SEO Factors Archives - Page 18 of 21 by Mark Murnahan

Asking For The Sale Online

Sales representatives forgetting to open the order pad or afraid to ask for the sale has been a concern of sales managers forever. This is something that I concentrated on as a sales trainer and management consultant for years. It often came down to a lack of confidence and training, but why should this be the case with a Website? Shockingly, the same problem also holds true on the Internet. Are you asking for the sale?

Asking for the sale is the best part of the job!

It could be said that asking for the sale is the hardest task for a sales representative. It seems strange, however, that this is the part that actually creates the business, and thus pays the salesperson. When it comes right down to it, it should be the most natural thing, and the fun part of the job. So why are so many Website owners neglecting the best part of the sales job? The answer is that they simply do not know better. It is because of a lack of training and experience.

How do you ask for the sale?

In order to understand your shortcomings, it is often best to ask for another set of eyes from outside your organization. Fortunately, with Websites those extra eyes (and where they are looking) are recorded in a server log that may be reviewed and analyzed to determine patterns which may show that you simply are not asking for the sale. If you do not know what to do with this information, and most people do not, you need a professional. This brings me to the point of asking you for the sale.

May I have your business?

I am not a hypocrite, so I will lead by example. I want your business, and I am not afraid to ask. Some benefits that you will receive from my services are as follows:

Enhanced Website user experience emphasizing your call to action.
Expanded visibility with search engine optimization (SEO) placing your Website at the top of appropriate search results.
Improved market exposure through social media.
Improved public relations with well prepared and distributed press releases.
Improved presentation with professional creation and review of existing marketing copy.

I want to provide you with my experience in reaching markets and delivering quality results. For more information, please take your time and review this blog. I hope that you will find this information useful. Following your review, call me at *REDACTED DUE TO AGING WEBSITE* to get started with a better approach to your Internet market.

One last thing! May I have your business please?

Hookers Write the Best Blogs

Who would have guessed that hookers write the best blogs? In this fast-paced scan-and-click Internet world, what are people actually reading? It may sound crazy, but you could learn a lot from a hooker.

With over 200 million blogs on the Internet, who can slow down and read the whole thing? Hookers know the answer, and it is really pretty basic. When you hook the reader right up front, they will have more reason to keep reading and want to know more. So keep reading! I wrote this to help you get more productivity from your time online, and if you are a blog author, to help your readers get more from your articles.

Bloggers and Hookers

If you are a writer, it is your responsibility to assure readers a good value for their time. But first, you must give them an incentive … a hook. Thus, a writer with a good hook could be called a “hooker”. In order to do this, effectively, you really must think about the way you read. I have often found myself scanning through information in such a mad rush that I sometimes miss the good stuff. Consider for a moment how many articles you start to read but never finish. You only get a fraction of the message because you toss them aside and click on the next flashy thing that catches your eye. Your readers are not so different. A look at your Website statistics will show how long an average visitor spends on your site, and it is never as long as you would like. So, if you are a good hooker, “turning the trick” is the next big battle.

Turning the Trick

This happened to me just yesterday. I was reading a blog post that I thought was kind of interesting. I put it aside and figured I would read the rest later. I thought it was good enough that I tweeted it (sent a message using Twitter.com), but I almost didn’t finish it. Just a moment later, I saw that somebody “re-tweeted” it. The article very nearly ended up in my vast “to read” pile (which often remains unread). Once I read just a bit more, I could not stop … I was hooked! The terrible part is that I almost missed reading something that I ultimately found very interesting and useful.

So, in the example above, where did this all go wrong? I had actually read far enough to know it was a good article. The hook had been set, right? Wrong! The author almost lost me, and not because it got boring, but rather because he did not set the hook deep enough, fast enough. If the author had fully engaged me in the very beginning, I could have probably suffered through a lot of boring reading, just assuming there was something coming to re-spark my interest.

Quality Ad Copy

Quality ad copy always starts with a hook. If you get that part right, the rest is much easier. If you canont come up with the right hook, get help from a friend or hire a professional.

Quality ad copy with a good hook is more important on the Internet than any other place. You only have seconds to reach your readers. I don’t know any writer who feels good about losing a reader early, and when it comes to business writing, it hurts your bottom line. I personally love to look at my reader statistics to see people spending a lot of time on a page. This means they are actually getting what I tell them. It means I have done my job well, which is very satisfying to me. Be sure to look at your statistics, and if users are coming but not staying long, you are probably not setting the hook.

Am I a Hooker?

Yes, I am a hooker for hire. I got you to read this far, didn’t I? If I can do that, just imagine what I can do to help you reach more people and “hook” your audience. Of course, I don’t want to lose you here, because the good stuff is yet to come. If it will help you, take a deep breath, stand up and shake, get a cup of coffee, or do whatever you need to do, and then when you are ready … come back and read some more of my blog. Perhaps my section on SEO Lessons and the importance of quality Internet marketing will interest you, or take your pick from the left side of this page. This is all here to help you, and I will try to not let you down.

Origin of the Word “Hooker”

Since this blog post refers to hookers, I thought I would share this clever video to explain the origin of the word “hooker”. Enjoy! Oh, and Please Tweet This!

Twitter Study Statistical and Social Results

NOTE: This is a follow up to my previous “ Twitter Usage Study“. Please Tweet This!

I want to start by saying that I am NOT a Twitter Expert. I think it is pretty early to give clear definition to what a “Twitter expert” really is. There are some Twitter users whom I would consider highly effective at propagating a message, but even many of the best will disclaim that extremely overused claim to being an expert. The fact is that those who are good at Twitter are good at people.

My Twitter Experience

This is a summary of my past ten days as a Twitter newbie. I have learned a lot in this time, and I found interesting results of my Twitter study. First, I will start with what matters, and then get to the numbers.

I used Twitter for three other projects I worked on in 2008, but I did not make a big effort to optimize my use. Only when I recently embraced Twitter as the vital social networking tool it represents, did I see the big picture. In this short time, I have made many observations and met a few people who really influenced me.

Twitter Study: The People Matters

I explained the importance of social networking relationships in my recent article “Three Kids Prove Social Networking Works“. The article tells how I met close friends online over a decade ago, including my closest friend and wife, Peggy in 2000. Nobody can tell me that the relationships are just a side-effect … they are what counts.

Each day I use Twitter, I notice that there are a few people I look forward to reading about and having a quick chat with. I will just name a few, but there are many more whom I enjoy and respect. If you follow my tweets, or look at my favorites you can start to see the people I respect and visit with the most. Some of the outstanding people I have had the privilege to chat with one-on-one and grow my respect for are as follows:

Jim Connolly (@jimconnolly): I have gained a lot of respect for Jim, and I suggest everybody read his brilliantly authored “Top 10 Tips” and his story “Twitter and me” about deleting his group of over 20,000 followers to do things right the second time. Many people would consider Jim a Twitter expert.

Reg Saddler (@zaibatsu): Reg called me just after midnight and we talked for over two hours. I wrote about it in my article “Social Networking: A Call from Reg Saddler (zaibatsu)“. I have learned a lot from Reg, and he is a top-notch Twitter user with over 34,000 followers.

Jimmy Vee (@5ftHighMktgGuy): Jimmy has a certain familiar swagger that I respect. After reading about his business, “Gravitational Marketing: The Science of Attracting Customers“, watching his video, and reciprocal tweeting, I have come to like his style.

Joe Scanlon (@littlequiz): Joe is an Irish Blog Awards finalist, and I am excited for him at this recent achievement! Joe is a delight to visit with during the very late night or early morning hours (my time). He “gets it”!

Mari Smith (@marismith): Mari is a delight, and a very insightful lady. She is a joy in every communication. The author of “Why Facebook?: Social Networking for Fun and Profits!“, Mari understands that the people come first, and has many valuable lessons to share.

I would recommend following each of these people and learn from them, just as I have. They are each fine examples of the real people you can meet with Twitter.

I was on the telephone with a friend who asked me for a one sentence description of Twitter. I tweeted his question for others to address and then answered him “It is a great way to meet interesting people and gather useful information”. I very quickly received an answer back on Twitter that was almost identical to mine. This is the mindset that will work best, and people can identify with.

Twitter Disasters

If you are using Twitter for the wrong reasons, you may find yourself very frustrated. It is fine to join the community and align yourself with others where there is a potential mutual benefit. However, it is best to leave self-interest at the door and focus on being friendly and helpful. If your motivation is wrong, you may find this impossible.

Like every social media, there will be those who do the cyber equivalent of walking into a party and try to hand everybody their business card. People don’t have time or patience for that on Twitter … or the Internet for that matter. If you think that millions of people will congregate online with the purpose of being hit up with your pitch, you may do well to get a job at a carnival. People do not enjoy being sold at. Twitter is a conversation and not your personal billboard or bull horn.

I have noticed that there is an abundance of people trying to sell their services and products, while there are relatively few who are actually achieving it abundantly. What the Twitter achievers know is that the people are what matter, as I explained above.

What Gets Under Our Skin? My Observations:

Auto DM – Many people abhor the automated direct message they get when they begin to follow you. If they thought you were interesting, a lot of that goes out the window when they get a message like I received. It read as follows: “blah blah blah … buy my stuff and visit my website”. OK, that is not verbatim, but that is as close as I remembered it. No, I didn’t visit your “Magnificent Wonder-Widget” Website. I want to learn about you in time … don’t cram it down my throat like the guy at the carwash trying to sell me the extra greasy crap for the tires.
Link Guesswork – If others are to trust your taste and click on the link you sent, it had better not be misrepresented. When you provide a link, it is respectful to others and will be much better received if you give an accurate and concise description of what to expect.
Same Old Stuff – If we look at your profile and see that it shows a history of the same old thing just repeated in different ways, you strike out. You are a person, so behave that way. We are not looking for a machine to hand out lines of drivol … we want to know you. Show your personality! We may not all like you, but some of us surely will.

Twitter Study Statistics

I said I would share this with you, so here are some of the numbers. As it says in my initial “Twitter Usage Study“, I started the study with a relatively unused Twitter account (@murnahan) that had only 78 followers. Here are the present numbers at publish of this article:

783 Followers
97.4 Percentile Re-tweet
100+ Cities (first 2 days)
19 Native Languages
482 Unique Referrals from Twitter.com to awebguy.com/ptt
33 Countries
- 1. United States
- 2. United Kingdom
- 3. Canada
- 4. India
- 5. Germany
- 6. Australia
- 7. Austria
- 8. United Arab Emirates
- 9. New Zealand
- 10. Switzerland
- 11. France
- 12. Denmark
- 13. Belgium
- 14. Sweden
- 15. Pakistan
- 16. South Africa
- 17. Russia
- 18. Costa Rica
- 19. Philippines
- 20. Netherlands
- 21. Turkey
- 22. Indonesia
- 23. Mexico
- 24. Brazil
- 25. Hong Kong
- 26. Ukraine
- 27. Rwanda
- 28. Taiwan
- 29. Italy
- 30. Slovenia
- 31. Spain
- 32. Malaysia
- 33. Montenegro

In the past ten days, the followers multiplied by ten. As I write this, I have 783 followers. You may see a chart of growth at twittercounter.com/murnahan. I also now show a 97.4 percentile re-tweet rate according to retweetrank.com/murnahan.

I launched the study on Saturday 7 February, and I knew it would perform weak for a couple days. The study ultimately did not have an overwhelming re-tweet rate, and now I know why, but it was picked up by some of the Twitter elite and sent to their followers. I believe the reason it did not travel as much as hoped is because Twitter users are absolutely sick to death of somebody trying to sell them on a new way to “be successful on Twitter”. I suspect that the description may have been viewed that way in tweets, but it simply is not the case. The hashtag #PTT made it around the world reasonably well, but it did not drive overwhelming Web traffic (under 500 referred from the passing of the tweet). This does not mean it was not heard, it just means that a lot of the message stayed within the confines of Twitter.

In the proper spirit of Twittering, I provide this to you in hopes that you find it interesting and useful. I would also like to offer these links that I found profoundly interesting. Please Tweet!

From Brooks Bayne: “The Newest Way To Game Twitter – Fake Followers” (tweet it!)
From Pete Cashmore: “The Science of ReTweets” (tweet it!)

Twitter Usage Study: Pass The Tweet #PTT

Twitter has become an invaluable tool for bloggers, news agencies, Internet marketers, and friends who want a greater connection with the world. This Twitter study is intended to see just how far Twitter can reach, and to find how useful Twitter can be for spreading a message quickly and broadly. Before you go any further, please Pass The Tweet #PTT now!

Pass The Tweet!
(be sure to enter “#ptt” in your tweet)

The Twitter Study

The intent of this Twitter study is to determine the potential reach of Twitter micro-blogging and to find just how fast a Twitter message known as a “Tweet” can reach around the world. Let’s just pretend that this is a huge news story that we want everybody to hear. I believe that many Twitter users will be shocked to see just how quickly a message can spread. Please note that I am not a “Power Tweeter”, and I have begun this study with a relatively new Twitter account with only 78 followers, and a blog that was launched in December 2008. It is intended to find the usability and reach of Twitter for an average user, and not just the Power-Blogger or the greatly influencial … just us average people. My “Pass The Tweet” project could be “The Tweet Heard Around the World” or it can just be a couple of Tweets among friends. Tweeters will decide.

I will post progress here on this blog, and I also welcome you to give your comments and include your location.

I have chosen a Twitter hashtag of #ptt to track the progress of this study. In order to see the reach of the Twitter hashtag, you may check it at Twitter.com or Hashtags.org. I have also decided to embed a map from Amung.us to give a visual aid to the #ptt Twitter study.

What is Twitter?

Since I am sure there is somebody out there hiding under a rock asking “What is Twitter”, I will briefly explain. Twitter is a service that allows you to follow short 140 character news feeds of people you find interesting, and for people who find you interesting to follow your feeds. It is called micro-blogging, and it has caught on in a huge way. Twitter is being used by many television news agencies, bloggers, newspapers, and friends just wanting to have a greater connection with the world. Twitter may be used from a Web interface on their Website, Twitter.com, from your cell phone, from desktop software, or from many Twitter tools found easily on the Internet.

Twitter is Simple

Twitter owes a lot of its success to its simple call to action. Twitter, although a method of social networking, is perhaps the most simple to implement of all social networks. Signing up for a Twitter account should take most users under a minute. In addition to a very easy to master Website interface, there have been many tools developed by others to make Twitter even more simple for users to keep their Twitter status current. Whether from their desk or from their phone while stuck in traffic, Twitter users love the simple means to keep everybody up to date, quickly. Twitter is quicker than blogging, and because of a 140 character limit, users are less likely to encounter writer’s block than traditional blogging. Thus, we call it micro-blogging.

Twitter News Media

I found it very interesting when my local CBS affiliate in Topeka, Kansas did a story on the amazing reach of Twitter. They ran a story on a recent Tweet-up, where Twitter users around Topeka came together to meet in person and network with other Twitter users. It was a great success, and many were in attendance. It was such a success that it was only a day or two later when the Topeka ABC affiliate began promoting the use of Twitter to follow news and weather stories, which the CBS affiliate had been doing for some time. I believe that it was perhaps only when they saw a local Twitter reach that the power of the micro-blog really made sense to them.

Nub Cigars by Oliva Cigar Company Fall Short

Nub Cigars by Oliva Cigar Company is a brand of four inch short cigars created by Sam Leccia and Oliva. The concept of a short cigar is that every cigar has a “sweet spot” that begins in the area of four inches long. If you could get to that cigar sweet spot sooner, it would be possible that the whole cigar could be more enjoyable. After many prototypes and a lot of hard work, Sam Leccia and the Oliva Family got it just right.

Nub Cigar is an example of a great product with mass appeal that will practically sell itself. Really, though, does anything sell itself, or is there more to the story?

Nub Cigar Marketing

The reason I use Nub cigars as a marketing example is not only because I am a cigar smoker who chose Nub as a favorite smoke, or because I happened to have a box of Nub Cigar matches in my hand while I was contemplating a new blog topic. I use them as an example of much marketing brilliance, and a product perfectly suited to an Internet marketing and SEO campaign, but that may fall short of goals and expectations by overlooking usability. This is a good example of how you must look at the whole picture, including the effectiveness and usability of existing efforts.

From my first introduction to Nub Cigar in 2008, I was met with a fantastic product, and a team that showed great dedication to branding and marketing of their cigars. When I met Sam Leccia, he was visiting my hometown of Topeka, Kansas during a long circuit around America with a campaign centered around giving away a new Nub Cigar Mini Cooper. The campaign drew cigar smokers from all around to try the cigars, and to buy more cigars and be given an even greater chance to win the Mini Cooper. The Cooper and the Nub were a great pairing, both being short in size but long on delivery.

Sam Leccia Video: Rolling a Cigar

In this video, Sam Leccia shows how to roll a great cigar.

Nub Cigar Webcast and Social Networking

Sam, along with Oliva Cigar Company have been brilliant in their marketing and branding in many ways. During their visit to Topeka, we talked about their online marketing, and I was surprised when they asked me what I knew about Webcasting. Since we were outside the cigar shop and standing near my car, I simply pointed to the hood of the 2008 Corvette Z06 which reads “CopMagnet.com Live Webcast” and explained that I had recently produced a nine day live mobile Webcast crossing approximately 6,000 miles. These guys were making great strides to reaching a demographic of existing cigar smokers online, as well as a younger demographic that has often been overlooked by cigar companies. They produced online profiles, including a Nub Cigar Facebook page, and they launched the Nub Cigar Lounge, an online forum for other Nub fans to discuss the fine cigars they offer. There did not seem to be a lot which was overlooked by Oliva Cigar Company when it came to marketing … or was there?

Nub Cigar Search Engine Visibility

Although a quick search for Nub Cigar will yield much information about their brand, it mostly serves only to reach the people who are already aware of their products. As with too many companies, their online marketing falls short of reaching others who do not know who they are. I often compare this to a yellow pages vs white pages approach to an Internet market. In the white pages, you can find a known business by name, whereas, in the yellow pages, you seek for a company by their product or service offering. It should not take a lot of thought to guess which method is more valuable.

Nub Cigar Website Usability

Although I give great credit to Sam and the Oliva Cigar Company for their marketing efforts, I have to point out where they fall short. They are not alone by any means. I find this to be the case with most companies’ online marketing, so I not picking on anybody.

If you visit the Nub Cigar Website, a couple things to notice are that it is arguably too graphics-laden, causing it to be slow to load for users and search engine spiders alike. Also, the keyword usage is all but non-existent, and the keyword selection does not embrace the many possible lateral keywords people will use to find cigars online. In fact, all of the pages share the same page title, which is one of the easiest and most important places for improvement. These, along with many other usability issues and a lack of a clear call for action make it seem like there is a lot of potential business and market share left on the table.

In as much as these guys have been brilliant in their efforts, it seems that they did not go all the way. I often see this when a company makes a lot of effort to reach their market online, but when it does not all pan out the way they expect, they stop just short of a potential landslide because the initial efforts did not match with their goals. This speaks to the fact that when you do almost everything just right, the one or two missing links in the chain can make the difference between disappointment and utter success.