I got off the plane determined to answer two primary questions while in attendance at the conference: 1. what is the current mood and overall perspective of the auto dealers in attendance on the future of the industry. 2. Determine if an industry in crisis is paralyzed its current state of affairs or if it is motivated by the challenges ahead and producing new and exciting technology.

When I entered the Nashville Convention Center there was no loud music or flashy big screen T.V’s welcoming my arrival.  However the space had something much more important, vendors and attendees, lots of them.  I was impressed by the number of people at the event and the presence of big name vendors.  Keep in mind this was a conference focused on the digital aspect s of the automotive space, an area that is still relatively new in a mature industry.  The second thing that caught my eye was the behavior of those in attendance. (I had a limited pass for the conference so I was unable to attend the individual breakout sessions, but they must have provided a spark).  Rather than milling around vendor booths filling up bags of free SWAG, these folks were actually getting business done.  Tables were full of people, one-on-one sales pitches, contracts, and handshakes.  I quickly determined that the dealers here were in search of solutions.  I was optimistic about the vibe and buzz in the room.

After surveying the general mood of the attendees it was time to discover what the vendors had to offer.  I had been told (although unconfirmed) that the sponsor vendors had shelled out $50K to participate.  There were many vendors to choose from: CRM providers, lead generators, and website providers. However two vendors in particular that struck me as fresh and inventive.  The first was ClickMotive http://www.clickmotive.com  based out of Plano, Texas.  These guys combine savvy web design with Search Engine Optimization.  They were pushing the envelope with mobile based solutions and clearly understand the growing value of optimizing dealer sites for the mobile search space.  I believe ClickMotive provides valuable solutions for dealers that understand the importance of top search engine page rank.

The second vendor, and in my opinion the finest at the show, was Response Logix http://www.responselogix.com/index.aspx based out of Sunnyvale, California. What struck me about this vendor was the number of dealers lined up at the booth to learn more about the product.  It was obvious that this young start-up was on to something.  Apparently I’m not the only one that sees potential; Response Logix just secured a second round of funding for 5.6M http://deals.venturebeat.com/2009/10/27/response-logix-captures-5-6m-for-car-dealer-lead-gen . Response Logix was a perfect fit for the digital dealer conference offering a software solution that delivers customized quotes to internet leads in less than 10 minutes.  The software integrates into the dealer’s CRM and reads real time new and used inventory for accurate quotes.  The secret in the Response Logix sauce is the “Smart Follow” technology that sends an automatic email to potential internet buyers after 72-hours of noncontact. Auto Dealers that are looking to maximize internet leads have just found the silver bullet.

The Digital Dealer Conference was an eye opening experience for me.  I entered skeptical about the industry and its ability to move forward in such challenging times. I left impressed by how its key players are embracing new technologies. For additional insight on the conference please follow this link: http://www.dealerrefresh.com/digital-dealer-7-nashville-review/

Please visit our website: www.searchengineconsultants.biz

The first step in any CMS transition is fairly simple.  You need to ask yourself, “why”?  Why does your organization need a more efficient method of publishing online content?  In my particular case the answer was fairly simple.  Our readership trends were quickly shifting to the internet and as an organization we had concluded that our future strategies required an improved online presence.  As the leader of your organization, you must first answer why a CMS transition is important.  For example, maybe gaining the ability to publish online content in real time will give you a significant advantage over your competitors.  Or maybe you plan on producing content in new formats such as audio or video that will help you communicate with and attract new customers.  Both of these examples would be really good reasons to consider a content management system upgrade.  So once you have answered the “why” question, your next step is developing a communication plan. 

Your communication plan is extremely important to the success of the transition, and it is the one area that most organizations traditionally perform very poorly.  On the surface, a CMS transition in your organization might require very little communication.  However when it comes to change, communication is always a key ingredient in success.   Any change, regardless of how small a change, will cause your work force to bristle.  Change usually requires the work force to adopt a new method of thinking, so a skeptical response should be expected.  In a large organization, lack of proper communication can kill a CMS transition before it even begins.  A few ways to effectively calm the winds of change: Create a transition team that has representation from the critical departments of your organization; keep it to 2-3  people if possible.  Explain to this team that their first objective is to get ”buy-in” from others expected to contribute to the project.  Communicate openly the reasons why your organization is transitioning to a new CMS.  For example, “We are switching our online content managment system because real time publishing of multiple content types will expose our organization to potenially thousands of more eyeballs increassing brand awareness, sale leads, and ultimately making the company more money.”

Once you have assembled your  transition team and communicated clearly to your organization, the next step is to set a goal(s) for the project.  What do you expect to gain from a CMS transition? It might be beneficial to have an internal goal such as:  in 12 months, 6 full-time employees will be producing 3 pieces of unique content per week.  The internal goal (in this case producing more orginal unique content) should tie directly to a business goal.  For example:  in 18 months our new customer database will increase by 20% and new sales leads will increase 15%.  The bottom line is always the bottom line and attaching a revenue goal to a CMS transition is not a bad idea.  Establishing an internal goal and a business goal will help keep the project on track.  Your CMS goals should focus on the future.  Make sure the goals you set for the project will benefit the organization 12-48 months down the road.  This project will consume time and energy so make sure it works for the long term.

So there you have it, the highlevel CMS transition guide starter kit.  For further reading please follow this link to Paul Boag’s insightful CMS post for Smashing Magazine:  http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/03/05/10-things-to-consider-when-choosing-the-perfect-cms/ . Or for a another persepective on CMS platforms try: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/01/how-to-choose-the-right-cms/

My next post will be a deeper dive into details of choosing a CMS vendor.  Feel free to leave a comment or contact us directly through the following channels:

www.searchengineconsultants.biz

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info@searchengineconsultants.com

So what does the above story have to do with redesigning your website?  Well the story above is a cautionary tale. Everyone knows the amount of planning that goes into a kitchen remodel.  You don’t wake up one morning and decide to remodel your kitchen.  If you are not careful the project can consume valuable time and money.  A website redesign should be approached with the same precaution and planning.  This post will focus on some of the things you should think about once you have decided to rethink your business’s online identity.

First and most important, what is the goal of your new website?  Are you looking to increase sales or your brand awareness? Do you want people to submit information or sign up for a newsletter?  Are you trying to sway public opinion or educate the masses?  Whatever you determine your website’s goal to be, stick with it and make sure it can be measured.  It will help if the goals of your new website tie into the overall goals of the organization.  This will encourage other members of the team to become more engaged in the process. (see previous post:   http://secbiz1.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/10-easy-seosem-steps-for-the-small-to-mid-size-business-owner-step-6/

Once you have detemined that it is the right time for a website redesign, the next step is to figure out how much of a change is needed. Would your website benefit from a change in the navigation structure, or do you need to overhaul the color scheme and graphics?  STOP!  Before you make any changes to your site, make sure you evaluate the current site traffic patterens.  Understanding how your visitors are interacting with your content will be a critical factor in determining what changes need to be made.  If you are not currently tracking website traffic you might consider Google Analytics: http://www.google.com/analytics/ as a free and easy to install option.  TIP: evaluate the pages on your site that are currently getting the most traffic and redesign other pages to look and behave in a similar fashion.  There is a reason your customers gravitate to certain pages; try to duplicate that experience across your entire site.

When making the decision to redesign your site, approach each page design with a simple question, “What do I want my visitors to do?” and make sure the answer ties into the overall goals you have set for the site.  This approach will make the process much less overwhelming.

Last but not least, when redesigning a website be sure to evalute your staff capabilities.  The last thing you want to do is launch a site that your staff can’t manage.  Sounds crazy, but I have seen it happen.  Just make sure that your expectations match the staff’s know-how and all should go well.

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• During your next marketing or sales meeeting try to gauge how many people are actively using social networking sites.  Ask them the benefits of using Facebook and Twitter.  You need to first understand how they are using the technology before you put it to work for your organization.
• Tell your team you’d like to conduct a social networking experiment.  Invite them to contribute and encourage staff feedback.  You will be surprised at the level of excitment and the knowledge of your staff.  Chances are a “Facebook pro” will emerge and take a leadership role on this project. 
• Establish clear set goals. For example, maybe you’d like to conduct an online contest run entirely on Facebook, with the goal being to establish 100 new Facebooks friends.  Your team can set up a Facebook account for your business and invite their friends to join or become a fan.  
• Once you have established a base of “friends” on your business’ Facebook account, you can begin to re-engage with these folks on a frequent basis. Your Facebook account will soon become your platform for announcing new product launches and other important business announcements. 

 In prior years you may have placed ads in trade magazines or ran direct mail campaigns to communicate with your customer base. These efforts were considered a fixed cost of doing business.  But the ROI has always been difficult to pin down.  With social networking reaching an engaged niche group of people in a format that encourages dialouge and feedback is the entire purpose.  If managed correctly, social networking can help reduce the cost of traditional marketing efforts and increase customer interaction with your brand.

Residual benefits of starting a social networking marketing campiagn include:

• The time your employees spend on Facebook will now be time spent building your organization’s online identity.
• You can re-energize a department or individual that might otherwise feel lost in this ecomnomic downturn by giving them a new and exciting task. 
• Social networking doesn’t have to cost you anything more than time, so if you fail…you fail cheap.

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It is time to make a change to your marketing strategy when your core customers change their buying habits or spending patterns.

Assume that during any downward economic shift, a certain percentage of your core customers are going to change how they make purchasing decisions.  Is your customer base becoming more cost conscience?  Are your customers now waiting for sales or deals on items that were not previously discounted?  Is your customer base willing to change allegiance to your brand based on price point rather than service or quality?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, chances are that your customers are spending more time online making valuable pre-purchase decisions. They are searching the internet for competitive pricing on products or services you offer.  Now instead of being the only choice, you are standing in a long line trying to win the buisness of customers that used to come to you directly.  If you are able to determine that your customer base is changing they way they interact with your brand, it might be time to re-evaluate how you reach those customers.

The first thing you need to do is ensure that your website is in good working order.  Check for broken links and outdated contact information (you would be surprised at the number of websites that have incorrect information).  If your website is the first impression you are going to make on a potential customer, it is imporant to make sure the information is up-to-date and correct.  Once you have determined your site is in good working order, it’s time to  create and distribute your business profile to a few important internet directories.  This is a simple step that won’t require much time or money.  Several of the best internet directories will allow you to submit a business profile for free.  (Some directories will charge for profile enhancements or paid placement.)  To get you started here is a list of directories that are really well-optimized for search and recieve lots of traffic:  http://www.citysearch.com/, http://www.yelp.com/philadelphia, http://www.superpages.com/, & http://local.yahoo.com/.  Take an hour or so and create a business profile for these directories.  Directory submission will accomplish a couple of important internet marketing goals.  First, it will ensure that your business has a presence online at a destination where many searchers begin their buying process.  Second, many of these directories are well-optimized for search, meaning that your business profile page has a very good chance of returning high in the search results when an online searcher performs a generic search query for your service or product.    

My customers are online, my business is online, what’s next?

Now that your buisness has a presence online in multiple locations, you will need to keep tabs on where your website traffic is coming from.  First, go to Google and sign up for Google Analytics.  Google provides this free online website analytic software and it is a great tracking tool.  In addition to many other features, Google Analytics will allow you to see where, when, how your customers are interacting with your website.  Google Analytic set-up and training is part of the searchengineconsultants.biz SEO Check-up package.  Please follow this link for more details: http://www.searchengineconsultants.biz/seo_pricing.html. 

So remember, if your customers are changing and they are spending more time online, follow them.  The worst thing you can do is wait and assume your customers will find their way back to you.  Times are changing, and you need to work harder to capture and retain new business.  Let us help you plot your Internet strategy.  It’s our passion and our business:  www.searchengineconsultants.biz

This natural evolution process can be applied to almost any area of our lives; ideas and products grow old and new ones take their place. Col0r TV replaced black and white,  casette tapes replaced 8-tracks, and CDs replaced tapes. Now digital downloads have completely redefined the music industry.   It is the natural order of things.  The same phenomena is happening in how we  are able to market our business, and recently I have become very interested in how defined the line is between “new marketing”  and “old marketing”.  For the sake of argument (and for this post) assume that ”old marketing” is pre-Internet and ”new marketing” is post-Internet.  This post will not attempt to make a case that one form of marketing is stronger than the other, that would be the easy way out.  Rather this post will attempt to speak to the millions of small business owners that are trying to understand this complicated “new marketing” landscape and how to sucessfully transition into it.

The approach:  All transition takes time.  But you need to make the commitment to start understanding the potential internet marketing can have on your business.  Don’t expect to jump into Internet marketing and have over night success, in fact, finding the right mix of Internet marketing strategies is going to be down right time consuming.  There are lots of options and it will take time and patience to find the ones that are right for your business. 

Learn From the Past:  You know what traditional forms of marketing drive people to your business (print, radio, outdoor, broadcast).  Use the lessons you have learned and apply them to your new marketing strategies.  For example, if direct mail has worked for you in the past then you might consider an email marketing campaign.  Build an email database by asking in-store customers to sign-up for your newsletter.  Before long you will have a database of customers that you can target on a weekly or monthly basis at a very affordable rate.  This is a very effective way to transition into new media without paying a high cost of entry.

Ask for Help: If the word Twitter sounds like a foreign language or some sort of slang insult, you are not alone.  The newest fads in social networking and Internet marketing are quickly evolving and sometimes difficult to understand.  But as strange a landscape the Internet can appear, it can also serve as a great resource for help.  There are tutorials and on-line videos that can help explain how to approach Internet marketing.  The worst possible thing you can do is believe that the Internet doesn’t attract your potential customers.  Don’t be intimidated by Internet marketing.  Learning now may take time but will almost certainly pay off down the road.

To learn more please visit our website: http://www.searchengineconsultants.biz/

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The remainder of this post will focus on a small business owner who had specific web site traffic challenges (probably similar to your own) and how he developed an internet marketing strategy to grow his online exposure and traffic.  This post will further explore how home-grown SEO efforts can be combined with professional SEO consulting to create a successful sustainable internet marketing strategy. 

TJ’s Take and Bake Pizza is located on the Island of Hilton Head South Carolina.  I have been there and it is exactly what you imagine:  palm trees, sunshine, &  ground zero for vacation-land-usa.  But don’t let the ocean breezes lull you to sleep, the business community here is very keenly aware of  Internet exposure.  And no one is more aware than the owner of TJ’s Take & Bake Pizza:  Jay Conrad.  Conrad had two specific internet traffic challenges:  1. How to reach visitors while they are actively planning their Hilton Head vacation on-line?  2. How to retain exisiting Take and Bake customers that are frequent visitors to the island pizza shop?

In an effort to reach  these out-of-state visitors, Conrad knew that achieving a high page rank for search queries like “Hilton Head Pizza” would be critical.  His website was already established, so the first thing he did was create an account with Google and submitted his site and storefront location to Google maps.  Now when someone in Atlanta, or even Ohio, is thinking about a pizza option on Hilton Head, TJ’s information is correctly indexed in Google.  This is important because it is a very easy first step and will ensure your company’s visibility when people conduct a location based search query. See search results for “Hilton Head Pizza” here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ei=8gtlSrPJDJGeMYaT8Z4M&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=hilton+head+pizza&spell=1

Second, Conrad made a commitment to content.  Conrad knew a few things about website content:  it was time-consuming, but it was also valuable to how search engines and his customers viewed his website.  He needed a marketing tool that would reach his core customers more frequently and for less cost.  Conrad introduced the TJ’s Take & Bake email newsletter.  Asking his customers to sign up while at the TJ’s location, his email database quickly grew to over 400 members.  Conrad sends out his newsletter (about 2-3 times per month) along with an added value coupon in the body of the email.  Conrad claims redemption rates are high for this type of Internet direct marketing, and the investment of time has paid off considerably.  “My email newsletter has given me the opportunity to  stay connected to my customers after the initial transaction.  It keeps my brand top of mind and my repeat business growing.”

These  are two very easy SEO steps that a small business owner can turn on almost overnight.  They do not require an overwhelming amount of time or money to be effective.  However these steps could be reinforced by additional SEO tactics such as keyword research, page tag evaluations, and paid search campaigns to further their effectiveness.  Search Engine Consultants specializes in building SEO plans that are right for your business.  We will help you build a sustainable successful plan that brings new repeat visitors to your business’ website.  Please follow this link for more information: www.searchengineconsultants.biz

The IPhone has made mobile search functionality quick and relevant.  Websites download quickly and the search engine interface is similar to desktop search.  So why is mobile search important to you as a small or mid-size busienss owner? 

Mobile search will become an everyday habit for millions…

 The IPhone is a game changer, it now puts the power of a search engine in your pocket at street level. Desktop search on your personal computer is no longer the only way to access a search engine’s endless wealth of knowledge.  Mobile search gives people access to internet information without limits.  Right now most people don’t conduct a search on a mobile phone on a daily basis, but that number will almost certainly increase in  year from now (remember 1 million units in 1 weekend).  More phones will come equipped with fast, clean, search interfaces and the number of mobile searches will increase.  It is important that your business’ website is ahead of the curve.  Understand that millions of these devices are in the hands of your potential customers, and where your site ranks when they conduct a mobile search will become more and more important to your business’  long term success.  As people become more comfortable with smarter phones, search queries will also become more advanced.  Location based zip code search queries will increase, for example “taxi cabs 19102″ or “seafood restaurants 08010.”  Getting your web site optimized for the search engines is more important than ever.  In fact I can think of 1 million good reasons to start today. 

Search Engine Consultants is ready to help you understand mobile search.  Please follow this link to contact us today:

 http://www.searchengineconsultants.biz/contact_us.php

Understanding Universal Search:

The standard 10 blue links that you see on a Google search result page are going the way of the dinosaur.  Universal, or blended search, will replace the 10 blue links and open the door to more variety on the search results page. Images, maps, and video are just some of the new items sprinkled into the search results pages.  As the public’s comfort level and usage with search engines has increased, so has their trust that the engine will return exactly the information they are seeking.  As a result, search queries become more advanced and grow in length and detail. The engines are tracking this progression of user behavior and are now presenting new content types (such as video) to satisfy the searcher’s query.  This is important to the small buisness owner becuase if your website content becomes outdated or remains 100% text based, you run the risk of being out-ranked by a competitor in the search engine results pages. 

For example, assume you own a hardware store and someone conducts a search online for ”how to patch drywall.”  Let’s also assume that your website has a page titled, “how to patch dry wall.”  Putting aside some other important factors for the moment, it’s safe to say your page would rank high for that particular search.  What if you knew that in a year’s time that people would be searching for that same information, only this time they would be searching, “video on how to patch dry wall?”  What if your website remained the same in that year’s time?  Worse even still, what if another website was launched and posted a video on their site that showed people how to patch dry wall holes?  Do you still think the search engine and the user would select your static website first?  Most likely the answer is no.  It is important to understand how search engines are treating different online content types.  Make sure your website offers content in various formats. 

Contact www.searchengineconsultants.biz to learn more about optimizing your website’s content so search engines recognize your site as a leader in your field. 

Please follow this link to learn more about universal search:    http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/21726.asp

Please follow this link to learn more about online video viewership: http://www.podcastingnews.com/2009/06/05/online-video-viewing-reaches-peak-april/

But before we dive into the details, remember that any successful SEO plan requires two main ingredients: clear communication and empowering those around you to take ownership over a particular SEO task.  SEO planning takes work and it’s important to set clear expectations upfront with your team.  Explain how SEO will impact and benefit the most fundamental core goals of the department or individual you are working with. 

Selling Your SEO Plan to Your Sales Team

Tapping into the key motivating factor of a sales person is easy (or atleast it should be).  Sales people are motivated by money.  Explain the benefits of SEO in a language all sales people can understand: dollars and new leads.  Illustrate how the internet can be a huge pool of new leads both through organic and paid search campaigns.  Explain to the sales team that these leads are different than those generated through traditional media.  Internet leads require immediate contact because most likely they were generated at the moment a prospective customer was interested in your product or service.  If implemented properly your SEO plan should be producing “hot” leads.  Hot leads translate into a higher close ratio for your sales team.  Illustrate how sales people can contribute to the SEO strategy by recommending new keywords.  New industry buzz words or specific product names may be the perfect addition to a productive paid search campaign.

 Selling Your SEO Plan to Your IT Department

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume your IT department is comprised of technical thinking individuals.  These are the folks who like to understand how and why things work they way they do.  These guys are your problem solvers and analytical thinkers.  The motivating factors of this group are harder to nail down than the sales department.  There are going to be technical challenges to your SEO plan and this is the area that can motivate an IT team.  Alllow your IT team to be involved in the goal setting and analytic tracking of your SEO plan.  This will require you to involve your IT team from the start.  Give them a seat at the table early on in the process and let them demonstrate just how valuable they are to your company’s behind-the -scenes success.  Too often we deliver a “job to be done” to the IT department after the planning process and decision making has already taken place.  Recognition might be just the right motivating tactic to rally your IT team around your SEO plan.

Selling Your SEO Plan to Your Marketing Department

I’m going to make another broad assumption and say that your marketing department is the creative hub of your organization.  The marketing team is usually an interesting mix of artists and analytical thinkers.  This is the team that is responsible for developing creative ways to educate the masses about your product, message, or service,  They are also the group responsible for tracking how the public responds to these creative campaigns. The marekting team is always looking for a new way to capture or increase market share.  Your SEO plan can be a dream come true for any marketing manager.  It will allow them to flex their creative muscles through copywriting and keyword planning, while providing up to the minute tracking and analytics. Explain to your marketing department that SEO is just one more method to reach and pursude potential customers.  The opportunity to learn a new marketing tactic will certainly spark interest in this group.  Getting buy-in at this level should be a slam dunk.  However, if your SEO plan is met with resistence try incorporating an exisiting promotion or contest that has worked well in the past. Putting a new SEO twist on an old familiar idea is sure to break down resistance and ensure a smooth start to your plan.

Finally make your SEO plan offical. Call a meeting and invite all of the key members of your management team.  This step alone will ensure your plan is taken seriously.  Provide documentation, nothing too formal, but an outline of how you see the plan unfolding for each department.  Remember to make it fun.  For example announce that when the company’s website achieves page 1 Google ranking for an important keyword, its party time!  Maybe have a company party to mark the occasion.

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Search Engine Consultants can help you plan and sell your SEO plan to your organization. 

We can be reached at (215)-317-5101 call today & have a conversation about moving your SEO plan forward… nothing more nothing less.