Chaotic Neutrality

I am often amazed by how many companies miss out on the opportunity to build fundamental search engine optimization practices into their website redesign projects.

In my experience, there is almost always a focus on:

• creative design and layout
• professional copy written content
• web development and launch

It saddens me because online marketing tactics seem to get pushed to the back burner when we work on website (re)design projects.

In a perfect world, each of the pieces above (creative, copy, development) would have an online marketing influence in them to ensure that SEO best practices are used during all phases of the redesign.

During the creative / layout phase, SEO would be incorporated by working with the creative teams so that they understand that:

• page headings should be in text rather than an image, if possible
• navigation components should not be driven by heavy graphics and images
• flash items should have alternate content that can display

During the copy writing phase, SEO would be incorporated by working with the copy teams so that they understand that:

• there are keywords and keyword variations that should be used in the content for each page
• there is a need to use certain keywords and that this is not meant to undermine their copy
• page titles and page descriptions should use specific keywords and keyword phrases also

During the development phase, SEO would be incorporated by working with the web dev teams so that they understand that:

• there are specific architectural improvements that can augment SEO such as
  • file naming conventions and directory structure
  • URL rewriting for dynamic URLs
  • setting up 301 redirects from old URLs to new URLs
• there are specific code improvements that can augment SEO such as
  • using clean HTML
  • avoiding javascript for changing page content and for site navigation
  • offloading script and styles into external files
  • using heading tags and text emphasis

Unfortunately, though, the above does not take place. Instead, the site is built and ends up looking great, but doesn’t rank for the right keywords — or even worse, doesn’t even show up in the search engines. The worse part is that it takes way more effort and way more resources to add those search engine optimization practices into the site after it has launched already.

My suggestion is to make sure that all of the key stakeholders in a project have knowledge of what SEO requires for each phase of the site’s development and the benefits of focusing on SEO (or consequences of ignoring SEO) are.

It may be an uphill battle, but it will be worth it down the road.

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I posted a guide to installing and configuring WordPress a while back. It happens to be a post that gets a decent amount of traffic for me.

If I could go back in time (which I might do by updating the guide in the near future), I would reaffirm how much I love the All In One SEO Pack Plugin and the Database Backup Plugins. However, I would also add a new one to the list.

The Automatic Upgrade Plugin is pretty amazing. It is extremely easy to use and extremely useful in saving time. It even helps remove most of the need for FTPing into your site.

I highly recommend that any WordPress users install this plugin and start reaping the benefits of it immediately. You will not be sorry.

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Mentos launched a viral campaign last month that is pretty cute.

It uses flash as the delivery system and combines some nice video sequences, 3D animations, and an interactive Mortal Kombat-esque kiss battle game to get the job done.

I thought the video was well done even if the game was a bit silly (pleasure bars instead of health bars, for instance).

Definitely worth a look since good viral attempts are few and far between.

See if you have what it takes to master the Mentos Kiss Fight.

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After much speculation and rumor build up for the last couple months, anal overlord of the world, Steve Jobs, finally broke the silence and announced the next version of the iPhone — the 3G version!

The news of the 3G iPhone is definitely cool. The EDGE network sucks for loading web pages… and that happens to be one of my primary uses for the phone (I actually ran the install for a wordpress blog through my iPhone — sure I had to upload it via normal means, but still!).

The cool stuff:

• Price: $199 for 8GB, $299 for 16GB
• Color: Available in Black or White (only 16GB)
• Speed: USES 3G!!!!
• GPS: Has GPS… and integrates with Google Maps. Yes! Wheee!
• Headphone Jack: Non recessed! Apple learns from a very dumb mistake in V1.0.
• Business: Exchange and push email support. Move over RIM, here comes Apple trying to take your slice of the pie!

The bad stuff:

• Price: My old iPhone is now almost worthless with very little resale value. $399+ down the drain, but I guess it will make a nice gift for a non iPhone fanatic.
• Release Date: July 11th is too far away. I want to play with a new toy. Damn it.
• Other Details: Not many other details are available yet. I’m hoping for some other cool features being improved like MMS capabilities, better camera, video recording, etc.

Apple pushes the cell phone market one step closer to full on data capabilities and a real web browsing experience. This should help usher in an improved era of phone+web devices.

I’ll bet that RIM and Blackberry are pretty concerned right now.

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I’ve never been a big fan of paid search engine marketing. All too often, I encounter companies that think that all they have to do is set a Pay Per Click budget and it will magically drive relevant traffic, bolster conversions, and be profitable.

Unfortunately, as with most marketing tactics, there is no magic involved. Paid search requires the same type of strategic thinking and preparation that goes into your direct mail, email marketing, or banner advertising campaigns.

The problem is that too often this thinking and preparation does not happen and instead you end up with a completely unprofitable campaign that is only driving non-converting, non-relevant traffic.

Here are five big mistakes that will lead to an unsuccessful Pay Per Click campaign:

Not Using Specific PPC Landing Pages

The beauty of search engine marketing is that you are targeting people who are in the process of searching for information (or a method to purchase) about your product. Therefore, it is imperative to provide a customized and relevant experience for the user when they arrive at your ads and site.

What not to do:

• Don’t drop searchers at your home page
• Don’t drop them into unoptimized sub pages

What to do:

• Create as many landing pages as necessary to target searchers and provide relevant content for their keywords
• Use a strong Call To Action in order to drive conversion

Not Understanding Your Business (and how search fits in)

As with all marketing campaigns, it is important that you have a strong grasp of the numbers behind your business. PPC Campaigns can be a great tactic if you make sure to understand the life-time value of conversions, the cost per acquisition that you are willing to pay, and the return on investment that is necessary for the campaign to be judged as successful.

What not to do:

• Go blindly into your new PPC campaign
• Assuming that increased traffic means success
• Ignore your metrics

What to do:

• Understand what keywords are most relevant to getting the right people to your site
• Understand how much a conversion is worth to you (life-time value)
• Understand what the maximum cost per acquisition is for your business and campaign
• Understand your search ROI

Defining Unrealistic Goals

Sadly, there is no magic involved in Search Engine Marketing. The goals for your campaign need to be based in reality for your site, your product, and your industry.

What not to do:

• Be too broad or narrow with your keywords
• Assume that Pay Per Click and Paid Search is the cure all for your marketing plan, it is only a piece of the bigger puzzle
• Expect high traffic and conversion rates without doing the legwork in creating good ads and strong landing pages

What to do:

• Do research and set realistic traffic and conversion goals
• Expect to get as much out of the campaign as you are willing to put in (preparation, refinement, creative)

Poor Lead Capture Forms

The method by which you capture lead information can make or break your conversion rate. Even though we always want to capture as much information as possible, it is important to realize that as the number of fields increase, your conversion rate will likely decrease. For this reason, it is necessary to capture only the most relevant and necessary details that will allow for a successful follow up.

What not to do:

• Make a page that just has a lead capture form (no call to action or additional information)
• Expect to capture ALL user information with your form

What to do:

• Only capture the necessary information — you can follow up for additional details
• Make it easy for someone to convert — don’t make the user jump through hoops to give you their information
• Make the benefits of their submission readily apparent

Making Fundamental Marketing Mistakes

Search Engine Marketing is still part of the marketing world. As I mentioned earlier, it isn’t magic, so don’t treat it like it is. SEM requires the same strategic thinking that any other marketing campaign requires.

What not to do:

• Stumble blindly into your PPC campaign
• Set your campaign up and forget about it (it needs monitoring and refining)
• Not understanding your customers, competition, and/or goals

What to do:

• Understand who you are targeting, their habits, what they search for, and what it will take for them to click through your ad and convert
• Use strong ad creative, use PPC tailored landing pages with strong calls to action
• Test, Test, Test — Make sure your test alternate ad copy and different bid positions
• Measure and analyze your results on an ongoing basis so that you understand where your opportunities (and weaknesses) lie
• Refine your campaign as often as possible based on the data that you collect

Final Word
Much of the above sounds pretty basic… and really, it is. But, often these items get overlooked in the process of getting a PPC campaign up and running.

Put on your marketing hat, plan your strategy, and do everything that you can to prepare for success — Avoid all short cuts!

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