High on Search Engines - What does that mean?

Everyone wants to be high on Search Engines, but what does that mean? A website does you no good if no one ever sees it. If you are in a competitive or popular business, it is hard to get ranked high. To be ranked high means that when a prospect wants your service and does a Search, one of the first entries he sees points to your website.

Guessing what your prospects will enter is the first step (most people realize this) and Search Engines are very sensitive (most people don't realize this). A personal example will illustrate this sensitivity.

One of our services is website design. Today, if you enter "Memphis Website Design" into Google, Deluge Studios is number 1 on the first page. We (Esearchfor.com) are number 2.

If, instead of  "Memphis Website Design", you enter "Website Design Memphis", we fall to number 3, while Deluge Studios falls to number 4.

For other search terms that I believe are important, our company is ranked #1. Since it is a competitive world, everything is visible on the web, and my competitors are technically savvy, I won't mention these terms in my blog.

Does Google Hate Facebook?

My User Name on Facebook is "Kenneth.M.Stewart". Google doesn't list me (on the first page) if I search using "Facebook Kenneth.M.Stewart". Using the same search on Bing and Yahoo, I come up as the first Entry.

Does Google hate Facebook?

Don't be A One-Legged Centipede

The Marketing Plan of most big businesses is like a hundred leg centipede. They have infinite money and can use it in a hundred ways to get your attention.

You can think of each marketing strategy as a "leg". Some examples of legs are:

(1) Run Newspaper Ads.

(2) Get High on Search Engines.

(3) Advertise in Magazines.

(4) Use Email Marketing.

(5) Use Social Networking for target marketing.

(6) Develop a website.

(7) Advertise on TV.

(8) Develop an "air of expertise".

(9) Use Twitter.

(10) Use Text Marketing.

(11) Integrate multiple websites.

(12) Promote Facebook Business Pages.

(13) Use outdoor (billboard) advertising.

(14) Stress Referrals (paid, unpaid, online, offline).

(15) Use the latest "new thing".

(16) Collect and display references.

(17) Use Guerrilla Marketing techniques.

(18) Advertise in one of the "Yellows" - Yellow Book, Yellow Pages (In my opinion, a bad idea).

Legs need to work together. Big business often has trouble coordinating their legs. Big business takes a long time to implement the latest "new thing" - creating opportunities for the more nimble small business.

Different businesses need different legs. Selecting the right legs for your business can give you a leg up (pun intended) on your competition. A business with these legs can run to success.

Our business is to help a few local small firms choose and use the right legs.

Websites and Twitter

Been figuring out how to tweet from a website. I'm sure one of my subcontractor is up on all of this, but I love to program (or whatever the modern term is). Twitter should be one part of any comprehensive marketing plan.

Power of Tweets

Saw a website selling a book. It had a link letting you download a chapter free if you first tweeted your friends that you were reading the book. If you can give something away free, consider adding a link like this to your website.

Your Business, Your Problems, Are they valuable?

If you have been in business long, you have overcome problems.

Have you ever wanted advice from someone who has faced the same business problems as you? Maybe your clients could benefit from your experience.

We design and host web sites, get people high on search engines, and provide general computer services. But perhaps our most valuable services is sharing what we have done right and wrong over decades of being a Memphis business.