Top 10 Myths About Search Engine Optimization

1. I don’t need to know about SEO – My web site and web master ensure I have a strong presence on the Internet that will bring more business

2. SEO works like magic

Not so. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is just like any other job in life. If you do a good job and put in the hard work, you will get results. When you search for something on the Internet, you expect the search engine to read your mind and provide what you are looking for on the very first line. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. If you want people to find you that way, make sure your website is the best it can be. Make your web site and your web presence the most informative place to learn about what you do or provide. Make sure you can answer the questions a potential customer would ask? Who are you? What do you do? When and where do you do it. How can I get it? People ask questions on search engines. Provide answers.

3. If I pay to be submitted to the search engines, I’ll see more traffic to my web site

Not so. URL submission pages came about in the 90’s. They should stay there. There are still companies that charge a fee for submissions to the top search engines on a regular basis. URL’s can be indexed within hours by participating in a blog or other Web 2.0 social site.

4. Paid services for key word optimization will increase Search Engine Optimization

These days the phrase, “Search Engine Optimization” or SEO is all the buzz. Most paid services focus on the keywords in a website and offer monthly keyword optimization strategies. Regrettably this is only a strategy and not reality. Search engines don’t work using keywords alone. Any business that relies solely on key word strategy for the internet will fail. Using incorrect, inappropriate, repetitive or too many or keywords can negatively impact your presence on the www resulting in being banned or lowering your business’s search engine ranking.

5. Regular submissions of my URL will increase my web presence

Wrong again. Any service that claims to submit your site to search engines on a regular basis may get you banned as the search engines may interpret the submission as spam.

6. Linking is all there is.

Links are important, as search engines will consider a site that is highly linked to be more important than one that is not. However, just creating links to satisfy this objective does not solve the problem. Simple back linking on each page does not really count as a legitimate link. You don’t need thousands of links to be relevant. If your content changes and you know how to get a search engine to spider you, then you can be relevant with only one link.

7. As a Canadian based business, if someone searches my company/organization name, I’ll come up on the first page when being searched or Googled.

Not necessarily so. Search engines can’t find you if they don’t know where you are based. Especially if you don’t have a URL ending in “.ca”. Google is very good at figuring out where you are, but can’t read minds – yet! Unfortunately, most websites forget to make it clear where they are located. Pretend you are in grade school again. Put your name and address on everything and consider a URL ending in “ca”.

8. Optimizing means I have to create a whole new website

Not so. Presentation is everything to a potential customer – whether they already know your product or service or not. What tags say makes your site attractive to the search engines. Expanding your presence on the Internet is about making your business more appealing to search engines. Even bad websites can be popular.

9. Multiple websites will make my business more popular

Don’t mirror your site or have multiple domain names that point to identical sites. Choose one site and point all domains to one place. Search engines will de-list multiple sites and see them as spam.

10. Blogs and other social sites are for kids.

Sorry, wrong again. The major news networks now use blogs. YouTube was featured in the last U.S. Democratic debates. Whether your customer base is young or old, you need to be actively participating in the new Web 2.0 – today’s interactive internet. Even if you don’t want to promote yourself to a specific demographic, you want to be seen by the search engines. Search engines comb the top 10 social sites every few minutes. You need to be there.

Marketing 101 - Making a great first impression

PR Basics – “You had me at Hello”
Making a good first impression

At the end of the movie “Jerry Maguire” the then estranged Tom Cruise returns to his wife, Renee Zellwinger. After a long dissertation which could be interpreted as groveling, Renee surprisingly responds to Jerry Maguire with “You had me at hello”.

Public relations is about communications. Everything you do is communication. You are a walking communicator, even if you don’t say a word. It’s the image you project, and the thousands of voluntary, involuntary expressions and body movements you make. Flora Davis, author and social scientist claims gestures are a shortcut to language, calling body language the silent language.

Are you a good visual representative of what or who you represent? What you are trying to communicate to your audience and how are you communicating? PR is about managing your reputation. In essence you are the architect of your own reputation.

It is said that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. When you consider that 55% of first impressions are made through body language, 35% through voice and only 7% by your words, this statement cannot be disputed easily

It may be no surprise that 7% of first impact is in what we say, a whopping 93% is in our Body language. Out of the 93%, 55% is interpreted by our appearance and 38% is by the sound of our voice.

Here are the facts: Communications expert Mario Pei estimated that humans can produce up to 7,000 different physical signs. Pioneer researcher in kinesics Birdwhistell estimates that the face alone is capable of producing 250,000 expressions. Researcher M.H. Krout identified 5,000 distinct hand gestures Researcher G.W. Hewes has cataloged 1,000 different postures and their accompanying gestures

Professor Albert Hehrabian’s has broken down the impact of first impressions further. His studies show that Body Language represents 55%, words 7%, voice 38%

Not sure where to make your first good impression? Are you establishing or re-establishing your product, service or event? Here are over 25 ways to make can a good first impression!

Become an expert
Conduct free seminars
Conduct Surveys
Deliver Speeches
Distribute collateral – don’t let them get outdated
Enhance your business card – use the back
Environmental tie-ins
Establish a referral program
Give presentations
Hold Contests
Join online forums
Make appearances on talk shows – radio or TV
Make Public Service Announcements (Radio, newspaper or television)
Make sure your web site is “Media friendly”
Media tour
Mention satisfied customers - get testimonials
Network, network, network!
Personal Endorsements
Piggy back on current partner programs & promotions
Prepare Trend Stories
Press Release
Press conference
Produce E-Books
Service Clubs: Rotary, Kinnettes – Join or attend as a guest – check them out!
Solicit Testimonials, comments
Source out a predominant member of the community to endorse your message
Summarize survey results
Telemarketing – Make use of local college or university students
Use free classified ads on the internet
Volunteer
Write – a book, column, feature articles, letters to the editor of a professional, trade or consumer publication

On a final note – don’t stop or even consider that you are not making a first or lasting impression.