search engine marketing Archives - Page 4 of 4 by Mark Murnahan

Google Website Marketing: How to Improve Website Traffic

Have you ever taken a moment to consider what people are really looking for when they come to your website? Of course you have, right? Maybe you have tried some keyword research tools and done your best to discover as many lateral keywords as you can possibly optimize. What may be surprising is how many customers you are missing, and the relatively simple reasons why. I want to give you some Google website marketing ideas for how to improve your website traffic, and optimize the traffic you already have.

Let’s take a look at two types of website traffic that come from a Google search. I will call them “first-search” and “second-search” website traffic. Both are important, but most companies are too focused on one to even recognize the other. Their loss may be your gain!

Website Visitors Google What They Want!

I see a lot of companies scramble to be found in a Google search for what they sell, without enough consideration for the real reasons people are searching. I wish I had a dollar for every time somebody told me “we are in Google” and they think that is what matters. They may even be well ranked in Google for their product or service, and still be missing a huge number of potential sales. This often happens because much of their website traffic is from second-search users (I will explain in a moment) and competitors searching to check out the competition. I don’t know about you, but in a lot of industries, the competition is not the best target customer. Now, that is not true for every industry, because other SEO and Internet marketers are good clients for me (SEOs see “How To Market SEO and Vertical Internet Marketing“). I actually want to be a great resource to my “competition”, but for most people wanting to improve website traffic, the competition is not their best target.

Improve Website Traffic Through First Search Not Second Search

What is this “first search” and “second search” thing that I am writing about? An important Internet marketing factor that a lot of people do not measure or understand is that many people who search for something perform multiple types of searches. I will just give two main categories to explain this. I will call them “first-search” and “second-search”.

First-Search Website Traffic: First-search traffic comes when people search for what they want. If their toe hurts, they may search for “big blister on toe” as a first search. It helps them get direction. They want to know what to do with that big blister, and maybe what caused it. They are researching. They are not quite sure yet just what they want or need, but they are trying to find their way. Once they know their way and learn the industry-popular terminology and can refine a search, then they will use a second-search approach to filter through the available solutions.

Second-Search Website Traffic: If you are a podiatrist (foot doctor), you may feel that it is just great that they can find you when they search for a podiatrist, but what if you caught them in the first search? Wouldn’t it be more likely that if they found you in the first-search category that they will see you as a greater authority when they discover you again in the second-search? Then, once they figure out they need a podiatrist you will be a more likely choice to help them. Doesn’t this seem like a great idea to be an authority in both searches? Of course that makes sense, but do you think you are accomplishing the task? For most people, the answer is no. This includes your competitors.

Increased website traffic and better Google rankings are not the only things that matter. I could go into the topics of search conversion (getting more people to click on your website once they find you in Google listings) and website conversion (getting more people to take action once they are on your website). Those are both great topics for other articles, but what I want you to think about here is how to improve website traffic by answering people’s problems. In order to solve their problem, you will have to look at the core of your business. What do you do? I don’t mean looking at it as “practicing podiatry” but rather “we help people with sore toes who want something to help toe pain.”

As you notice the heading of this page states, “Google Website Marketing: How to Improve Website Traffic” and that is what I am here to tell you. “Google website marketing” is my example of first-search traffic, and it reaches my equivalent of a person with a sore toe. Once they learn more about my industry-specific terminology, they refine their search to compare solutions. For example, “reasons to blog” or “compare SEO” may be second-search considerations, because now they have a better feel for what they need.

Improve Website Traffic by Knowing Your Return Visitors

There is often a huge disparity between what a company hopes people will search for and what actually creates more business. I find that for many companies, even when they know what people search for, they often only mimic the competition by targeting the second-search users. They know that these second-search users become customers, but often ignore whether they are actually returning visitors who found them previously. Any business should target people who search for their product … the actual things that they sell. It just makes sense. What is too commonly missed is the website visitors who are actually returning first-search users, or otherwise knowing where they have been before they came to you. They may have been highly influenced long before the search term that you recognize as important. Imagine the value in knowing what they looked for the first time and honing in on those search terms. All of this is measurable, but many people just overlook the importance.

If you analyze your web server logs, your Google analytics, or other website analytics tool to find what people search for when they find your website for the first time and match it with the returning traffic, it may surprise you. Sometimes a better target is to reach people searching for the solution to a problem. Then, if you do not make them a customer in the first-search, you can be there for the second-search when they want to compare you to the competition. Analyzing your website traffic logs and giving close attention to returning website visitors can tell you a lot about what drives people to buy from you. If you are not paying attention and taking appropriate actions, you will miss a whole lot of customers.

A Real-Life First-Search and Second-Search Example

Many people find my websites for things like “compare SEO“, “lateral keywords“, “h1 tags“, and “Google SEO Starter Guide“. I rank nicely in searches for the things I do. However, I often find that some of my best clients came from first searches that were less industry-oriented, but then returned to my website as a result of a much more sophisticated search that shows they have done their homework. Reaching these readers in the first-search phase and repeatedly being there through their learning process is invaluable to me. Monitoring for these trends is important.

Maybe you rank nicely for your industry terms, too, but it is sometimes not the things that you do or sell that your best buyers will initially find you for in a Google search. If you improve your first-search exposure, you may find it a lot easier to reach the second-search buyers.

So, what do you think?

The Lazy Internet Culture: A Culture of Internet Marketing

Do You Understand Global? — Do You Understand Globalization?

The Internet has created a lot of change in culture around the world. It is not true for everybody, but on a large scale, globalization and greater awareness of the world is a reality. People learned more about the other side of this planet in the past decade than in all those thousands of years prior to the Internet. We have embraced other cultures that we were not previously aware of, and we have blended into a larger culture … the Internet culture. The Internet truly has been instrumental in creating the more global society we know today.

I am an American. I live within about an hour drive from the geographical center of the continental United States. I am about as far away from another country as you can be while within the USA boundaries. At the same time, I would estimate that I have more experience in dealings outside of the USA than 99.9 percent of United States citizens. Much of that is due to the Internet, but not entirely. I have traveled extensively, and I have spent time in many other countries. I have done business in countries all around the world, and learned a lot of interesting things about many cultures. I guess you may call me “worldly” based on my experiences, but I have learned more about people and cultures by using the Internet than in my travels. I should perhaps also add that it has provided me with a unique view on Americans and American Work Ethic vs. Globalization.

The Lazy Internet Culture and Internet Marketing

It seems that the Internet has a downside. Actually, the Internet has a few downsides, but I want to address a particular one. I want to address the culture of laziness that the Internet has made widely available. It is a lazy culture of believing that the Internet will fix everything, and that it is a simple place to earn a living. After all, who wouldn’t love to sit back and watch money flow in all night and day for doing nothing, and risking nothing? That is how the Internet is viewed by a frighteningly large number of people.

This really is a problem, and it really does have an affect on your business future! It has an affect on how people view their jobs, and it creates a laziness with a backlash that we cannot even quantify as of yet.

A Story of Our Internet Culture

I received a call a couple days ago that sincerely troubled me. I actually get a lot of calls like this, but I will share this particular one with you. The woman on the other end of the line asked me “how much does a website cost?” I have been answering this question for over a decade, but the absurdity is getting worse. The woman wanted to know what it would cost her to get what she wants. I needed more information, because after all, websites are not created equally … not even close. An ecommerce website with seven digits of monthly traffic will not cost the same as a novice site invisible to Google by the kid who just took his first high school computing class. If you really want to know how much a successful website will cost, without any clue about how it will succeed, my easy answer is “fifty-two squillion dollars and thirty four cents” (plus a fresh pot of coffee and a carton of cigarettes). Read “How Much does a Website Cost?” if you want a more defined look at the variables involved.

I asked her what kind of website she needs, what she will be offering, and what her goals are. She told me that she wanted to sell travel, and she wanted to earn between $1,000-$2,000 per month. Please note that I don’t market for hobbies … I market for businesses. This was clearly not a client that I would accept, but I wanted to help her with some guidance anyway. She seemed really earnest in wanting to do something, but she was extremely confused. So, we talked for a bit. I did not charge her a penny.

I came to discover that she did not yet have a service to offer. She was looking into an opportunity to sell a travel service. The company she had been considering offered a package for $399 with a website and everything she would require to make the money she needed and wanted. She was actually coming to me for comparison shopping. She thought maybe I could offer something for less than $399 that would earn her $1,000-$2000 per month. (Note: I do not deal in hundreds.) She really felt interested in the opportunity the company offered. I did not want to hurt her hopes, but I was just dying to know how she thought she would stand out beyond 672 million other results in a Google search for travel, with a budget under $400. I wanted to know her angle. I also really had to know whether she had heard of Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, Hotels.com, or the others. I wanted to hear how she planned to get her piece of that market without any sense of a marketing budget, and without any travel industry experience. Don’t judge me just yet. I was nice about each of my questions … I was sincerely nice.

All of the sudden, the topic changed. When I asked about how she would target her audience for selling travel, she was at a loss. I guess she got a bit scared when she realized it would be kind of hard to earn a living selling travel to her friends and family. Then she wanted to know about marketing her line of perfume. No, not just perfume, but wedding perfume. Wow, this was a big shift from travel. She wants to market a very targeted perfume, specifically for a Christian woman on her wedding day. Really, she had a good case for it, too. The story was complete with things a nun had taught her as a young lady. She is ready for targeted marketing. Well, except for the fact that the target is like shooting a pea with a spitball at 100 kilometers.

Please see my point here. I hear a lot of stories about the next fantastic idea every day. Sometimes it is a new idea, and sometimes it is a person who just wants a piece of an existing market. Many times, it is just somebody looking for a way to get out of a job or to increase their lot in life, without any focus whatsoever. In nearly every instance, it is a person or corporation who thinks they have what it takes to be a success. They think this right up to the point of going broke trying to prove it. Sometimes they get lucky and find somebody who will tell them the truth before they waste a bunch of time and money. It is the lucky ones who find somebody to be honest and let them know it will not be as easy as the advertisement they just read about the Internet being their new savior.

I am usually pretty abrupt about things like this by giving an Internet marketing reality check. I felt really kind toward this woman. I guess I just needed to know more about her hopes, and I wanted to try my best to understand the mentality of people and what they respond to. I wanted to have a feel for people again … real people … like the ones struggling with hopes that they secretly believe are foolish but really want to hold onto. I wanted to feel somebody’s hopes, without just immediately crushing them with the truth. I wanted to let her down softly and not just be the everyday brutally honest Murnahan.

Three Lazy Internet Marketing Categories

I want to offer my views of three very sad categories of people I find in my career in Internet marketing. These three lazy categories of people that the Internet culture has created are as follows:

Type One: They heard the Internet is a great place to earn more money. This is a common message delivered by people trying to rip somebody off. It is so common that I would categorize it as the most destructive factor of the Internet. The majority of Internet users falling into this trap do not understand business, marketing, or even conceptualize earning a lot of money. They just know that they hear a whole lot of talk about making a ton of money, and websites … and there was something else. All they really heard was “money” and “website”. The rest was just filed off as something they did not need to know. They deeply believe that there actually is a quick and easy road to riches, and they just have to keep looking under every rock until they find it. There is a big belief that “somebody is getting rich the easy way, and it may as well be me.” What these sad folks will never grasp is that if anybody is getting rich easy, it is the one who sold you that delusion. The truth is that they are usually not worth the paper they are printed on.
Type Two: They already tried to use the Internet for a business, and it failed. This usually happens when somebody fails to implement due diligence. They did everything they heard would work, and they still failed miserably. Their business did not grow, and they lost every penny they spent. This is a sad category to me, because it is the kind I may have actually been able to help if they came to me earlier. There really is a huge marketplace on the Internet. Success is attainable if you have a business with a really good Internet marketing plan. If you are in this category, I wish you the best. If you ever want to try to do it better than before, I will be delighted to visit with you about a solid marketing plan with real numbers.
Type Three: They keep hearing about the Internet and are curious, but they are paralyzed by fears. They do not want to make the wrong decisions, so they make no decisions at all. They do what is comfortable, and they are afraid to push the marketing go button.

How Can I Call Internet Marketing Culture Lazy?

People who have followed my blog or my career for a while realize that I have been very successful in my line of work. Many also realize that I took it on the chin for the small guys about two years ago. I took some big losses in 2009 by standing up for people like this. It caused a loss to my annual income of more than an average twenty Americans earn per year, and postponed a planned 2012 retirement. That happened when huge corporate suppliers and clients alike started laying people off and ceasing services that I sold to my clients. I was a stand-up guy when they needed a stand-up guy. I feel mostly good about my decisions, and never regret holding integrity above profits.

I have always had a bit larger view of the Internet than average, because I provide the services that a lot of Internet service providers sell to their customers. I was not a bastard when I perhaps should have been a bastard the most. When I talked to the woman in the conversation above, I wanted to get back to understanding these people who have hopes without common sense getting in the way. After all, I created a massively successful Internet business back in 2000 with that same positive spirit. Fortunately, I also owned a 13 year old marketing company at the time.

There has been a lot of change in the world since I started my wholesale Internet services company. It was not easy then, and it is even harder to get a good foothold now. The opportunity is greater than ever, but it is incredibly irresponsible to start a new business with no budget, no marketing plan, and nothing but a huge set of blinders on to keep you from seeing anything but a carrot of hope in the distance. Success does not work that way.

What will make you different? I have an idea! Try some marketing talent. If you don’t have marketing talent, you better have money to hire it out.

A Positive Note About Internet Marketing Laziness

I want to leave you with a positive thought about the laziness and easy-money attitudes about Internet marketing. I have been in this industry long enough to see a lot, and I have had a lot of success at it. I have also worked very hard for it. If it helps you to feel any better at all, I will show you three little kids who will never in my lifetime be allowed to think the Internet is an easy place to earn money. These are my children, and I love them too much to destroy them with such nonsense.

11 Important Internet Marketing Laws

There are many legalities in doing business online. It shocks me just how many people are unaware of the laws they break online. I have spent well over a decade learning laws relating to the Internet. There are laws dealing with credit card handling; laws to address copyright; industry-specific laws for things like medical records, legal records, and etcetera; and of course, laws to deal with SPAM.

I believe it is time to consider a list of important Internet marketing laws. They may seem elementary, but I think these are still laws worth addressing. So here is the short list, but of course there are many more. I just want to start you off with eleven Internet marketing laws, and you can add your own comments.

Internet Marketing Law One: Typographical

If you think it has not already been done, you probably just made a typographical error. Google it again. Somebody else already does that.

Internet Marketing Law Two: Urgency

If you think it can be done better, hurry! There are many people who agree with you, and they are already working on it.

Internet Marketing Law Three: Correctness

If you think you have done everything flawlessly and nobody can fault it, blog it, Facebook it, and tweet it. You were probably not as correct as you expected.

Internet Marketing Law Four: Persecution

People will persecute you, but if you do not receive an occasional death threat or flame-letter, it just means you are not reaching enough people. You probably suck at Internet marketing. Give up now, before you anger me. You will not like me when I am angry.

Internet Marketing Law Five: Client Errors

Client errors only happen to new or inexperienced Internet marketing people. Fire them and start over with new ones (but give them my number).

Internet Marketing Law Six: Delegation

If you think somebody else can do it better than you, delegate it. Pay somebody else so you can get back to working on the things that delight your customers. This will save you a lot of headache and lost opportunities.

Internet Marketing Law Seven: Perfection

You are not perfect. Somebody can always do it better than you. This is the Internet for Pete’s sake. See Internet Marketing Law Six. You know what to do.

Internet Marketing Law Eight: Expenditures

Internet fame and fortune will not be yours for the taking with just a couple hours per day when you pay only $299 for the magical out-of-the-box online business. That dude is lying! If he was extremely convincing, it is because he is still really wanting to recoup the $299 that he spent on his magical box. Don’t you think that if it was true, corporations like Google, Microsoft, McDonald’s, WalMart, and Pepsi would have already purchased all of those magical boxes? Well, they didn’t, and that means the one holding the box is a sucker with a few hundred less buck to waste on their next blue sky failure.

Internet Marketing Law Nine: Success

There is no magical pink pony ride to success. Just ask somebody who has done it. Live with it. Success will not be as easy as the job you left. If it was easy, nobody would call it success. They would call it … hmmm … oh yes, they would call it average.

Internet Marketing Law Ten: Public Exposure

If you get really great at Internet marketing, the traditional sense of “public” can be a frightening place. Those people talk, think, look, and act different than you remembered. All that time basking in monitor-glow has made sunshine a creepy notion, and you forgot that offline cash registers actually still make sounds (so old-fashioned).

Internet Marketing Law Eleven: Time

If you are going to make it with Internet marketing, you had better stop wasting time on silly junk like this and get back to work. Just don’t forget to pass it along to all your friends so they don’t get too far ahead of you.