking out their “responsive design” – all their efforts and mindpower glued to condensing and distilling a message down to its most integral parts to fit the the reduced canvas. At some point, in device testing also begins, with concerns about the user and how touch events work and how easy and enjoyable that experience may be.

Rightly, so…

But, that’s not far enough … the “user” is a human using a mobile device in a physical environment somewhere, and often we can in fact identify the most likely places, mindsets and purposes the human will have when interacting with their communication device in order to receive our messaging.

The mobile “user” who visits your restaurant website and the mobile user who visits your Tow Service web site have varying levels of urgency and  mindsets that can be predicted.

These examples are broad and one cannot (at this time) design and develop for solely such a specific human experience, but it should still flavor our decisions.

We know to think this way across channels…

Its surprising how often discussion is necessary to illustrate the differences in approach a communicator/promoter/marketer needs to maintain across online channels. The mindset and approach of the focused search visitor compared to the interruption one must create in social advertising to the interesting and relevant “gift” one must make to the engaged and intentionally “following” email subscriber, social follower.

With all the jargon and technical terms it almost comes across as a great observation … but when you are considering humans interacting with devices in different settings .. it should be common sense.

Shouldn’t it?

What makes us tick – Why “Human First” is our promotion strategy