Michigan Blog - Featuring Michigan Shopping, Travel, Business & People

I debated on whether I was going to post call this post "SEO on a shoestring" or "Selling online, how to get started" and I chose the latter, because if you are truly getting started online - you may not know what SEO is.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it is the process of getting your website on the search engines (in particular Google and Yahoo who own much of the online traffic).

There is a common fallacy circulating that makes people think "Build it and they will come". As much as I liked that old baseball flick, it just does not ring true for an online store (or any website for that matter)

It takes time to develop customers online, hard work and relationships. Since you can not change the "Time" aspect, it is best to start with hard work and relationships. Developing relationships is similar to how you would network offline. Find websites that are related to your website, but not in competition to you and ask them if they would like to exchange referrals. Some SEO professionals would call this link exchanges, but it should not be just a link exchange, it should be a relationship.

I have many clients that ask me "How should I do this". Quite simply, do it like a human being. Do it exactly the same way that you would organize a car pool with someone on your kid's soccer team. Call them up, talk about your businesses and each of you should agree that you will promote each other online. If you are a real estate agent, you would develop relationships with mortgage consultants or moving companies, or home inspectors. Think that way online!

Join online directories like The Michigan Business Directory if you are located in Michigan. This
directory is free to join. If you have a pet-related company - Join The Free Pet Directory at Petazon. If you offer Free Shipping - Join the Free Shipping Directory. You can join Merchant Circle - which is a local directory for Free also.

Dmoz is a free directory that is a must also.

Secondary listing ideas that may include a monetary fee:

• GoMyLocal - Free and Paid .. good for all small businesses
• Lead Connect - Local Leads ... this may work better for accountants, construction workers etc...
• US Directory (free for 30 days .. after that a monetary fee)

Write about your products and services

Unless you have a pretty niche product(s) - chances are others are competing with you to sell the same product. How can you set yourself apart? If all things were equal -- price, shipping cost, in stock or not, tax etc..., then you have to differentiate yourself. Giving
your visitors knowledge will give you an edge. Write about your product - talk about the advantages, disadvantages and why you have chosen to sell this product or product(s). People believe people, they do not believe web servers ... so make sure that you write in an honest and open manner.

Remember - you are trying to act like a human.

If you plan on writing allot, think about getting an Article Submitter Software Program to help you get your information dispersed across the Internet.

If you do not have the ability to maintain your website yourself OR do not have the funds to pay for web maintenance, consider using Blogger for writing your articles. (that's what blogging is, writing good articles that people want to read)

Finally, once you start getting some income flowing in, consider supplementing your online marketing with Pay-Per-click strategies like Adwords or Yahoo Search marketing (formally Overture). Secondary PPC advertising to consider (that may be less expensive) are: Miva
or Enhance Interactive. Search 123. These concentrate on smaller engines that have lower PPC costs - but less traffic.

Worth mentioning quickly is the value of PR. Press Releases can help your company get more exposure and ultimately more traffic. Learn how to write a press release here. Consider using PR Genie for your releases. Michigan PR.net offers Free Release and syndication. PRWeb
is the Grand Daddy of online Press Releases and is worth the money if you want
to send out a good release.

Labels: Search Engine Optimization

Drumroll please - Here is the Absolutely Unofficial List of the Top SEVEN B2B Marketing Ideas for 2007

Author Background (ie ... why you want to believe this Top 7 List)

• Over 25 years as an innovative business woman in the Detroit area. Bachelor's Degree (Cum Laude) and Master's Degree (Magna Cum Laude)
• Successfully launched three major corporations in Southeast Michigan and maintains marketing relationships with all three.
• Nationally recognized as one of the most successful Online Marketing professional and Search Engine Optimization professionals in the United States.

Okay - let's move on .. here it is:

1. Rip Cards - With a Rip Card, you can advertise your product or service on top, and give prospects a detachable Business Card or Coupon to take for future use.
2. Adwords - It's expensive these days, but it has to play a partial role in your online marketing strategy.
3. Develop a Blog - Coffee Cup Software has a product called Flash Blogger that may work for you. TypePad has a 14 day Free Trial Stick to it, though. A blog requires a disciplined scheduled and the rewards are not apparent until months later. Blogs have become an indispensable online marketing tool for marketers looking for site expansion, search engine optimization, cross-linking and increasing their internet presence.
4. Give away the House. I know that it's not feasible - but offer something FREE if you can. Examples of freebies are this directory! Or Merchant Circle Directory Free Account
5. Write Press Releases and submit them online and offline. http://www.michiganpr.net/ offers a FREE distribution system. PRWeb is a good one. PR.com Coupons / Discounts will work also.
6. Join your local chamber and get active. Business is still about people and networking offline is as important as online. Shake hands confidently and look your new business acquaintance straight in the eye.
7. Smile. Yes - I said Smile. Smile from morning to night. Smile at business meetings, smile at networking events and smile when you are sitting at your computer. Your attitude rubs off. You WILL get more leads, more closes and more smiles back!

Did you say Web 2.0? I say Web 3.0 - but that's another blog entry :)

Labels: B2B Marketing Ideas, Search Engine Optimization

What does privacy, personalization and search engines have in common? No this is not a riddle, it is a lead in to a very interesting trend that is happening on the search engines (in particular Google) that you probably do not know about.

Before I get into the privacy, I will explain the connection between personalization and search engines.

The basic principle behind personalization from search engines is simple. When you search on Google and type in a search query, Google stores the search query (and other data). As you return to the search engine, a profile of your search habits is developed over time. With this database of information on you and your tastes, Google can understand your interests and deliver you more relevant search results.

How does Google do this? First of all, you have to have a Google product for this to work. Google Gmail, Google Toolbar, Google Talk, Google Calendar and a few others are products that allow Google to track your search (if you are logged in).

If you are not familiar with these products - get them here: http://www.michiganbusiness.us/index.php?nic=newstuff

The Google Pack is a package of easy to use, convenient software applications that are free.

Getting back to my point. I am sure that you can see where this is going. If Google tracks your search patterns, isn't this a privacy problem? Especially if you don't know that it is happening?

The EU recently announced that it is probing into how long Google stores user information (this probe was subsequently extended to include all search engines). One solution to the concern of privacy could be a "Search Privacy Bill of Rights", as Danny Sullivan suggests. Sullivan ( a well-known search engine guru) also proposed the use of privacy notifications on sites.

Stay on top of privacy online with Norton Security / Norton Coupons

I can see where all of this is going - personalized ads, based on a database of your preferences. Now, just think about how valuable that type of advertising would be! Google ads are currently contextual, but they are not personalized yet.

Google delivers advertising based on search results which has worked great (if not a bit expensive for the advertiser) - but they could work even better if the ads were tailored to you and only you. This is not possible to do without knowing your preferences, trends, where you live etc..

BINGO! Enough for now .. I think you got it!

Labels: Personalized Advertisements, Search Engine Optimization

A Blog is a Journal or Diary that is available on the Web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger". Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allow people with little or no technical background to maintain or add to their blogs with just the push of a button. (no HTML experience is needed !)

Start with: Coffee Cup Software Flash Blogger and then use these links to promote your blog throughtout the Internet. It takes a while (I am still working on submitting this blog)

• Blog Listings
• http://blogannounce.info/
• http://www.blog-directory.org/index.php
• http://blog.hotornot.com/
• http://www.blogpoint.com/
• http://www.blogratingz.com/index.jsp
• http://www.blogtoplist.com/
• http://www.blogdir.co.uk/
• http://www.blogdust.com/blog-directory/
• http://www.blogroll.net/
• http://www.blogs-collection.com/
• http://www.blogsrating.com/
• http://directory.blogthat.net/
• http://browseblogs.com/
• http://www.delightfulblogs.com/
• http://www.kookkoo.com/
• http://www.quickblogdirectory.com/
• http://www.search4blog.com/
• http://www.thevital.net/
• http://blogs.tomstopsites.com/
• http://wutzle.com/
• http://www.technorati.com/
• http://www.bloglines.com/
• http://www.blogstreet.com/
• http://www.blogwise.com/
• http://boingboing.net/
• http://www.globeofblogs.com/
• http://www.truthlaidbear.com/
• http://memigo.com/
• http://www.bloghop.com/
• http://www.blogarama.com/
• http://www.blogsearchengine.com/
• http://portal.eatonweb.com/
• http://www.blogdigger.com/
• http://www.bloogz.com/
• http://www.sarthak.net/blogz/
• http://www.blogmatrix.com/
• http://www.headlinespot.com/
• http://www.esperanto.se/kiosk/engindex.html
• http://www.crayon.net/
• http://www.findory.com/blogs/
• http://bulkfeeds.net/
• http://www.blogpulse.com/
• http://www.blogcatalog.com/
• http://www.blogdir.com/
• http://www.blurtit.com/
• http://www.newstrove.com/
• http://www.getblogs.com/
• http://geekphilosopher.com/
• http://www.wilsdomain.com/blogs/
• http://www.yourwebloghere.com/
• http://www.blogrankings.com/
• http://www.bloghub.com/
• http://www.feedmap.net/BlogMap/
• http://www.icerocket.com/
• http://www.bloggernity.com/
• http://www.blogsforsmallbusiness.com/
• http://www.rateitall.com/
• http://www.blogscholar.com/
• http://blogoriffic.com/
• http://findingblog.com/
• http://www.blogtopsites.com/
• http://dir.blogflux.com/
• http://www.thevital.net/
• http://www.5starblogs.com/
• http://www.rssmad.com/
• http://blogexplosion.com/
• http://www.blogion.com/
• http://www.bloggeries.com/
• http://blogadvance.com/
• http://www.blogazoo.com/

Labels: Blogging, Search Engine Optimization

Google Does it Again!

Panic throughout the Internet - not only in Michigan! PageRank is dropping randomly on websites. Big names like the Washington Post have been hit - as well as little guys like some of our clients.

Some big-name bloggers are arguing that since the PR drop is not generalized, it must be a slap from Google regarding practices that conflict with its guidelines.

Some have suggested that the sites that got penalized were either selling links or exchanging them inside large blog networks or link exchange circles.

Here is my take on what has been happening regarding PageRank and the recent drop on many websites. I have studied our client base (which is approx. 15,000) if you count all of the members in directory.

Google "don't like" bought links. This includes affiliate programs like LinkConnector and Blogs that charge for links. This even includes Press Distribution systems that charge for links. Google also doesn't like the link exchange programs.

Lot's of complaints are circling - but this is no different than what has been preached by Google for years and years. Don't try to artificially inflate your page rank. Period. Don't buy links. Buy advertising, if you have to - but don't try to trick Google.

Work hard for three years to build a business and you will be repaid. This is the same game in the offline world. No Get Rich Schemes exist anymore on the Internet.

The Blog world has had a free ride for a while and in some cases, many bloggers have created large incomes just linking back and forth to each other.

I am happy to see Google coming down on some of these sites.

Labels: Google PageRank Drop, Search Engine Optimization

Microsoft FrontPage Compatible Web Hosting

In Response to the questions that I received on yesterday's entry regarding Web Design, I wanted to clarify a few points.

A number of readers wanted to know how and why Meta Tags should be maintained externally. Here is a brief explanation using the PHP language as an example.

Take a look at a well established eCommerce website: Discount Aquarium & Fish Supplies and note that on each product page, the title of the product is in the title tag and is repeated through out the page content. This is not done manually. It is dynamically created and a non-technical website owner can easily manipulate the keyword density and SEO of a product page based on what he/she names the product. Does that make sense?

It is a well known advantage for a shopping cart or eCommerce Solution to use these techniques. Why wouldn't you use this successful technique on a B2B website or a small business website?

This is something that you cannot do with a static website, it can only be done with a scripting language like PHP or ASP. In addition, there is really no need to use a database, this type of optimization can run off of an Excel spreadsheet that is maintained by a non-technical person.

Hopefully that helps!

Windows Marketplace

Labels: Dynamic Websites, Michigan Web Design, Search Engine Optimization