I recently tweeted about an article in Search Engine Land, written by veteran SEO Jill Whalen, titled “85 Reasons Why Website Designers/Developers Keep SEOs in Business.” I think Jill nailed the problem some web designers have with SEO, but it actually brings up a bigger issue that we talk with our clients about almost every day.

Simply put, web designers and developers are not marketing people. So, Jill is absolutely correct in her list of reasons why they keep SEOs in business. But there can be an addendum to that title, and it can include reasons why they keep SEOs, Usability and Marketing experts in business.

Web designers and programmers keep up with web design trends, the latest programming and available technology. That’s enough to keep most of them busy. And some are really very good at what they do.

But it’s unrealistic to think that they can also keep up with the latest usability standards, SEO (which is a constantly moving and changing field), and user behavior trends, all of which should be incorporated into the layout, architecture and wireframe of a website. And of course, the website content needs to incorporate messaging based on consumer insight, and that generally should not fall to the web designers either.

So the next time you’re looking to design or re-design your company’s site, keep in mind that there are different areas of expertise that all need to come together to create a successful website. It should incorporate the right technology for your needs and a design that accurately represents your business, and a marketing edge that will convert users into buyers.

I understand why, especially in this economy, designers and programmers want to market themselves as broadly as possible. But once you break it down, it’s easy to see why it would be so difficult to have true expertise spanning so many areas.

Website Design Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Website Design, Website Usability

Your website is out there representing your business 24/7 and can be a great resource in generating leads for your sales team. Below are a few simple things you can do to increase the quality and quantity of leads your site generates:

1) Write it so they can read it. Write your content for users who are scanning, not reading. Making it easy for them to find the information they need on your site makes it more likely they’ll contact you and not your competition.

2) If you have a “contact us” form, remove the phone number as a required field. Users fill out forms rather than calling so as not to have to speak with sales people. Removing the phone number as a requirement lets them know you understand this.

3) Add your physical address to your site. It gives users a sense of comfort that they are going to be dealing with a real company.

4) Provide valuable information users researching your products or services may need. The more you become a resource, the more they feel they can trust doing business with you.

5) Make it as easy as possible for them to experience your product or service on a temporary basis. If you sell a product, can they try it free for 30 days, or see a demo on your site?

And remember, the point of your website isn’t to tell them every minute detail of your business. The site content needs to move a potential customer or client to put your business on their “short list” of companies they need to consider prior to signing with anyone.

Your website should get you on that list. Your sales people should close the deal.

Digital Marketing, Search Engine Marketing Content, Lead Generation, Leads, Online Content, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Small Business, Website Usability

For companies are looking for ways to cut advertising budgets without jeopardizing reach, social networking groups provide some great opportunities.

Anyone with a Facebook or LinkedIn account has seen these groups built around hobbies, professional experience, or even location. They exist on large social networking sites as well as on a myriad of smaller, niche online communities. These groups are similar to the clubs that we belonged to in high school and/or college (i.e. chess club, ski club), and are where likeminded people can exchange information, ideas and ask questions. What social networking has done however is allow us to join groups on a large scale.

Why do people join groups? Mostly, people join groups as a way to express themselves. For example, I belong to multiple “online marketing groups” on LinkedIn, for two reasons:
1. To show anyone that looks at my profile that this is my passion and
2. Because I want to connect to likeminded people who are at the forefront of the industry, and I am interested in what they have to say.

For marketers, this provides an opportunity to communicate to a mass audience of people interested in their products or services without huge media expenditures. That doesn’t mean that targeting social networking groups is free. Successful, well thought out, focused social media campaigns take time and strategic thinking. When done well, they can provide businesses a great outlet to engage potential customers and reinforce their relationship with existing customers.

Not convinced? Let’s say your company manufactures ski equipment and you are holding a ski demo at Stowe Mountain in Vermont (for those who don’t know what a ski demo is, it’s where a ski manufacture provides free ski’s to customers for a day so they can try them out). If your company had groups on existing social networks, it’s easy to let them know about your demo. But beyond letting your own groups know, you can find other groups, related to Vermont Skiing and Skiing, and notify them of the promotion as well. It’s targeted messaging to exactly the group that would most want to hear your message.

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Web designers design websites. You need to find one whose work appeals to you and has the right aesthetic for your business. For example, if your site’s target audience is “families,” you don’t want to design a dark, sleek, masculine looking site that isn’t warm and inviting. Makes sense, right?

Programmers write the code that makes the websites do what you want them to. Some programmers do this well and others don’t. Often, you won’t know which you’ve hired until after you’ve paid them and they’re long gone. It’s a concept similar to building a house. Two homes can look identical from the outside. One of those houses can be lived in for years without needing repairs. The other needs work done in a different place every week.

Neither of the two professionals above has a marketing background. Web designers are not marketers. Programmers are not marketers. You cannot put the two together and expect them build you a website that has a focused marketing message. And you really can’t expect them to effectively market that website online, offline or any other place.

You cannot expect this any more than you would expect your general contractor to go out and market your business after he built the physical building you work in. If after he hung the last door in the building he offered to do your advertising, you’d think he was nuts.

So, why do you think the guys who built your website can effectively market it?

Search Engine Marketing Marketing, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Website Design

I was at a trade show visiting a friend about a month ago. She has a small and steadily growing business. Her booth sat at an interesting point on the trade show floor, near where the smaller businesses gave way to the behemoths, the brand names we all know.

Of course my friend, a veteran of the larger trade show circuit, has by now come to know many of the other trade show warriors. Her relationship with them gave me an incredible opportunity to peek into the mind of the small business owner who manufactures or sells products into the thousands of specialty and chain stores in this country. What I found was fascinating, if not a little disturbing.

The facts are this:
• To a person, all of the business owners I spoke with have been in business for less than 6 years. Meaning they all created their business after the internet became a household name.
• They spend tens of thousands of dollars on these shows every year, year in and year out.
• Those expenditures don’t account for the lost productivity. For small businesses, every day spent on a trade show floor is a day where other business cannot get done.
• None of the businesses owners I spoke with spent more than $3,000 annually updating, maintaining, or marketing their sites. They had friends, or friends of friends around who would update pictures or add new press to the site.

What was fascinating was that all of them sold their products wholesale to retailers who sold their products online. So, although others had created a business out of marketing and selling their products online, they still didn’t take it seriously.

Bring your business into today’s age, and take your future into your own hands.

They were all doing business like it was 1995. Back then, trade shows and selling wholesale was the only way, the only option manufacturers had, to get their products out to the public. But in 2009, that is decidedly not so.

Consumers use the internet every single day to shop for what they need. Consumers do not have to know your brand name to buy your product online, any more than they do offline.

By not making your internet presence the backbone of your marketing mix, you leave the fate of your business in the hands of retail shops, hoping that they are able to drive in enough foot traffic to sell your products.

What a huge mistake.

I am not suggesting cutting out trade shows altogether, but the emphasis is backwards. Tradeshows play a supporting role to your online presence.

Make your website your priority. Create it to sell your products at retail pricing 24/7. It is not a look book. It is not a place where family and friends shop to support you. It is your most important store, and your best salesperson. Treat it that way.

Take 50-60% of your trade show budget and reallocate it to your web presence. Hire a professional. I know I’m biased but if you try and do this yourself you won’t see the kind of ROI you need. You hire a professional to take your catalog pictures. You hire a professional for your graphic design work. You hire a professional for product design help. Hire one for your web marketing too.

As your online sales pick up, budget 15-25% of your sales every month to advertising online the next month. So, if you did $10,000 in online sales in January, your budget for online ads in February is $2,000.

Then, pick only one or two trade shows to go to every year to get your products out into stores.

Marketing Ecommerce, Marketing, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Small Business, Website Design