That being said, there are many legitimate SEO companies that aren’t scammers and take search engine optimization very seriously, because SEO really does matter.

Small business owners who are savvy enough to have websites, even decent websites, have no clue about what SEO is and how it can help their website produce more leads, sales and profits.

Very simply put, search engine optimization is the process of adjusting pages of your website so they can be presented to search engines and, just as important, to your site’s visitors, in the best way possible. This includes not only the content of the page (the part you’re able to see), but the HTML code that makes up that page, as well.

Nearly 75% of all web traffic is generated by search engines, so it really does matter that your website is optimized, in some way, to ensure that it isn’t being blocked or side-stepped by the search engines. Even if you have the freshest, most-relevant content, if your site isn’t somewhat optimized, it may not be receiving the search engine traffic it deserves.

There are ways to educate yourself so you know the difference between SEO scams and legitimate SEO companies and there are some free SEO tools to help you figure out how well-optimized your website is. Small business owners aren’t necessarily tech-savvy, but, for those of you who want to squeeze every penny out of your website, it can pay off in a big way to get tech-savvy.

The first group recognizes that they need a website, in order to stay competitive, and will do everything in their power to ensure they have the most productive and user-friendly website possible. Their website is updated often. They communicate using their domain name in their email addresses. They promote their website on every piece of printed media they produce, like business cards and newspaper advertising. And they use social networking tools, like Facebook and Twitter to promote their business and their website. These businesses do everything they can to make sure that their websites, along with other parts of their business, receive the time and attention they deserve.

The second group reluctantly provides a website for their customers, but they don’t place it very high in their list of priorities. The site is rarely, if ever, updated. They use email addresses provided by their ISPs, instead of using their domain name. They never create online listings for their businesses, which will more than likely include their web address, so that they have a better shot at a higher rank with the search engines. And it never occurs to them to put their website address on their business cards or in their advertisements.

The third group, and this is the group the title of this post refers to, thinks they don’t need a website or, worse yet, never even considers the pros and cons of having a website. They don’t know that more and more people are using the internet to search for local businesses and services. They don’t communicate with their customers through email, most likely because they never think to ask their customers for their email addresses. And they think that, because they themselves “don’t like computers”, their customers don’t use them, either.

When I approach businesses, like the ones in the third group, about the benefits of having a website, I even receive ridiculous responses like “I can’t handle the business I have now. Why would I want a website?”

Really? Why are you even in business? Isn’t it for the money? Don’t you want to stay in business? Don’t you see all of the similar local businesses that have gone under, possibly because they couldn’t compete with you? What makes you think that a business, like your own, won’t come along, some day, and put you out of business?

Which group are you in?

Man, I love WordPress!

Marketing your new website is an absolute necessity, if you want to see any traffic. More often than not, marketing is going to be your responsibility. Some web design companies will also market your site, for a fairly steep fee. It’s expensive, because it’s generally a tedious and long-term endeavor, if done correctly.

I’m not a marketing guru, by any stretch of the imagination. However, if you do a Google search for “computer repair, san angelo” or “web design, san angelo“, my main website (AngeloPC.com) is listed first in the search results. This didn’t just happen and it certainly didn’t happen overnight. It took painstaking effort to bring my business website to the top of the search results.

This is not something that every business owner would be able to do. I had the advantage of knowing how the search engines work and what they look for. Since I had created and was maintaining my own website, I was also able to tweak the code to make it more search engine-friendly.

If your business website is in need of some marketing help, whether SAWD created your site or not, give us a call or send us a message, so we can help your site be seen.

That being said, everyone and their brother has a blog. This can range from the people who setup a Blogger account and never do anything with it, all the way to the professional bloggers, who depend on blogging as their sole source of income. Yes…there’s money to be made in blogging!

The point is that bloggers, the ones who are experts on the subjects they blog about, know the power of the internet and know that creating fresh, relevant content is the key to bringing people to their websites. It’s not all about posting funny videos and jokes or even your opinion on current events. It’s about sharing your knowledge of a particular subject, with people who are actually interested in what you have to say.

You may be thinking “in my business, there really isn’t anything to blog about.” Really? What type of business are you in? Do you have customers? Do they not want to know about your area of expertise? You would generally have a hard time convincing me that there’s nothing related to your business that’s worth blogging about.

Let’s say you own a security company. You install alarm systems for homes and businesses in your local area. Now, there may be less of an opportunity to target businesses or business owners with your blog, but how about homeowners? Don’t you think they would be interested in knowing more about how to keep there homes safe? How about keeping-up with the local police blotters, so you can point-out to your readers where the latest rash of burglaries have occurred? You could be the local security hero!

I believe you could apply this theory to many businesses that are currently “missing the boat” when it comes to the value of blogging, in order to increase traffic to their websites.

So…what are you waiting for? Start blogging!

(reposted from AngeloPC.com)

So many small businesses are in the same situation that you’re in. They’re completely disappointed that they spent all this money on a great website and it’s done nothing to increase their business. Maybe the company that created your site didn’t tell you that traffic was never guaranteed. Maybe they did, but you didn’t listen. Maybe you listened, but they never told you what it takes to build your website’s traffic.

In either case, it’s time for your website to start paying you back. It’s time for you to understand what a web page is actually made of and how to make it benefit your business. You may be thinking “I don’t have time to learn about my website. I have a business to run!” If you paid $3000 for a new piece of equipment, you would want to know how it worked or how to operate it, yes? Owning a website is no different and it shouldn’t be treated any differently. If you don’t have time to learn about your website, hire someone to do it for you.

Now, I’m not trying to turn every business owner into a web designer, but you should understand the basics of what a web page actually is. A web page is made-up of HTML (hypertext markup language) code (at least that’s what is used to display it in your browser). Included in most pages is a title, a description, some keywords and the content of the page. You may have a highly-functional, well-designed Content Management System (CMS), which kind of removes the need for you to know this, but it’s still worthwhile to have a general idea about how a web page works.

In my opinion, there are only three things you need to be concerned with, in order to build traffic to your site. They are content, content and content. “Content is King”. There are a few other things that can help, but content is the most important. I’m not talking about an endless number of photo galleries and videos. We’re talking about fresh, relevant text and lots of it. Content is what the search engines eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s what they use to decide if your site is going to be of value to the people that are searching.

Imagine yourself searching for something – let’s say local pest control companies in your area. Are you going to visit the website that says “We kill bugs. Here’s our address and phone number.” or would you rather visit the site that gives their address and phone number and tells you – which bugs you have in your area, which ones you need to worry about and features regularly posted articles about how best to control bugs in your yard and in your home? The search engines will pick the latter, every time.

I don’t know about you, but when I see a site with very little content, I begin to wonder how well they really know their business. Will I be taking a chance by using this company? Is this company reputable? I would much rather use a company that I can see clearly knows their business.

So, if your a small business owner with an under-performing website, the first thing you need to do is put on your writing cap or hire someone to write for you. Put together a few (or more) articles about what it is that your business actually deals with and get them posted on your website.

If you want to know more about how to build traffic to your small business website, keep checking back here. I’ll post new tips as often as possible.

Re-posted from AngeloPC.com

As you can probably guess, I spend an inordinate amount of time on the Internet. Everyday I see bad domain names for business websites. I have a real hard time not contacting the business to ask “what were you thinking?”. I do understand feeling limited sometimes, because you think that “all the good domain names” are already taken. In some cases that’s true, but it doesn’t mean that you have to settle for a “bad” domain name for your business.

Keep the following in mind when you’re ready to make some domain name choices:

The Domain Name Doesn’t HAVE to be Your Business Name

If the legal name of your business is “John’s Fantabulous Pizza Shack”, it doesn’t mean that your domain name has to be “johnsfantabulouspizzashack.com”. ”John”, please forgive me if this is actually your business name. It’s just an example. However, without even trying, I can think of some great domain names: “johnspizza.com”, “shackpizza,com”, “pizzashack.com”, “sliceattheshack.com”, “shackslice.com” or “fantabpizza.com”. You had no idea it was that easy, did you?

Don’t Make it Too Long

This one is extremely important. If your business is “local”, whether you have multiple locations or not, you don’t want a name that people are going to be unwilling to type into their address bar. Granted, a lot of your traffic is going to come from search engines that provide a link to click, but you also want the people in your local area to be able to open their browser and quickly type your domain name, so they can visit your site for specials, menus, directions or contact details. If your going above roughly 12-15 characters, you’re going to take a significant hit to your ”traffic”. You also have to think about what your email address will look like. For example, on a business card or on a flyer. How does “john [at] johnsfantabulouspizzashack.com” look?

Keep the Top-Level Domain (TLD) Accurate

If your business has nothing to do with Internet services, don’t choose a “.net” (Internet) name, just because it’s your business name and it’s available. If you run a charitable organization or a non-profit, you should choose a “.org” (organization) name. Now, I don’t claim to know what the future holds. I can only speak for “here and now”. So, if you choose something other than a “.com” (commercial) name, such as “.us”, “.info” or “.biz”, for your business name, you could lose traffic, because people will mistakenly type the “.com” name. This is just how people reference and remember domain names. Do you remember people talking about the “Dot Info Bubble”, in the late ’90s. No! Because people only referenced the “Dot Com Bubble”.

Steer Clear of Dashes and Quirky Spellings

People get confused by this and, therefore, you’ll lose a lot of traffic which was originally intended for your site. You should choose a domain name that, when it’s spoken, doesn’t leave open the possibility that someone will type it incorrectly. For example, let’s say you have an online directory called “in-decks.com”. If someone verbally recommends that name in conversation, they have to spell it out or the potential visitor, excited to check out your site, is going to go to “index.com”. “There’s the pitch. Oh! It’s a swing and a miss!”

What About Pre-Owned Domain Names?

Unfortunately, for you, there are many people in the business of reselling domain names (domain resellers). They buy domain names that they think can be resold, then they charge a hefty price to the person that needs the domain name. There are, of course, legal ramifications to reselling domains which you have no legal right to, but usually things don’t progress that far. The one good thing about domain resellers is that the domain that you thought “wasn’t available” just may be…for a price.

Choosing a domain name for your business isn’t all that hard. You just need to apply some rational thought as to how it will affect your website traffic and ultimately, your bottom line.

Re-posted from AngeloPC.com