Browser-Based Enlightenment

Posted in: Internet Marketing | March 7, 2011
Path to Enlightenment

Open Up Your Browser and Take a Good Look at Your Online Presence Immanuel Kant defined enlightenment as “The emancipation of the human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error."   The term enlightenment reminds me of the small business owner and his undeveloped view of internet marketing and more importantly, how he and his company fit within today’s internet dependent culture. Now don’t take that comment as a negative view on the small business owner or small business in general.  I love the average small business owner.  I am a small business owner and this Read more

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Bad Website Architecture: The Silent SEO Killer

Posted in: Search Engine Optimization | February 21, 2011
The SEO Killer

My focus is small business marketing, so I encounter a lot of people who have tried a do-it-yourself SEO approach to internet marketing. The semi-savvy business owner thinks his SEO knowledge is pretty darn good, yet he just can’t figure out why he isn’t seeing increases in website traffic. In our conversation he provides obscure long-tail keywords to illustrate his SEO tactics are working. He also tells me he lacks traffic and real revenue resulting from all the time he has allocated to his SEO research and implementation efforts. He finally informs me that he cannot allocate a Read more

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SEO Can’t Help a Website That Sucks

Posted in: Website Design | February 17, 2011

Each week I speak with potential SEO clients who ask me to “make their phone ring”. It is an honorable request, but I struggle with this because in many cases, SEO alone can’t solve their problems. SEO can help, but once the website visitor arrives to their website, they’ll run screaming for the hills. I’m not a website snob and I value the small business owner and his desire to bring sales in through the internet. I think internet marketing is critical for many small businesses, because it is relatively cheap compared to other marketing tactics. The problem is most small Read more

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What’s Your Threshold of SEO Pain?

Posted in: Search Engine Optimization | February 2, 2011
SEO Pain

My husband and I are finishing our basement and attempting to make it the cool place for our kids and their friends. Whenever we make a major purchase, the decision always boils down to my financial pain threshold. I don’t know the competitive market price for granite or quartz, but I know my budget and what I can afford. My list of wants end up being scaled back to what my bank account will allow. As we discuss a custom bar and bamboo flooring (I’m a bit high maintenance I’m told), it reminds me of my SEO clients. Like myself, they themselves have a pain threshold. While we both Read more

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Have a Seat Mr. Website Owner, It’s Time for Introspection

Posted in: Website Design | January 30, 2011
Website Owner Introspection

When a client signs a contract with me for a web design, the first thing I do is send them a three page questionnaire and request they answer as many questions as they deem appropriate. This questionnaire helps me get inside their heads and it helps me better understand their marketing objectives, the opinion of their existing website, and their overall view of internet marketing. I ask a lot of questions about the current and future state of their sales process and marketing programs. While these questions are informative, I definitely have a few questions that are my favorites. In Read more

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If You Connect With Website Visitors They Will Convert

Posted in: Website Design | January 27, 2011

The Problem With Most Websites A lot of small business owners launch their website with the simple goal of using the site as an information portal and a mechanism to talk about their company. It is basic human nature to be egocentric. The problem with this methodology is that it generic. Simply talking about yourself isn’t a differentiator for your website, product, or service offering. It doesn’t compel your website visitor to take action. No matter what the search criteria is, a typical internet user can visit hundreds, no millions, of websites that all present the same type of Read more

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A Box for Every Website Visitor

Posted in: Website Design | January 25, 2011
Website Personas

I tend to compartmentalize things and people. I mentally place people in boxes and segment them out into groups like my nuclear family (husband and kids), my extended family, my neighbors, my best friend and so on. I’ve often referred to these groups as my “boxes” and I do not like them to intermingle or randomly change. These boxes structure my communication and they dictate how I interact with one individual versus another. For example, I know I can pretty much tell my best friend anything and she’ll continue to love me, which is an example of our boundaries and expectations. Read more

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Successful Internet Marketing Begin With Goals

Posted in: Internet Marketing | January 24, 2011
Internet Marketing Keyword Cloud

When a potential client approaches me about launching an internet marketing campaign, SEO project, or even requests a quote for website design, the first word out of my mouth is usually “goals”. Before I can even begin to contemplate your project, formulate requirements in my head, or provide a quote, I need to understand your business goals. That means you need to do too. Why does it really matter?  For me, I only want to engage with you if I can help you and help make your project a success. To determine if that is possible, I have to obtain an idea of what success means to you. Read more

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Local Search Will Become the Golden Child in 2011

Posted in: Local Search | January 19, 2011
Local Search Directory Logos

There’s been a lot of talk about local search recently. A lot of SEO experts, including myself, feel local search is still in its infancy stage and as it matures, it will have a major impact on search engine optimization and internet marketing. Many of us feel 2011 is the year in which local search will come of age. Not only come of age, but also become an important part of the internet marketer’s bag of tricks. Remember when most people had no idea what social media was, what it meant, or why it mattered? Well that time has past and now social media’s little brother, local search, is Read more

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Migrating a Website Owner Through the Five Stages of Grief

Posted in: WordPress | January 3, 2011
Stages of Grief

In college I was a Psychology major until I realized I’d have to reach a PhD level education to obtain a job with any real earning potential. That meant staying in college and thousands more in student loans. With much sadness I switched career paths and moved into a world of technology. Flash forward twenty years and I now claim to be an Internet marketer who spends many hours as a WordPress designer and an SEO expert. I love what I do, yet still miss my first love of Psychology. Recently my two loves collided as I remembered Swiss-born psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and her book Read more

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