Websites, Online Marketing, SEO, Social Networks, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Blogger & Success

The one question every business owner asks when we meet for a consultation is "What do I need to be doing to rank higher on Search Engines and reach more customers?".  The answer is a complicated one since there is no one thing that will lead to online success, it requires specific properly setup and optimized 'Online Building Blocks' starting with the website. 

No Online Marketing will be successful without a properly built and properly optimized website as the foundation.  The website must be readable by search engines, must contain multiple 'calls for action' to entice online suppers to submit a request, question or share information and the format of the website must be user friendly.  A website is "more than Meta Tags" today, the backend code is a requirement (still missed by many bad website companies and Template websites) but dozens of other key elements are required for online success.

This Template Website was produced by a a communications company for the customer and published without META Tags which ranked the website lower and lost the customer sales.  The customer did nothing wrong but noticed months later that old 'marketing websites' were ranking higher on search engines than the main company website.

The website IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM for online marketing success.  Make sure the website is built by someone with experience, expertise, focus (they build and market websites as the primary business - not an ad agency or public speaker or other type company that builds websites on the side to make extra money) and longevity.  There are hundreds of  unemployed people starting website, social marketing and graphics design companies.  There are more with expertise in public speaking, mortgages, ad agencies or even print marketing firms with little to no expertise with websites, Search Engine Optimization or Social Media Marketing that now present themselves as 'website companies'.

The most capable website companies will have a minimum of 10 years experience designing, developing and marketing websites. Any company with less than 5 years experience is still 'learning' how to build a website and anyone working from home is someone to be avoided.

Once the website is built properly, optimized and submitted to Search Engines the next step is building awareness of the new website.  The top algorithm used to rank a website is how many other websites (that have value, not link farms) are linking TO a website and what content those websites have on them.  Search Engines track how many links go to websites over periods of time which brings Social Networking into play as an key role in any SEO success.

Facebook is the # 1 location on the Internet, Facebook is the # 1 source of referral links on the Internet and Facebook has more traffic from people who spend more time on Facebook than any other website or search engine.  The importance of Facebook cannot be overlooked, there are millions of potential customers on Facebook every day.  The few people who do not use Facebook can still find information from Facebook on Search Engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing since content from Facebook is fed to Search Engines.  Setting up a business profile and a business page, optimizing the page and creating a successful social media marketing campaign with regular updates, posts and interactions will help rank websites higher and potentially reach millions of people.

Facebook is like High School where popularity and interactions mean everything.  Setting up a profile ad setting up a page has no benefit unless there are multiple people connected to the page who interact, comment and share information or posts.  This is where it may be worth hiring Social Marketing Experts like www.SocialMarketingBuilders.com to create, optimize and CONNECT everything so that Facebook and Search Engines value the content ranking it higher.  At a minimum all companies need to have a Business Profile setup with a Business Page for their company, product or service.  Ideally it is worth hiring a company with teams of Social Marketing Experts to create, optimize and train you for around $350-$550 so time and efforts are not wasted.

Twitter is the text message wonder of the Internet setup with 140 character length messages with the idea that people would 'Tweet' updates from cell phones.  Twitter users are loyal and there are millions of them so setting up a Twitter account for business is a requirement.  Setup the Twitter account then link the Facebook account to it (do this in Facebook) so that updates from Facebook are automatically sent to Twitter like we have setup at www.Twitter.com/WebsiteExperts.  Connecting the accounts reduces the amount of time spent with updates and ensures everything is up to date across the online board.

Pinterest is the new top player on the Social Networking playground with a simple visual approach.  (View our article explaining Pinterest earlier this month for setup details)  When we first came across Pinterest it seemed like just another annoying social network to learn.  Once we setup the account and spent time to research what items to 'Pin' that would being value to business we started seeing increased traffic on company websites from Pinterest.  The average visit from Pinterest spent nearly 5 minutes looking through the website, 5 times longer than Facebook visitors.  Our company builds websites so the main thing we used on Pinterest was thumbnail images of websites we built with a description of the website.

We then setup another 'Board' for Social Marketing and another 'Board' for company training classes and speaking events.  We removed the default Boards that came with the account and spent time considering what would showcase what we did, who we are or what we can do for customers to create the most effective Boards for business and a few fun things.

Pinterest requires a few hours to create, setup and then locate enough content to 'Pin' so that it is effective.  Spend a few minutes connecting and 'following' other people since they tend to follow you back similar to how Twitter users follow people who follow them.  If your company sells homes then Pin photos of homes for sale or floor plans while others can Pin photos of electronics for sale or any item located on the Internet.  Pinterest is not permitted is not permitted to Pin items from Facebook but Google+ users are welcome to Pin any photo from their accounts.

Google was the 800 Pound Gorilla on the Internet for years until Facebook took the # 1 spot away.  Google tried to buy Facebook and when the offer was turned down Google decided to create it's own Social Network.  Google+ is the result at http://Plus.Google.com with a combination of features from Facebook, Twitter and a few new ideas such as 'Circles'.  The article on Google+ Setup and Optimization outlines the key features and benefits of Google+ if you are just getting started.  One unique benefit of having a Google+ account is that Google announced that websites are being ranked higher on the Google Search Engine based on usage or interactions from Google+ accounts.

When a company has a Google+ profile setup with the company website listed on Google+ and other users connected who 'Like' or '+1' the website then it will rank higher for other users on Google.  In short Google is enticing people and business to use Google+ with the added benefit of ranking higher on the Google Search Engine.  Setup a Google+ account, place contact information, website links and a profile online and spend a few minutes adding people to your circles.  It may not be the top social network yet but Google is spending millions on development so it will only get better.

Google purchased Blogspot and combined it with their other Blog system to create one of the leading online Blog systems today www.Blogger.com.  Setting up a Blog (web log = Blog for short) is free, fast and reaches millions of potential customers online.  If a Blog has enough traffic and the right content it will be republished, shared and even sold online at the Amazon Kindle Store.  A properly written Blog will also help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), establish creditability for the writers or company and provide fresh content for social networks or websites. 

Creating a Blog is about creating content about your company, services, products or solutions and related information people may be interested in.  There is no wrong way to write a Blog, simply make sure you DO it and always 'sign' the Blog with contact information including a phone number and full website address.  Write articles about your area of expertise, industry news or information and your company.  Once a Blog is setup be sure to link it to Facebook so any updates are automatically sent to the Facebook business page and even the company website similar to how Google Blogger feeds scrolling Blog articles to the Internet Builder Consulting website Home Page.

Last is the LinkedIn Social Network typically used for Business to Business connections.  There are no grandmothers sharing recipes or families uploading photo's of the weekend trip.  LinkedIn is focused on business and company or professional information although it will accept direct feeds from Twitter and Facebook which may contain any sort of content.  The LinkedIn network suggests connections based on mutual places of employment, mutual existing connections and feeds nearly everything on the LinkedIn website to Search Engines.

Setup a LinkedIn profile and then a LinkedIn company page for the best results.  Company Pages and Personal Profiles are both indexed and sent to Search Engines so people may locate you or your business on Google because you have a LinkedIn page.

The list above outlines the very basic requirements for online success today.  Take the time to setup at least the basic profiles with a description, contact information and then practice every week until you are comfortable with each of the social networks.  If your business needs a BETTER built website, Search Engine Optimization or Social Networking setup, training or Social Marketing solutions contact Internet Builder Consulting online or call the experts at 816-842-7774.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert
816-842-7774 Corporate Office
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER Websites, SEO & Social Marketing Solutions since 1995