Finding Your Target Audience Online
By murph
Everyone wants to rank on Page One of Google for certain keywords, but what keywords your website ranks for can dramatically affect not only your monthly website traffic, but also how well those visits convert to sales or leads.
Afterall, spending time and money on a website or blog, as well as any Internet marketing that you do for that website or blog, is pretty much a waste if you’re not generating any sales or leads right?
If there’s one thing I have a hard time getting through to with clients is that it is better to rank for your LOCAL keywords like “CPA Baltimore” or “Baltimore City Accountant” than it is for broader keywords like “certified public accountant services”. I mean, are people really going to hire a Maryland accountant on the web if they’re in Texas or anywhere else? Probably not, in all honesty.
Yes, ranking for broader keywords will likely result in a dramatic increase in website/blog traffic, but if your service’s or product’s success is based on how well it is marketed locally, why would you be concerned with how you rank nationwide or how many visits you’re getting if they’re not from the Maryland area?
Five hundred local visitors to your website is much better than fifteen thousand nationwide visitors who just come and go. If you’re already ranking well for most of your local keywords, stop worrying about how to conquer the world and increase your monthly traffic counts, and start worrying about what you can change or add to your website or blog in order to improve your conversion rates and capture more local leads.
Topics: SEO Tips | No Comments »
The power of Twitter and Social Media
By murph
I did an interview with the Baltimore Sun’s Jill Rosen last week on the importance of social media. It looks like Jill decided to run with the Twitter tattoo story and she also works in some great points on how local social media professionals are helping local businesses spread the word using Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites.
My opinion: social media will work for SOME businesses. It really depends on if it’s a business that allows a more personable connection. Make sure you have (a) “face(s) of the company” that people can relate to and feel like they can connect with on social media, and of course the one thing I ALWAYS tell people is to bring something to the table. People aren’t going to follow you on Twitter just because you have a cool background or nice picture, it’s all about how informative your tweets are.
Topics: social media | No Comments »
Maryland Tweeters
By murph
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Okay everyone, here is a list of active users on Twitter. From now on, in order to be listed, a link from your blog or website to this list is necessary. Once you post the link, email georgebizpro@gmail.com with where the list is listed and we will get you up right away. Please use the anchor text “Maryland Internet Marketing- Twitter List” for the link.
Also be sure to check out our new Maryland Twitter and social networking discussion group to expand your network and share tips and tricks with other Twitter users.
In NO particular order:
@george_murphy Me. SEO, social media, soccer, blogging for attorneys, and some other stuff.
@MissMktr SEO and eCommerce expert, MissMktr seeks and is happy to share the best tips and tricks to keeping a site at number one!
@krissymimi PR Coordinator Baltimore CVB. Work with Travel writers/freelancers, love Baltimore, contact me to plan a press trip!
@seanoakley Work for an interactive agency. Perfect since I’ve always been addicted to tech. Also love history, photography and exploring.
@paulmauritz ÜT: 39.20932,-76.93756
@hollisthomases Been marketing online since ‘98; writing for ClickZ since ‘05 (send me ur news!); am a humble thought-provoker – what makes you curious?
@oneeyedcarmen SecTwit, Bartender, tired of acting “appropriately”
@ericahebrank Online marketing rockstar!
@OneFineJay Blogger, contrarian site designer, photographer, meathead. I tweet in bursts & like big words.
@SagesseInc Mktg CEO w/ niche in cool cities & love of details. Cook & work on 130yr house 4 fun. Past lives in talk radio, film/TV editor & founder of LiveBalt
@cHammock interactive media supervisor at TBC.us
@MMMcDermott Associate Creative Director of sorts.
@O_snap Media & Analytics Director for Internet Strategy Group (ISG). Checking out what’s happening in online marketing, SEM, SEO, Baltimore
@christinaebert Fluent in email marketing - trying to tie it all together with social media
@bhawk988 Live & Work in Baltimore in SEM.
@lex_555 Designer/Professional/Student and otherwise interested individual
@NicoleSchiavone Actively Driving Email Performance @blueskyfactory!
@leonline Online marketing profesional with an interest in tech, entrepreneurship and art.
@HappyTown09 Marketing guy that knows it’s about giving back! Enjoying life and having way too much fun! Love Ultra-Marathons, nice people and getting my kicks on Rt. 66.
@Amy_Rubino User experience designer. Interests = freedom of expression + tech for social change + mobile tech in dev countries + plaform-independent data
@spaley Founder and CTO of Abstract Edge (www.abstractedge.com)
@tornow Online Marketing Professional, Social media addict, Web 2.0 enthusiast, who’s into SEO and can teach you how to speak German too!
@timstaines I Enjoy Integrating Technology into Marketing, SEO and Social Media
@chammock Interactive Media Supervisor at TBC.us
@bobzatch Improv Actor/Comedian, SEO consultant, LIP, and idea junkie.
@BrianFrederick Internet, Mobile, and Social Marketing Professional My Favorite quote: Life is full of twist and turns, don’t drive straight
@aviars CEO, Videntity
@bricknhymr A Tech Geek who loves cooking and all things cool.
@bmoredownbeats Musician, educator, blogger, social media junkie, wannabe politico, Bourbon/Cigar enthusiast
@bad_decisions Friendly neighborhood dive on the corner of Fleet and Washington streets.
@mglickman Law student, IT worker, Father… who says you need to know voodoo to create a zombie?
@Ryanatmghwom Word of Mouth / Social Media Marketing nerd, geek, food enthusiast, blogger, Baltimore obsessed
@ahrycyk Love dogs and social media. Work in Word of Mouth Marketing. Enjoy exercise, food and gadgets.
@sandysommer Premier Source of Kettlebell Information on Twitter
@jonpayne Web Marketer, Daddy, Skins Fan
@mikenealis Volunteer Maryland Coordinator for Maryland Department of the Environment. Sociologist, philosopher, photographer.
@BaltimoreGal One gal and her pup, trying to make it in charm city. I’m a writer for www.WeCovet.com
@R71 journalism, tv news, public health, bioethics, Johns Hopkins, obesity, weight loss, motorcycles, jeeps, travel, history, dogs, married, veterinarians, UF Alum
@luvlyreada Trying to make ends meet talking for a living. Finally moved back to a city I love.
@IKnowCalRipken I don’t actually know Cal Ripken. But it’d be sweet if I did.
@katemcphail Food obsessed, animal lover, workout/yoga freak, supporter of the Arts, and tech newbie.
@curliegurlie “I’m in Bethesda”
@stevekruskamp Online Marketer, MBA’er, Outdoors Devotee, Technology Geek, Eco-Friendly Advocate, Considerer of Posterity, Respecter of Antiquity, Damn Sexy Guy
@kplynch A Baltimore native involved in ecommerce, who enjoys live music and eating locally
@denrosen IT Ninja, Gadget Geek and Foodie
@AmyWoo Perky, Daisy-loving, Public Radio Junkie. Membership Director - WTMD 89.7
@kimberwom thanks to Twitter, I’ve gone from 4 degrees of seperation from Kevin Bacon to 2 degrees. I’m moving on up!
@ashleaMGH Baltimore/Marketing/Advertising/Online Media
@dulin Maps are good. Airplanes are better.
@kchertu Actor/Filmmaker in a few Hollywood films & a LOT of Indies, watch some of our films incl. Joker stuff: www.youtube.com/bmfcvp or /bemorefilms
@GarretOhm Hybrid mktg dir/business development director. I love brands and marketing, but only when they’re done well. Love social media too.
@metz628 Who wants to start a flash mob?!
@TDRAndy Business Writer at The Daily Record in Baltimore
@charmcitygavin Well hello there! I didn’t see you come in. Why don’t you take a seat? Make yourself comfortable. Would you like a drink?
@samtaters 24. foodie. lover of all things artistic. cancer survivor. FTW!
@rubinemployment James E. Rubin is the founding partner of The Rubin Employment Law Firm, P.C. Mr. Rubin has concentrated solely on employment law for more than twelve years.
@jennifre I’m a 20-something print design student living right outside of Baltimore.
@michael_k Communications professor, blogger, bookworm, Devils fan, triathlete, contemplative, bon vivant.
@MikeCP Baltimore search engine marketer working for Groove Commerce
@DavidMTaylor Developer, Daddy, L60 Warlock 
@katielynn783 Internet Marketing Assistant/Office Manager @ Web Ad.vantage
@samb nerd. mommy. grammar fanatic (only others’, not my own).
@RussWalters Social Media and Pop-Culture fanatic
@jeanneb Marathon Runner. Wine Drinker. Bad TV Watcher. Charm City Dweller.
@haralamos I am an artist and creative writer who naively beleives people desire to consume what I create.
@kshaffer PR Manager at MGH - A full service communications agency in Baltimore
@EmInMotion CMO C’watre oceanic skin care; wife; a little letter-press crazy; livin the start-up life & lovin City life in B’more!
@madcatdisease Public interest attorney, amateur feminist, devout atheist, refugee from the Bible Belt, shopoholic to a fault, and lover of all things feline (and canine too)
@bmoon Project Manager @ alexander+tom,inc.
@trainofbutter Writer, musician, podcaster from the city that reads.
@jodifur Jodi, part time attorney, mom to preschooler, celebrating the randomness of life
@ilanabit wife, mom of two terrific boys, community rabblerouser, edu-tainer, serial entrepreneur… ooo look something shiny! Pixel Workshop and TripFLIX are my biz.
@ChrisMonty Hi, I’m Chris Monty. I’m a banker turned Internet Marketer. I also used to sing in a rock band. I’m now a church worship leader, a husband, and a father.
@derekmassey Real Estate Attorney / Husband / Father / Sports Fan / President of @MASettlement
@jhawkw Director of Business Development at Renegade and Advertising Junkie
@tomhood CEO trying to “make sense of a changing & complex world, exploring blogging, social media, and Web 2.0 for CPAs
@paulmauritz Baltimore-ish, MD
@jeffq73 Operations Assistant, Blogger, Husband, Student
@RiverC Techie, Musician, Orthodox Christian, Scholar. Webmaster for Samuelson’s Diamonds of Baltimore
@diamondbuyer Diamantaire, rock star and family man from Maryland. CEO of SamuelsonsDiamonds.com, buyers and sellers of the finest diamonds in the world.
@tmdwrbs Mornings with Tracey, Mike and Dave on WRBS
@JPolicastro PR Coordinator at AU Washington College of Law. Writer. Runner. Eater of Burgers.
@amygarland Love running (& biking & swimming), bad reality tv, reading, my aminals, living in SoBo & working at Blue Sky Factory, the best ESP in the biz!
@CarynTamber I’m a reporter covering “the business of law” at The Daily Record.
@TiffanyTSmith PR/Comms specialist, social media newbie, pop culture geek!
@ElenaH13 foodie, gym rat, frequent friday happy hour goer, & working for the best ESP in the biz in Baltimore
@missmirandab 20-something. AdWoman. Loves cupcakes. Going “green”. Enjoying the show
@omgitsrachel OMG! It’s ME!
@dwplanit PR Guy at a Baltimore Ad Agency. Oh, and #journchat
@jflanigan Just a girl searching for a place in this virtual world.
@Mr_Matt “You were right about the stars. Each one is a setting sun.” - Wilco
@MeredithRae It’s probably just a food baby.
@martyfnday I blog. I webcomic. I commentate.
@JohnMilleker Photographer, Videographer, Designer, Programmer
@GusSent dude, married, multimedia (newspaper) journalist, new dad
@SigilTempus Network Admin, Dad, Gamer, articulate geek and cool nerd
@seanoakley Just a guy in Baltimore, working for an interactive firm and soaking up as much information as one can share.
@subelsky Hacker, improvisor, and cofounder of OtherInbox.com and IgniteBaltimore.com
@susananthony partner in 14+ year-old marketing public relations firm who enjoys travel, hiking (with dog, Ace) and a beginning bridge player
@mrshadeed Tech Evangelist w/ specialties in SharePoint, Digital Music Mkting, New Media. TV Producer, Co-founder Balt. SharePoint Group, Columnist, Web Publisher
@awessendorf ‘God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.’ Voltaire|SM Addict|passion for photography|marketer|editor|lover of good design
@abachman Father of two, software developer, code dreamer.
@ShepherdJeff Helping connect college students and the employers looking to hire them
@ergeekgoddess Cheerfully attitudinal, hopelessly undomestic, neo-feminist, multilingual, Latina, idea chaser, word wiz. Oh, and the Universe’s first and only GEEK GODDESS.
@anne3000 Baltimore gal. Editor of b the paper and bthesite.com. News junkie. Language nut. Lover of pop culture. Cat lady.
@kc_hopson President of EventRebels
@aaronwatkins Information Architect, Johns Hopkins Medicine
@mike_vs pop. mod. tek. ink. buz. mix.
@jbusteed Communications specialist/writer. Ad agency expatriate. Shoe evangelist. Food enthusiast. Grammar girl. Still love the print edition of the NYTimes.
@USSJoin CS Grad Student, doing various highly odd things. Intern at Six Apart.
@nancypub Spec. in public relations, branding, media strategy/ Amateur chef & aspiring gardener
@CKisMom Mom to Two Boys (and baby #3 on the way) and PR Maven
@yummyandcompany Location: Baltimore
@cameronbarry Communications specialist/writer. Ad agency expatriate. Shoe evangelist. Food enthusiast. Grammar girl. Still love the print edition of the NYTimes.
@misterperturbed I am trying to be optimistic, but I am evil and so is my dog.
@erinjeany Blogging Mommy, Wifey, Geek, Gamer, Graphic Designer, Cooking, Organizing, Scrapbooking Superhero.
@MonicaMcNamara I live, laugh, love & work in Ocean City Md
@chrisanderin Heard Weekdays from 2- 7PM on 95.1FM WRBS in Baltimore!
@BGleas PR/Marketing Manager in professional sports and health industries. Morphing into the head of social media at my company. Love the Celtics and Red Sox
@chrispund young entrepreneur
@cpeckens Entrepreneur. Baltimore. Geek. Flash, Graphic, UX, Project Management. Love all that is Digital & Coffee.
@alissacarr Marketing/PR Specialist, Writer & Certified Trainer
@sweetney Geeky Gen-X Parental Unit from Charm City USA
@rachelstuart graphic designer currently seeking job opportunities and/or freelance work
@Will_Burns Communications Director for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. News and political junkie. Technology geek.
@opie Super Stunna
@groovecommerce Groove Commerce is a full service eCommerce design, development, and consulting firm. Our goal is to bridge the gap between marketing and technology and delive
@PaulCapestany Neuroscience researcher by day, CEO of a web startup by night, vegan, aspiring beer snob, etc
@ZacharyCohn My passion in life is Parkour, and I’m getting pretty interested in Internet Marketing and Social Media as well.
@NatalieFriton Boater, Runner, PR & Marketing Professional, Dog Lover.
@mullally_engine B’More/DC Recruiter focused on Creative and Marketing.
@phintch 25 year old designer & Internet marketing specialist living in Charm City!
@robwilkerson A software engineer (who hasn’t always been a software engineer) with an affinity, if not a talent, for photography.
@jedsalawyer General solo practitioner in Maryland.
@nicebrightlivin Best known for my: right brain, dexterity with a kitchen knife, furrowed brow and being a techn
@Dadooz Singer/guitarist for gospel:rock group Five Smooth Stones
@ayakobing Online marketer, Blogger, Mom, Japanese…
@wideangle00 Helping young people communicate, create, and lead.
@Grants_Pratt Andrea Snyder from the Grants Collection: Nonprofit Resource Center at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD
@NSpirit Writer, PR Professional & Blogger @http://nspiritonlife.blogspot.com/
@RobinYasinow Indy communications consultant since 2003 after decade with agencies. Enthusiast of swing dancing, documentaries, storytelling, sushi.
@g_and_r Greetings and Readings is an independent bookseller plus cards, gifts and more!
@trueisnotfalse Web Developer, Designer, Writer, Photographer and general all round geek
@rbuscemi Virtual Assistant with Creative Virtual Office, WAHM of 2 kiddos, Creative Memories Consultant, Police Officers Wife, Crafty Girl, Avid Reader
@Peter_Angelos Uber-ambulance chaser and humble owner of the Baltimore Orioles. Just trying to show folks Peter Angelos isn’t a bad guy - even in real life.
@BaltoRadisson Tweeting restaurant specials, coffee bar specials, and specials on meetings and conferences for Baltimore professionals.
@BeerInBaltimore Respecting beer in and around Baltimore’s ‘burbs
Topics: social media | No Comments »
Five Reasons Why You Should Have a Blog by Now
By murph
Hey everyone, Tom Foster and I just put together a free report, “Five Reasons Why You Should Have a Blog by Now (and why having just a website isn’t good enough)”
The report is free to download and, even though it’s written primarily for those in the legal field, it also gives some great points to those in other professions on how a blog can help you generate more leads, increase your online exposure, and capture another spot on page 1 of Google. I tell anyone who will listen, whether you sell cars, kids clothing, granola bars or women’s shoes, you NEED a blog. Go download the report and ask me any questions you may have.
TWITTER UPDATE: 1,329 followers and counting. Why aren’t you following me yet??
Topics: Blogging guide | No Comments »
Linkbuilding 101 Revisited
By murph
I wish I had Dave Frees’ hypnotic skills sometimes. I would sit everyone who asks me “why am I not ranking better?!?!?” down in a chair and wave a crystal ball in front of their faces, repeating “yooooouuuu will buuuuiiiiillllddd liiiiinnnnkkkkksssss…..”.
It’s probably the most underestimated part of SEO with every client we work with at Foster Web Marketing. The thing is, most FWM clients take for granted the network that is actually being offered (every FWM site is being linked to and from by other FWM clients, all of which have a Pagerank of 3 or better. Not a bad network that has been established if you ask me). Use this tool when you get a chance:
This is a great tool because it not only shows how many inbound links you have, (it may not be as accurate as Yahoo Site Explorer buuuuut….) it also shows you the anchor text of the inbound links that you have, which is extremely important for your search engine rankings.
Check out a few link building posts I made on the FWM blog, there are some basic link building techniques you can use. And if you ever wonder why a website is ranking higher than yours, do these two things:
1) Type site:http://www.yoursiteurl.com (and of course replace that with your site URL), and do the same for your competitor, and see who has more pages indexed.
If you have more than the competing site, than
2) Use the Yahoo site explorer to see who has more inbound links. My money is on the competing site if they’re outranking you, but I’d be willing to analyze if I’m wrong.
-Murph
Topics: SEO Tips | No Comments »
Change has come to Washington
By murph
So I usually don’t post anything personal or political on this blog but I’d like to take the chance to share my experiences from the Obama inauguration in DC yesterday.
I and a few friends drove down from Baltimore on Monday evening expecting heavy traffic and long delays on our way into a friend’s house that we were staying at in Capital Hill, but were surprised to find a smooth, quick commute that only took us forty-five minutes. We stayed at the house, had a few drinks, and were up bright and early the next morning (6 am) to venture off to the monument.
One word: COLD.
I’d just like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to the two best inventions in the past 20 years: hand warmers and under armor.
It was freeeezing. Luckily we had a 2.5 mile walk to keep us warm.
The crowds were what we expected. People were under control for the most part and everyone was pretty courteous, but there were always one or two people who let the cold get to them who became pushy and unruly. Lines of people waiting to get standing space anywhere close to the capital were everywhere., and they didn’t seem to move. We didn’t have any tickets so we decided to hike it up to the monument to take our chances there, which was a good call because there was plenty of space when we got there (around 10 am) and we could actually see a jumbo-tron.
They were playing the concert from Saturday for most of the time while people jumped up and down and moved in place however they could to stay warm. I and a friend actually went to the refreshments tent. An hour and $52 later we came back with four bottles of water, eight cups of hot chocolate, and four hot dogs. I ate two. They were good.
So then more waiting around and finally some of the recent presidents were announed. Bill Clinton got cheered, George W. did not. One guy who said he was from a newspaper in North Carolina asked me “why they don’t like him very much?”. Nice guy, but I wanted to ask him if they had cable in North Carolina or if he was actually from another planet? Here is the article, for those of you who don’t want to register to view it:
WASHINGTON — If there was any doubt President George Bush left office as an immensely unpopular president, it was confirmed Tuesday.
Tens of thousands of people standing on the National Mall during President Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony jeered in unison every time Bush appeared on the giant television screens set up so those in the crowd could view the event.
“It’s just not here,” said Baltimore resident George Murphy. “Every city in America was hearing that same noise.”
When asked why he thought so many people disapproved of Bush, Murphy said the answer could be found in the last eight years.
“I think people are glad to see him go,” Murphy said. “I think you will have a hard time defining something positive in his administration.”
Mo Rodgers, who flew from Los Angeles this week to attend the inauguration, felt, however, that the crowd should have been a little more respectful of the former president.
“People maybe should have been respectful, but they’re frustrated,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers said Americans are angry with Bush over the economy, the war in Iraq and policies directed to further enrich the wealthy.
“He was for the wealthy and well-connected,” Rodgers said.
At one point after the swearing-in ceremony, a military helicopter flew over the crowd leaving the National Mall. Some in the crowd, thinking Bush was aboard the helicopter, looked upward and shouted good riddance.
Others started singing “sha na na na, hey, hey, good bye.”
Actually, what I said was “you would have a hard time finding something positive that defined his presidency”.
Anyways, back to the events. Eventually Barrack Obama was sworn in:
Quote of the day: When Aretha Franklin came out, and the girl behind us immediately said “whats she WEARin’?”
Here’s another shot of the crowd:
We stuck around for the rest of the ceremony, and decided to take a different (longer) way home. By the time we got back, someone calculated that we walked a total of 7.5 miles. It was great to be back inside, but we were all disappointed in CNN, FOX, and every other news channel who would not stop beating the Ted Kennedy seizing story to death, despite everyone that they interviewed all but saying “he’s fine now, everything seems to be ok”.
Here are a few satellite photos of the crowds from Google’s Geo-eye camera. I have to say, these pictures are a little deceiving because it makes it look like there is so much open space, which, trust me, there wasn’t.
I was also impressed that a change has come to the White House post was scheduled and launched one minute after the swearing-in was scheduled. Everyone knows the role that the Internet played during Obama’s campaign. Blogs, Twitter pages, Web 2.0-friendly web sites. It’s a breath of fresh air, and another way for the youth to get involved and stay informed.
All in all, it was a pretty good day. People seemed to be hopeful and happy to have a new president. I would have to say that this is the first time in my lifetime that we have a president that I can relate to. He seems to reach the youth, hopefully he can motivate them to want to pitch in and make a change.
Topics: Personal | No Comments »
Writer’s block
By murph
You’ve all heard me preach this time and time again… the key to a successful SEO strategy is content. But knowing your limits is just as important. If you’re like me, you think you can do everything yourself. Update my blog and website every day? Sure, nooooo prooooblem! It’s only like 30 minutes a day right?
Two months later and you’ve done 1 blog post and change a picture on your website.
Not to beat a dead horse, but you can’t put a price on the importance of time management in the Internet marketing industry. If you’re handling multiple clients, multiple issues, multiple sites, it’s almost impossible to actively market yourself and maintain/update your online web presence at the same time.
Tip: outsource to writers and bloggers. Post an ad on Craigslist. Capitalize on the slow economy, plenty of people are looking for extra cash. It’s better to sped a few bucks and stay on top of things than it is to fall behind to your competition because their workload is slow ad they have time to write and develop.
I’ll never hire anyone to write on this blog, this will always be my personal opinions and tips. But when it comes to work for clients, I tell them on a daily basis: don’t try to do everything yourself. Find some help (and make sure whoever you find knows what they’re talking about). Writers don’t grow on trees, but if you take some time to network and find the right person/people, they’ll pay off ten fold in the long run.
-Murph
Topics: SEO Tips | No Comments »
Internet Marketing for Charity
By murph
I haven’t had a lot of time to post on here lately, and I don’t usually promote other Internet Marketing firms unless I’ve worked with them in the past, but ProspectMx, the authors of that awesome linkbuilding chart that everyone should have by now, is running an Internet Marketing for Charity contest where they give away $10,000 in Internet marketing.
This is obviously doing two great things for them as a business: getting some positive publicity, and possible gaining new clients. Either way, I owe them a favor for using the chart in so many presentations so here’s a blog post.
Topics: SEO Tips | No Comments »
Google webmaster chat
By murph
Here are a few screenshots I took of answers to questions during today’s Google Webmaster chat, I would just post the images but they’re too big for my blog theme.
Thoughts coming later, hopefully.
Topics: SEO Tips | No Comments »
When it really comes down to it….
By murph
Sometimes it can be hard relating certain aspects of the Internet marketing business to those in another person’s/client’s industry. For example, it’s true that the end product of an SEO/SEM/PPC/social media campaign for a client should be an increase in leads that they are obtaining. Not an increase in traffic, an increase in SERP, or an increase in blog comments or e-mail questions, but an increase in business. But as Internet Marketing professionals, is your website your number one source of leads?
I’m sure that companies who have been established in the industry for a long period of time, have a large portfolio of clients, a web site that has been developed over the past however many years, and rank for almost every major keyword related to their industry get a fair amount of leads from their sites. But for everyone else, when it really comes down to it, isn’t word-of-mouth still the most powerful lead generation tool available to Internet Marketing professionals?
A client once said to me, “well I just did a Google search for Baltimore SEO and figured if you showed up on the front page, you knew what you were doing and if you didn’t, why should I work with you if your own site can’t rank??”. While some people do still think like this (probably most of the time because they don’t know who else to turn to for their Internet marketing efforts and a Google search is the most time-effective method) it’s still my opinion that, in the Internet Marketing AND web design industries, referrals, grass-roots marketing, and networking leads to more clients than ranking for keywords and running PPC ads.
It can be hard to explain this to others not in the industry as well as clients because 1) they don’t understand the level of competition and amount of effort that is involved with ranking for certain keywords (it’s no secret that my operation is a one-man show and I barely have time to write on this thing let alone promote it… like I’ve said before, it’s like the auto mechanic driving around an old beat up hooptie), 2) with all of the smoke and mirrors and dishonest practices that many in the Internet Marketing world practice these days, a trusted referral from someone they know is more valuable than paying a high retainer in exchange for a lot of empty promises.
Does SEO/SEM work for almost every other industry? Of course, if done correctly. But in our own industry? I’m not so sure.
It’s pretty obvious that I recently started targeting the keywords “Maryland Internet Marketing” and “Maryland SEO” to see if traffic improves, but believe it or not, this is mainly used for me to share whatever knowledge I have and help network with others in the business.
I’d love to hear from those who have been in the industry (SEO as well as Web designers and firms) for a while as well as newbies who are ranking well for their keywords… are you getting quality clients from your site or do you agree that nothing beats rolling up your sleeves and spreading the word?
-Murph
ps In “soccer” news, USMNT vs Cuba this weekend at 7:00 pm at RFK, I’ll be there covering the match, watch it on ESPN classic and cheer our boys on as we cruise through qualifying!
Topics: SEO Tips | No Comments »
