SEO Interactive Marketing Sacramento and SF Bay Area

The Aging of Yellow Page Advertising

Viktorya — 2009-01-06T12:14:00Z

This article came to the attention of Go Traffic Interactive and we thought it was worthy of adding it in its entirety to our SEO Blog.

What Could Save The Yellow Pages? 10 Ideas
by Chris Smith

Locals Only

It’s something of a “perfect storm” for the embattled yellow pages companies right now. Not only has the usage of print yellow pages books declined in recent years, but they’re also facing heavy competition in the online space from each other in addition to other local business directory providers and the big search engines. With consumers using YP printed books less, they’re now facing irritation from the environmentally-conscious throughout the country where people no longer see a reason for having big, paper-heavy books dropped on their porches. Economic pressures are hitting many businesses, and a lot of them have slashed some advertising spending, adding to revenue pressures at YP companies.

And to add insult to injury, Wall Street has abruptly lost its love for the venerable old companies in the last year, causing their stock prices to fall through the floor Idearc Media got delisted from the NYSE a few weeks back, and R.H. Donnelley appears to be about to follow them. The car industry can expect major bailout dollars to buoy them through these stormy economic waters, but the venerable old yellow pages cannot.

So, what’s to be done? Is extinction, as described by the Wall Street Journal, a foregone conclusion? Or can something be done to change course? I’m of the opinion that the yellow pages companies can survive and come out well on the other side, and I’ve come up with ten suggestions as to what they need to change to accomplish survival.

Print yellow pages usage is declining

Print usage has indisputably been falling off. This is simply incontrovertible, despite how the industry has strenuously tried to deny it, or deflect attention from it. The YPA’s industry usage statistics studies showed a drop of 7.6 % in usage in 2006, and although their studies claimed to show that no significant drop occurred in 2007, I showed that there’s really good reasons to not believe the drop didn’t continue further in 2007 and into 2008.

In my view, the leadership in some, but not all, of the YP companies has been in a bit of denial about the usage reduction of print YP. It’s hard to imagine that the public might not use an information resource that’s been strong since the late 1800s when it was first introduced fifteen years ago, no one would’ve ever believed that these hugely profitable companies could ever falter.

However, you can hardly throw a rock these days without hitting someone who’s stopped using the printed yellow pages. If you consider, this is really a substantial demographic, and if the number of internet users continues to grow as it has, this demographic of non-print-users grows, too. So, just the common-sense math dictates that usage of print YP has to drop, even if you go off of unscientific anecdotal evidence.

Is the industry addressing the issue?

Unfortunately, one of the big problems with the industry is a seemingly obstinate refusal to acknowledge the decline, which has led to a a major public relations nightmare. But, if you’re firmly in denial, it’s hard to be effective at addressing a problem. Welcome to the Business 2.0 and Web 2.0 world, folks! In this day and age, the advantage is to be had by taking the upper hand and acknowledging the negative facts head-on. By acknowledging the reduction in consumer usage, people will be more likely to believe you when you tell them about the positive upsides they should also consider about your product. In the Business 1.0 world you might’ve been able to keep “control of the message” more, but those days have really passed.

Many of the bread-and-butter advertiser base of the YP companies are savvy in their own right. They may not have big, expensively coordinated survey studies to back them up, but they have a real gut-sense of how much business they get from each of their promotion activities, and many of them have concluded that they’re not getting as much biz as they used to from the print books.

Despite this apparent loss of ROI, advertising in printed books continues to be expensive! YP companies maximize profits with add-ons, value-ads and product features. Bold this, highlight that, special spot color treatment for this, geographic reach for that, size up to this, add coupons to that, get placement here, add on menus there, put that ad on the spine or back cover, do this, do that….! A fast-talking YP sales rep could mark you up to paying fifteen grand a month within the first five minutes of arriving on your doorstep!

So, many advertisers already felt disgruntled or over-charged for the value they’ve been getting, and it’s very hard to find out just what that value was with many of these ad products. For some businesses, yellow pages advertising was their primary and only instrument for getting business referrals, and they felt like they were somewhat at the mercy of the YP companies. For them, when they started sensing some erosion in referrals, it was very easy for them to start assuming that they didn’t get any value at all from print ads any more.

This isn’t a complete picture, of course. The usage erosion is different in different markets and industries. Just because references to travel companies or restaurants in the books has dropped doesn’t mean that references to electricians and plumbing has. And usage may’ve only dropped off between 6% to 15% in the last two years that doesn’t mean one should slash all advertising, does it? And, consumers coming through YP advertising convert at a much higher rate these people are in buying mode, unlike other media.

But at the big yellow pages companies, the advertisers small, medium and large businesses across the country have begun re-evalutating their spends. Print revenue has dropped at Idearc, R.H. Donnelley and at AT&T.

Despite the PR and industry spokespersons attempts to get people to listen to their reiterations of the past glories of print YP (one yellow pages advocate called for “fighting fire with fire” in addressing negative PR), advertisers out there are having none of it. The avoidance and refusal to acknowledge the bad news has resulted in distrust from advertisers, so small businesses are skeptical and are not listening to their premise sales reps as easily any more. That previously trusted relationship appears to have become broken.

A number of these companies also have really huge debt loads which no longer appear tenable from the perspective of Wall Street, in the face of declining print revenues. This factor alone has probably had the heaviest impact upon companies’ stock prices.

Moving online

Even while the legacy print side of the business has been trying to hold on by its fingernails, yellow pages companies were hip and visionary years ago when they saw potential in the internet. Most of these companies founded an internet version of yellow pages well before there was any shakiness in their print business. Even while they’ve faced competition from a myriad of providers online (the barrier to entry in this online business seems to fall lower every year, with it awfully easy to slap a web interface onto a database of businesses), they still continue to gain or hold substantial levels of traffic. These companies easily beat the local newspapers into the online race.

Increasing online competition

Yet, there’s also continuing increases in online competition which are hard to perform against. Google Maps and each of the search engine’s efforts at blended local search results keep biting away bits of YP marketshare, and there’s been no clear direction as to how to effectively dominate in what has now become a search marketing landscape that most of the YP companies simply weren’t prepared to deal with. They’re facing young, savvy companies who have big war-chests and time and space to experiment with new paradigms of connecting consumers with products and businesses.

Even though internet yellow pages companies have been effective at selling ads online, advertisers’ online costs are tempered by the ads’ characteristic of needing to be performance-based to some degree. This along with the fragmented local online space have kept internet yellow pages companies’ revenues considerably lower than the high profit margins they’ve enjoyed on the print side for so long.

So, this all boils down to relatively few problems which can be summed-up. Print YP usage and therefore associated ad revenue, is decreasing. Period. Meanwhile, revenue from online yellow pages has been increasing or holding somewhat steady over the past few years. But, the volume of IYP revenue is still such a small slice of these companies’ pie that the internet income hasn’t grown large enough to make up for how much they’re losing in print revenue.

I think that these yellow pages companies basically need to do these three things in order to survive and be successful:

    * Improve on the public relations front
    * Try to bolster the print revenue just long enough for the internet revenue to offset it
    * Improve competitiveness of new media product offerings and internet yellow pages.
So, here are my ideas for addressing these top issues: 10 ideas to save the yellow pages

1.    Come up with some way to stop distributing books to people who no longer use them. There’s no way to explain to people why they should be getting these if they don’t use the books, and it irritates the environmentally-conscious even if the books are printed on recycled paper like you’ve been telling everyone.

2.    Make it clear on your phonebook covers how you’re making up for the environmental impact of the books, if you must continue to blanket-distribute. Explain how to dispose of the books when consumers are through with them, and how you’ll donate certain amounts of dollars to work for the environment and other ways you’ll do environmental penance for plopping the books at their homes. The yellow pages industry has already handled the environmental criticism moderately well, and are already doing somewhat effective PR management of this issue but, I sense this hasn’t gone away completely. Ideally, you really need to come up with a way to stop dropping these books for people who don’t use them any more you’re likely going to have to eventually face a higher cost of distribution at some point in the future, so it would be best to be ahead of the curve on this one and do it before some local government makes you. Or else, plan to have weaned yourselves off of needing the print product just before you’re forced to stop blanket distributions.

3.    Get industry usage statistics to be rock-solid and dependable. Get some more independent usage studies funded, make sure they’re good, representative samples of the general population, and then make all details about the study and findings available. How was surveying conducted? How many were surveyed, and what’s their geographic distribution? Exactly what were the questions asked to those surveyed? And, don’t just tell me how many “references” to printed books there were, but how many times consumers turned to those books to find a new business, rather than just “references” of times when they were looking up the numbers for businesses they already knew of. And, which company’s print yellow pages were referenced in each area? Don’t just smash all the directory usage figures together into a number that doesn’t let people know which company(ies) from whom a business might want to buy advertising.

4.    Step up your public relations game! Acknowledge that print usage is falling and be open about how much. In fact, just be open in dealing with everyone, period! It’s time to get off the high-horse and stop berating people for calling a spade a spade don’t lecture people on how wrong they are if they think print usage is declining it is and it has been doing so for a while!

5.    Add tracking phone numbers to every single YP ad, and let advertisers see the results. If you’re proud of your product, you need to be completely open with the true value and effectiveness it may or may not contain. Some companies already have this to a degree, but this would also help establish overall usage by directory.

6.    Drop the cost of print advertising! I know, I know you’re hurting for cash and any cut is drawing blood at this point. You’ve just had to go through layoffs, so I know you’ve already been drawing blood. But, I think the days of astronomically-priced print ads are likely coming to an end. You’re going to have to drop the costs some in order to align with advertisers’ value perceptions if usage is dropping, as we already posit as a fact, then the value of advertising with you is dropping as well. Get your ads competitvely priced and drop the costs some. How about this for an idea: Offer businesses that haven’t yet done online ads half off print if they go online on their own to purchase both print and some level of internet ad! Next year you could save money, perhaps, by not having to send a sales rep in person to their office.

7.    Bundle, bundle, bundle! I know a bunch of you have stopped bundling on the advice of some other industry consultants over time, but I think that was really bad advice. All the credible analysts have observed that small businesses don’t have time for complicated advertising and marketing packages, and they really want easy-to-understand ad solutions along with one-stop shopping. With a great many small businesses still not bothering to do online advertising, bundling print ads with online advertising really shouldn’t have been taken off the table. And, do I need to point out how much sales reps whine about having to learn a bunch of complicated products? Bundling is one of the main things that I see as being able to still help bolster ad revenues on the print side of the business this could help maintain and enhance print products a while longer until internet revenue is big enough to replace it in your annual reports.

8.    Time to get internet and mobile savvy! Stop listening to the same old rehashed “innovative” ideas from the people working in your legacy print sides of the business. Using scanned print YP ads on your internet product? Are you kidding me?!? Converting books to PDF?!? This is about like suggesting taking one of the antique printed Sears catalogs and putting it on DVD so people can thumb through it on their flat-screen TVs. Wake up no one wants to do that! If the content isn’t easily searchable and isn’t interactive, then it doesn’t compete today. Stop trying to retrofit print YP ads into something profitable on the internet that is so pre-Y2K! Think killer iPhone app, and we might be talking. Google still hasn’t completely vanquished the online directories there’s still a lot of instances where you can’t find businesses you’re seeking via Google Maps, so there’s still some space left for a company that finally creates the killer apps of local search. And your core “innovative” concept had better not be “ad networks” in this economy that seems so Web 1.0! The core asset and product of yellow pages is the data, and means to easily access it. As a consumer, I want one-stop shopping for all my local info, and so far Google Maps has done a lot to go that direction, but it still hasn’t become the end-all be-all of Local. If you mean business, you’re going to have to put a bit more capital behind being innovative. Get away from trying to force your nasty, legacy print systems to spit out internet yellow pages that’s hamstringing you. Offer top dollars to young internet developers so you can compete with startups, Silicon Valley, and Google. And make your company attractive to the people who think creatively no one likes working at highly bureaucratic places that are full of dehumanizing rules empower employees to make decisions and move away from the top-down management or you’ll never accomplish innovation that will allow you to stay competitive.

9.    Fix your damn data! Strong language? Yeah, it is. But as a consumer, I get really pissed off when I call a restaurant and it’s been out of business for three years, or when I drive all the way across town only to show up at a bookstore and find it’s been closed down. Do you know how often I’ve planned a restaurant outing with friends using your data, only to show up to find the place closed? How about the time I created maps for my brother’s wedding rehearsal dinner using your website maps, only to send a bunch of hungry people the wrong direction. How would I know this from your yellow pages if you’re not cleaning up your data? I know this is expensive to manage, but the data reliability is the foundation of your business, and consumers will gravitate to the place where they can trust. I know that InfoUSA used to be the best-in-class for this sort of thing, since they would call and verify every last business at least once a year to make sure they dropped closed businesses from their listings. Maybe the industry should pool resources in order to address this problem if InfoUSA is too expensive or too restrictive, since individually everyone seems to be doing a poor job of it. Do you all want me to do a survey to show just how bad your data is? For that matter, why isn’t all the data broader? Every last business profile should have richer data. I want not only name, address and phone, but also website URL, hours of operation, pricing, reviews, date founded, credit and business ratings, and more. And, why can’t I search only for businesses that do e-commerce yet why? This should be the first app that IYPs had, but no one seems to have that.

10. Merge yourselves. Uhhh… should I really be saying that? Well, I’ve been predicting some collapse of YP industry for some time, and I think this is where the trend is leading now at an accelerated pace. It’s hard to be just a regional provider online when consumer expectation is for nationwide and worldwide data, but it’s also hard for ten yellow pages companies to compete nationally online. The trend towards a consolidation in this sector has already been shaping up for the past few years. Idearc has closed printing plants and been outsourcing some of that work to R.H. Donnelley or elsewhere. Print usage is declining, and online competition is indicating that there’s just not room for all the big YP players. If the market forces are doing what I’m thinking they are, companies will either need to merge, or else the weaker ones will just die off while the strongest organisms survive. Sure, there’s major expenses with planning a merger and bringing it to fruition, but your alternative might be to die off completely. I think it’s time for a few of you to merge with one another. This might allow you to form a more solid competitive showing against Google and minor players.

One last “Bonus Idea” for print: Issue more specialty directories for large markets: Hispanic YP. Jewish YP. Desi YP. Christian YP. Black-Owned YP. Chinese YP. Russian YP. Vietnamese YP. Green/Environmental YP. Vegetarian YP. Democratic YP. Republican YP. Specialty-audience directories are much smaller in scope, but they have very dedicated demographic groups that are often more accepting of printed books they like to show their specialized community support through using the businesses in those targeted directories. Niche markets appear to me to be one area where print can be highly successful still.

Do you have any ideas that can bolster the faltering yellow pages companies? If so, mention them in the comments.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the author, and not necessarily Search Engine Land [nor Go Traffic Interactive].

Chris Smith is the author of the Locals Only column at Search Engine Land. Chris "Silver" Smith is director of optimization strategies for KeyRelevance.

Communication, Collaboration, Connection -- Three C's for more Cents!

Viktorya — 2008-10-17T15:05:00Z

Communication, Collaboration, Connection

Three C's for more Cents!

In this economy, interest rates rise while financials plummet, with a forecast that things are going to get worse before they get better. One has to, in a time of huge contrasts like this, ask and answer the question -- what do we do? Deduce to reduce, and bring close those moments that give us courage, and remember that we as Americans, individually and collectively, are survivors.

Conditions worsen in our country and trickle down to companies, from large to small. In our small USA based biz, Go Traffic Interactive, we diligently pursue effective SEO strategies to boost traffic to our clients' sites, and diligently work to make sense of analytics, adding cents to their bottom line. Our SEO team optimizes websites.

You know, my mother lived through the Great Depression in the 1930's, and one of her sayings was Take care of your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves. It may seem odd to talk about this here, but as the director of my company, I look out for those pennies, making sure our clients get full value from our services.

To confirm, each week we meet and review SEO strategies. During these meetings, we learn from each other through communication, while collaboration becomes the driving force to enact changes on websites, giving clients a better return on their investment.

We look at various websites together, and even though at times we work from remote locations, it is an effective use of time. We can travel around the globe while sitting at our keyboards, connected to topics of conversation via the internet and phones, and pass URL's back and forth through Instant Messenger. We are hooked into various but secure web-based programs so we can login, grab files, look at images, compare graphs and notes about what we think works and what doesn't. It is more critical now than ever, to expand our reach with relevance on Search Engines. We need to roll those pennies into dollars.

In addition, using these high tech tools of our trade, we can combat worsening financial conditions by widening choices and defining relevance for Google and Yahoo! searchers, directing them to our clients' websites. And how is that, you ask? Just a few techniques to build relevance are:

Tweaking Keywords.
Freshening Content.
Naming Image Alt Tags.

We strategize in other ways, which I'll cover in another article.

Viktorya Allen is a professional SEO copywriter and a principal in Go Traffic Interactive, Tannery Row, 101 South Coombs, Suite X, Napa CA 94559.

Google Shines Up Chrome Web Browser

Viktorya — 2008-09-09T19:31:00Z

GTI's SEO specialist Bill Miller sends forward this article by Jason Lee Miller. For the article with pictures and illustrations, here's the link www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/09/02/google-shines-up-chrome-web-browser

Google Shines Up Chrome Web Browser

By Jason Lee Miller - Tue, 09/02/2008 - 8:28pm.

Raucous chorus of ‘Microsoft’s dead’ ensues
As America returns to work after the Labor Day holiday weekend, crusty eyes are abuzz about Google Chrome, the company’s own surprise open source Web browser in beta. Bloggers on the scene—European ones and those who apparently don’t take holidays—let the Chrome cat out of the bag a day early.

On the Google Blog, Sundar Pichai and Linus Upson acknowledge they pressed the “send” button a day early, tipping off Philipp Lenssen in Germany, who set the fuse on the worldwide blog bomb. At the same time, Google coined a new PR move: announcements in e-comic book form.

You can check that out for in-depth descriptions, explanations, and philosophy behind Google’s new browser—but fair warning it will take a while. Bloggers immediately labeled it an assault on Microsoft, both on the browser level and, in an interesting stretch, the OS level. They wonder, too, about how this will affect Google’s relationship with Mozilla.

It’ll launch at some point today at Google.com/chrome.

First the specs:

•   Like Android, Google Chrome is based on, built from the ground up with, open source application framework WebKit; it is intended to be next-generation built for handling Web applications rather than Web pages. It includes Google Gears built-in.
•   To that end, Google built its own JavaScript engine, V8, to power web applications with multi-threaded efficiency.
•   Browser tabs get their own process rather than tabs sharing processes to solve the ever-dreaded freeze-and-crash problem by freeing up memory and reducing memory fragmentation.
•   Each tab has its own URL box, effectively making each tab a browser window
•   No about:blank pages. Chrome defaults to a page featuring the four most used search engines and the user’s nine most visited Web pages.
•   Similar to IE 8, Chrome has an “Incognito” mode to erase browser history when the browser is closed—something Firefox 3 didn’t include.
•   Chrome can be “streamlined” so that the toolbar and URL box are hidden and only the webpage is shown on the screen.
•   Chrome features browser extensions allowing it to make hybrid apps similar to Adobe AIR
•   An Opera-like dashboard start page and auto-completion.
•   It’s pretty strong on the security front. Chrome sandboxes Webpages, preventing drive-by downloads and installations. It continuously makes contact with Google to update a list of known malware sites in order to warn the user.

No word yet on how much the browser actually communicates with Google. Given Google’s history of watching everything its product users do, it wouldn’t be surprising if Google would gather browsing information to use for its search and ad-serving algorithms.

The browser will launch in more than 100 countries today. The company says the launch will add value for the user while driving innovation on the Web. Available only for Windows for now, Google plans to release versions for Mac and Linux as well.

Bloggers jumped on the announcement like a boxer pup on a meatloaf. The obvious angle was the ongoing war between our favorite pair of corporate juggernauts. The launch certainly takes aim at Internet Explorer, which has lost market share since the advent of Firefox and holding at 75 percent.

Not everyone’s convinced yet it will be an IE-killer—though kind of premature to judge that far since it’s not even live yet—as the world appears relatively content with what they have. Blogger Hank Williams, opining from the pessimism-guaranteed WhyDoesEverytingSuck? blog, reminds readers 25 percent haven’t yet abandoned even 2001’s IE 6.

“The bottom line is Microsoft has been fighting the browser wars with spitballs and plastic knives and they are still beating Firefox handily,” writes Williams. “So Chrome, from a business perspective, for the forseeable [sic] future, is totally irrelevant.”

Other bloggers, to understate it, disagree, and peg this expected launch as a precursor to the fabled Google OS. “But what this really tells us is that Google is dead serious about the distribution business, for one, and dead serious about the operating system business, for another,” writes John Battelle. “Reading through the book, I am struck by how similar the language is to traditional operating system overviews. Multithreading, stable development platforms, etc. etc.”

Putting the hype in hyperbole, Michael Arrington is singing the Windows dirge song. That nifty new imported from Denmark JavaScript engine, he contends will make Ajax applications like Gmail and Google Docs “absolutely roar.” Combined with Google Gears, “Chrome is nothing less than a full on desktop operating system that will compete head on with Windows.” The crystal ball shows Arrington millions of Web and desktop devices to strip out the Windows layer altogether, making the browser itself the operating system.

Nicholas Carr concurs by reminiscing about Apple’s addition of MultiFinder to Mac in 1988. Chrome is part of the coming shift to cloud computing. “[I]n this case I think Google is motivated by something much larger than its congenital hatred of Microsoft. It knows that its future, both as a business and as an idea (and Google's always been both), hinges on the continued rapid expansion of the usefulness of the Internet, which in turn hinges on the continued rapid expansion of the capabilities of web apps, which in turn hinges on rapid improvements in the workings of web browsers.”
It will certainly be interesting to see if Microsoft is able to respond. Google has repeatedly dodged the idea of an operating system. Denials mean little at this point. Google CEO Eric Schmidt, as noted by Garett Rogers, denied plans for a Google browser back in 2006. Rogers expects that elusive G Drive online storage service any day now.

What It Means For Webmasters and SEO

Some have viewed Chrome as an answer to assuaging fears that Microsoft’s new MISE 8 browser has the capability of blocking the text ads Google relies on for revenues. It’s not that possible battle that has SEO experts buzzing; they took notice pretty quickly of a particular panel in the Chrome comic book regarding the OmniBox feature.

In it, the characters discuss how Chrome will test functionalities against webpages. The browser was built for apps, not pages, and with the billions or trillions of pages out there, not all can be tested directly. Google will test the top million or so instead. Google says OmniBox will bookmark sites for the user and remember them, but will also suggest searches and top pages the user hasn’t visited but are deemed popular. “If you found a good site for digital cameras yesterday,” reads the comic, “you don’t have to bookmark that page. Just type ‘digital camera’ and quickly get back to it.”

Or click on one of the popular destination suggestions in the drop-down menu. “If your site ranks for your keywords, Chrome will suggest it - IN the browser itself. No need to be using Google suggest [sic],” writes Christopher Penn.

What to do when Outsourcing your Seach Engine Optimization programs

GT — 2008-04-14T22:04:00Z

What creates a need for outsourcing?

In todays market, outsourcing is always the question when businesses have tight reins on finances. Reducing internal overhead with benefits, taxes, insurance is the best reason to outsource a project. As businesses continue to feel the effects of the economy and the shift from television, radio and print to online are more prominent, the question of outsourcing to an SEO firm becomes a bigger issue and one that needs to be considered legitimately.

Can my webmaster or IT person manage my SEO program?

The competitive landscape of the web has increased the need, and demand for businesses to employ some form of search marketing tactics in order to maintain consistent streams of unique visitors to their website. Hiring an in-house "IT person" to manage your SEO program is like hiring a plumber to install electrical outlets and light fixtures. They might have a good idea of what they're doing, but it is not their focus nor are the results of their work guaranteed. SEO is a true science that has become a successful industry and should be taken seriously, hire an SEO firm the same way you hire a doctor or an attorney. Perform due diligence and understand that SEO is a product of marketing and should be treated as a marketing, revenue generating channel.

Acknowledge the need - Begin the search

Now that the need is acknowledged, what is the next step? We all realize that most businesses see SEO as a nebulous function that may or may not yield the results needed based on the investment. But I can tell you that there is enough empirical data available to prove that SEO is a great way to increase your websites' revenue generating capacity simply by driving the right, qualified traffic to the right areas. The true focus should solely be on business goals and objectives and an assigned ROI value that sets milestones for success.

It's a difficult decision to reassign marketing dollars earmarked for other non-web based initiatives to promote your website, but it's a necessary strategic move. That's the first step - understand how much you're willing to spend on an SEO initiative.

Who to hire?

Coming from me, I think it might be somewhat of a subjective question, because I think you should hire my company (http://gotrafficinteractive.com) (Shameless, self-serving plug!!) In all seriousness, we understand that each business has very specific needs and should go with an SEO firm that is the "right fit". It's best when you can work with a firm that takes the time to understand your specific business goals and objectives and becomes an extension of the team. Focus on companies that can provide references, and ask them the following questions:

Ask them to provide you a list of KW phrases developed for a set of clients - not just for one client, but for a set of clients. This allows you to see their capabilities.
Find out if they outsource to other SEO firms or if they have their own staff

How big is the staff?
Part time versus Full time

Find out what tools they use to guage success

Will they provide you with a benchmark report as to how your website is currently performing free of charge?

Are they virtual or do they have physical office space?
What other clients do they work with that might be direct competition
What makes them stand apart from other SEO firms?
Do they require architectural changes to the website in order to be SEO compliant?

This is a good thing - if your website is not currently SEO compliant, this is the chance to make it so

How much time will they spend getting to know your particular industry?
Will they possibly discuss a lower cash rate and accept a "pay for performance" model?
What emphasis do they place on Social Networking

Do they build or implement and manage blogs?
Are they familiar with MySpace, You Tube, Facebook?

How do these sites help your business grow?

Do they have a gurantee?

Will you get your money back if they don't produce what they say they will?

What Not to do!

This list is going to be much shorter. After being involved in this industry for as long as I have, I've seen enough clients or potential clients make these very costly mistakes:

Don't believe any company that says they can "get you to the top of the search engines for $250"
Don't believe any company that guarantees you the number 1 position (well unless it's your own brand!)
Don't hire the first firm you speak with - interview at least 3!
Don't think this is a short term program

SEO should be considered a long-term process with milestones set for success

As you can see, there is MUCH to be considered when hiring an SEO firm so take your time, do your research, ask questions and most of all, feel comfortable with who you choose. Search Engine Optimization information

Gary Thompson
President - New Business Development
Go Traffic Interactive
gthompson@gotrafficinteractive.com

Search Engine Optimization should not be an after thought!

Viktorya — 2008-04-11T00:38:00Z

SEO still an after thought

I've been working in the online arena for over a decade - in fact, I'm going into my 12th year of learning of adapting to the ever-changing, ever-growing sector. One commonality that still exists within certain industries is absence of understanding when it comes to Search Optimization and how it can truly impact business revenue.

Our agency is fortunate enough to work with many business verticals, and over the past 4 years as Go Traffic Interactive has grown, I've seen a large trend where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an afterthought. I think this is a tragic error made by many website design shops who still advise clients with the old "build it and they will come" tactic. This just isn't true.

Websites have moved well beyond the brochure-ware frontier and should be considered synonymous with revenue generating channels for Business to Consumer websites (B2C) and Business to Business, lead generation sites (B2b) (the funnel or pipeline for many businesses).

When should SEO be the consideration?

SEO requirements start at the website architecture level and should truly begin at the onset of a web project. Whether it be a redesign or a brand new site - SEO has a true place in the design and development process simply due to the several elements search engines consider when determining website relevance.

Our SEO team works hand in hand with design and development to ensure that each aspect of the process meets all SEO requirements. At GTI, the priority of SEO is the prominant factor we consider when making choices for User Interface design, logical navigation and visual design of any client website. The reason is very simple -

RETURN ON INVESTMENT or otherwise know as ROI

When undertaking a website project, the first question any savvy marketing person will ask is what will the website do for our company? This is almost an endless question - because it can DO so much for any business - as long as a plan for revenue generating opportunities are implemented at the beginning stages of the project. Namely, SEO - along with a few very important elements that I'll talk about in future BLOG postings.

But take my word for it - if you're developing a web project, ask your design team what SEO tactics they plan to utilize and if they offer SEO, what level of SEO do they offer and what do you get after the website is launched? If your design company does not offer SEO - find an SEO firm that can work with your design team, but don't let yourself be fooled into thinking that you can have anything you want on your website and still have it be effective. Your website is too important, and so is your money.

Gary Thompson - President
Go Traffic Interactive
http://gotrafficinteractive.com

SEO - Stick and Click Through to a Lead

Viktorya — 2008-02-13T18:48:00Z

GO TRAFFIC INTERACTIVE in the SF Bay Area, Northern CA

Your business, products and services need to be found online. You may have invested in a snazzy site, and not getting a return on your investment? We will discuss many aspects that go into Search Engine friendly sites, and our Interactive team will offer various strategies not only to drive traffic to your site, but to help users stick and click through a lead for you.