Bill Kisse explains the importance of using relevant search terms when optimizing your index pages.
I didn’t start out with the intention of spending hours learning all about search engine marketing to help promote my business but I’m glad I did.
Internet search results have been good to me and my efforts have paid handsomely for the many hours that I just worked on “good faith” that the Search Engine Gods would recognize our company and the services we provide.
What’s the first thing you (or just about everyone I know) do when you need information?
You “Google it” or look it up on the web.
Why? I began to get the idea that the Internet was the future of advertising, well the future is here and it pays to learn what benefit it can bring to your business.
What is the purpose of a well-designed B2B website?
- An online brochure or catalog describing our business and the benefits of doing business with us
- Something that adds “credibility” to our business (i.e. we aren’t just a home-based business, we actually have employees and a business presence
- A place for prospects to learn about how we can help them with a product or a service to solve a problem
- A place for existing customers to learn about our new products or services to help them fill a need
Is this today’s model of why we have an Internet presence?
Of course not!
Websites today have a much more valuable purpose and to make this value stand-out among our many competitors we must “search well” by having a commanding presence in search engine results.
It’s no secret that if you’re not in the top 10 of search results – in many cases the top one or two – you are losing many business opportunities.
Why?
Because the Internet is how people or the average consumer or business do research.
And research we do – hundreds of times per week.
So people actually FIND you on the web, what will you ask them to do?
A Call to Action!
Make it easy for prospects to contact you or fill out an online form that has only a few but relevant questions that help the prospect think about he really needs.
This will give you sufficient information on the prospect so that when YOU CONTACT HIM you will be in a position to ask the right questions and lead him on to the sale.
Note that this is not the ONLY way to begin the sales process as there are many e-commerce sites on the web, but most of us still have to communicate with our prospects via email or telephone as the next step of the sales process.
OK, all the detail – how do I actually DO all of this?
The first thing to remember is that your business name or website name MAY NOT have anything to do with your business!
Say you are an HVAC contractor and your business name is “The Apple Group” with a website address of www.theapplegroup.com.
Nice name – it may even be your LAST name, but it may be hard for people to find you.
Do you only have ONE chance to be indexed by the search engines?
Of course not!
But…if you expect to have a wonderfully-optimized index page that has all relevant search terms then you should be aware this is NOT the ideal way to be found with “organic” search.
Yes, you can spend a lot of money with paid advertising and paid advertising should be a part of your marketing budget, but I’ve discovered something more important.
It’s not the website that counts, it’s the exposure you can get with relevant wording of your search results.
Remember that a website is NOT just a static index page, but a series of pages that address specific questions or services/products that you have to offer your prospects.
Optimize your index page of course, but don’t forget that you can create literally hundreds of “specialized index pages” (pages that may look similar to your index page but each addressing difference prospect needs or interests).
You should also consider web names that SAY WHAT YOU DO.
Which web pages would have a greater possibility of showing up on the first page of Google results for an HVAC service company?
- www.HVAC-Services-Memphis.com
- www.Heating-Cooling-Services.com
- www.Reliable-Furnace-Repair.com
- www.Same-Day-HVAC-Service.com
There’s a good chance that a prospect living in Memphis, TN may enter a search term of “HVAC Services in Memphis” as his search string.
And…all things being equal, Google will reward you with a prospect who can easily find you and will immediately know what you do!
Of course this is only a very small aspect of Internet search marketing, but at least considers the value of a web address that is part of the most common search term(s) for your service or product.
Bill Kisse is the CEO of Electronic Systems Services, one of the largest national independent point-of-sale computer equipment service organizations serving the fast food and quick-service restaurant industries.
Tags: Bill Kisse, Electronic Systems Services, Increasing Website Traffic, Organic Search, Search Engine Optimization
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