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We know that small business owners are looking for practical, affordable ways to drive traffic to their sites — and a solid search engine strategy is one of the best foundations for web success. The interview below gives some strategic insights from two key players at Tidal Research, a highly accomplished SEO shop which began supporting NameMedia's SEO effort earlier this year.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves, and about Tidal Research?
I am a partner at Tidal, and Steve Clark is the firm's Chief SEO Engineer. Tidal is a boutique SEO firm which serves a range of clients: from small- to medium-sized businesses up to Fortune 500 companies.
We tackle traditional SEO engagements for well established sites (like BuyDomains.com): helping site owners improve their page ranking and grow organic traffic. Our firm also specializes in helping new site owners establish successful SEO programs to drive success right from the start.
Learn More: Search Engine Optimization Services
How hard is it for a small business to make their site SEO-friendly?
It's not hard if they follow some basic rules:
- Be sure to focus page content on the keywords and phrases that potential visitors use when searching for the type of goods or services which you offer;
- Put in title tags on your pages — again, be sure to include keyword(s) in the title whenever you can (for example: "Buy women's dress shoes or casual shoes at PrettyShoes.com");
- Make an effort to interlink your pages to facilitate spidering of your site (search engines have "crawlers" which index the pages in a site, and having interlinks help to facilitate this process);
- Feature new content on your home page on a regular basis: this is important both to site visitors (returning visitors should see new content or they may stop coming back) and because you want to have your site crawled on a regular basis;
- Avoid using Java Script for navigation elements; spiders cannot "see" these elements and so they will not be able to crawl them;
- Use static URLs whenever possible — these are seo-friendly and will help to ensure that you get your site properly indexed;
- Seek out inbound links from local sources such as the Chamber of Commerce or local trade association. Inbound links build site credibility, and if you have a localized business (a restaurant or auto body shop, for example) links which are highly specific to your target market area especially valuable.
What do you tell clients about pursuing a multiple domain strategy? How can this contribute to their online success?
If you think that your audience will be typing in a range of search terms then it can be very helpful to have more than one domain with good keyword value which is redirected to your main site using a 301 redirect code.
Learn More: Search Engine Optimization Services
What factors do you review when doing a site audit for a client?
When doing a site audit, here are some of the factors which we evaluate: 1) The quality and quantity of links pointing to the site, 2) The number of pages indexed by search engines, 3) Determine if there are any problems with those indexed pages (duplicate content, for example), 4) Look for search engine friendly elements (such as keywords in content and page title, alt tags on images, spider-friendly navigation and so forth). We also look at the age and history of the site; new sites need to pursue SEO results in a different way than do established sites. For example, if you have a new site which is just launching, you may want to ramp up your link buying activity more slowly.
How is SEO changing, and where do you see the future of SEO?
I think that there will be more emphasis on personalization and local search. Engines will look to directories which they see as authorities on local search, such as the Yellow Pages and local Chamber of Commerce.
Do you recommend that clients buy keywords and inbound links? Is this feasible for the small business?
Small business owners should realize that there is a significant difference between buying keywords — that is, essentially, a media buy — and pursuing inbound link buys. Keywords can be tracked and directly associated with revenues, so you can measure ROI and determine your spend and strategy based on returns. Link buys really build a groundswell of traffic to your site and create a volume of traffic which can be converted into paying customers.
That said, there is a right way and a wrong way to buy links. You should look at the relevance of the sites where you wish to buy links, the value of the link (is the site where the link will be placed highly-ranked itself?), where the link will appear on the site and who else is buying links on the site. New businesses need to be careful: ramp up your efforts carefully so that search engines will perceive it as an organic growth of inbound links.
If you could only make three changes to your website as a business owner, what would they be?
I think that my short list would be as follows: 1) Include relevant keywords in the home page content, 2) Use HTML links so that search engines can spider your entire site, and 3) Get inbound links from authorities in the your field.
Learn More: Search Engine Optimization Services
A new resource for the domain community was recently launched in the form of ICANNwiki.org. Individuals from the ICANN community (not ICANN itself) developed the wiki site as a means for the community to openly discuss issues and express opinions on the growing complexities of the domain industry. A wiki site is a website whose content is almost solely driven by the users themselves — thus creating a non-biased, pressure free environment in which participants can express opinions, share ideas and form decisions.
Dan Mendel, the director of ICANNwiki and president and CEO of NeutralSpace, believes that the site will be a vital source for information and collaboration. His current focus is on building content and structure in both ICANNWiki and ICANNBlog so that they may become self sustainable industry resources.
Mr. Mendel states that "...As I dance around at venues like ICANN and Traffic I am surprised to find that the people that will be most financially affected by these governing bodies don't even who they are. The vast majority of domainers and business owners focus more on buying and selling domains than on domain policy which can affect their bottom line."
Search for Domain Names:
Enter Keywords
|
BuyDomains/Afternic |
25% |
$5,229,441 |
|
SnapNames |
23% |
$4,825,85 |
|
PVT Sale |
20% |
$4,304,581 |
|
SEDO |
15% |
$3,076,437 |
|
Moniker-Auctions |
9% |
$1,985,889 |
|
Moniker |
3% |
$679,588 |
|
Other |
5% |
$974,550 |
NameMedia's leadership position in the domain name aftermarket was confirmed according to Q1 '07 sales data released by the Domain Name Journal in April.
In the first quarter of 2007 NameMedia's reported sales comprised 24.81% of total reported domain sales, confirming NameMedia as the leader in the rapidly growing domain name aftermarket.
"I always knew that BuyDomains.com was an important player in the domain aftermarket, but I did not realize how powerful their sales platform was until they joined other industry leaders in providing sales data for our weekly market reports", said Ron Jackson, Editor and Publisher of the Domain Name Journal.
Following the November acquisition of Afternic.com, NameMedia launched ActiveExchange, an integrated domain sales platform combining the strengths of both BuyDomains and Afternic.
The ActiveExchange marketplace has aggressively expanded its reach through a growing distribution network that now includes promotion throughout North America, Europe and Asia, ensuring that our members receive small- to mid-sized business (SMB) targeted promotion for their domains on a global basis.
Learn more about ActiveExchange
Today many of the best reading sites for small business owners are blogs, many of which are run by fellow entrepreneurs and business owners.
These sites often encourage reader comments and incorporate community elements, which allow for interaction and dialogue to flesh out the concepts presented or to present different points of view.
Here are some of the sites which we have visited recently:
Podcasting is basically the process of making MP3 files available via RSS streams. It is relatively easy and inexpensive to put together and podcasts are a great way to attract a targeted, interested audience for your goods or services.
There are a number of free or low-cost tools available which make podcasting a low-risk marketing opportunity. Below are some of the basics on podcasting, and some information on getting started.
How Do You Make and Distribute a Podcast?
There are a number of options for recording and distributing podcasts, ranging from free solutions which are basic but easy to use, to more sophisticated tools available for purchase (prices are modest and there are many choices available in the $60-175 range).
True podcasting involves producing audio files which are distributed via RSS; like a weekly audio "newsletter" podcasts posted to an RSS feed are pulled in by an RSS reader once a person subscribes to your podcast. Some podcasting software includes the tools needed to create the XML feed necessary for RSS; other tools (Audacity and GarageBand) are simply audio recording packages which will help you create the file, but not the XML needed for the actual podcast.
How Can a Small Business Employ Podcasts to Market Itself?
Depending upon your business, you may want to have a weekly podcast featuring a discussion about your product offerings, the professional services which you provide or have an ongoing update on news from your industry.
For example, if you run a restaurant, you may want to develop a podcast discussing new monthly menu additions along with some recipe tips which diners could make at home. Or, you can produce "industry insight" updates to promote your professional services business if you are a consultant, lawyer or accountant. If you offer consumer goods, you may want to have a monthly update on the "latest and greatest" products available, including information on special promotions.
If you would like to listen to some podcasts to evaluate the medium as a potential platform for your business, PodcastDirectory.com is a great place to start.
What Tools Are Available to Help Me Produce a Podcast?
- PodBlaze.com — One of the early pioneers; they have corporate consulting too, if you want professional guidance before taking the plunge into "podding"
- Directory of Podcast Software — Includes choices for the PC, Mac and for users operating Linux-based systems
- Propaganda — Multi-track recording features, transitions and tools for creating your RSS feed
While the podcast audience is still relatively small and somewhat fragmented, Forrester Research projects that 12.3 million households will be listening to podcasts by 2010. For businesses willing to take the technology plunge the opportunity to attract a growing audience, and more importantly to target the right consumers, could be well worth the investment.
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