SEO Tips: Do Keyword Research BEFORE You Launch a New Website

Just a quick post today on the importance of doing SEO and keyword discovery BEFORE you launch a new business or website.

In the new data-driven world that we live in, you can find out what people are searching for on Google, Yahoo and elsewhere before you decide what to call your website and what content to put on it.

Why do keyword research first?

Because you can tap into what people are already doing online. In other words, if you know that 5000 people per day are searching for a particular keyword phrase that is relevant to your product or service, you want to know that BEFORE you launch, right? If you can design a page specifically targeted to that group’s wants and needs, you have a better chance of turning them into customers.

To put it metaphorically: Find out where the fish are biting and drop your line in that pond.

Keywords to SEO

Once you have an idea of the search terms (often called “keywords”) that people are using, you can design a webpage that will bring them directly to you, rather than simply hoping they will find you through word of mouth, social media, pay-per-click or some other means.

A quick and easy way to begin is to use a Free Keyword Tool that will give you a rough idea of how often people search for a given term. Do a search, look at the entire cluster of results and ask yourself:

“When a person types this phrase into google what are they looking for?”

If the phrase seems useful to your business or service, then make a note of it, and find other phrases that might also indicate a need for what you do. Once you have a sample of words and phrases, you have a basic idea into the mind of your particular market. You can hire an SEO to verify your intuitions, to dig deeper if necessary, and then design website content and programming that that will be compelling to both your end user and to the search engines….

Google Search: Why Being #1 Matters

You probably know - or at least have heard - that getting a high rank on google can be important to your business.

But have you ever thought of exactly what that means? Take a look at the images and data below to get a brief overview of why a first or second place listing can pay off for your business.

Google Eye Tracking Map and Click Through Data

The heat map below tracks where people look when first visiting google search. Red is “hot” or “looks more.” Blue is “cool” or “looks less.”

Do I have your attention? Top ranked websites get a much larger share of the traffic than lower-ranked sites. If your website has (ahem) a purpose and it actually does something such as collect leads, make sales or otherwise generate revenue, then you need to get as much traffic as you can. Getting to #1 or #2 (or both!) will get you the results you deserve.

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Google Grants For Non-Profits with (501(c)(3) status

Are you a non-profit that wants to advertise on Google?

Over the last few years, Google Pay-Per-Click has been a major revenue generator, not just for Google and for businesses that use Google, but also for non-profits that use pay-per-click.

But not all non-profits are paying to use google’s advertising services. Are you aware that US organizations with a 501(c)(3) non-profit status are eligible for Google’s grant program? Are you aware that you can get a monthly amount that you can spend on pay-per-click ads?

Non-Profit PPC Management

Though my PPC management usually focuses on Landing Page Optimization for corporations and small business (Landing Page Case Study), I do occasionally work with Arts Marketing ConsultantRon Evans whose team has created substantial increases in both traffic and revenue for several large 501 c 3 organizations. If you are a non-profit looking to capitalize on Google Grants, Ron’s contact info is below. He has a great program, and a wonderful way to bring people to your website in order to support your mission. A couple of thing to know about the program.

Google Grants: What You Should Know

* If you get a grant, Google requires active management of your account. This means you will need to have someone login to your account at least once per month to monitor it.

* The benefit of the account depends on how well you manage it. If you have specific goals, such as promoting new events, bringing in donations, supporting mission-critical projects, you will get the most out of it.

* Pay-Per-click campaigns are somewhat similar to natural search engine optimization - you want to send people to pages relevant to what they search. Practically speaking, this means you will want to send people to different pages within your website. If you are are an organization that promotes film and theater, then you will send film clicks to your film page and theater clicks to your theater page.

* You do not need to pay to join the program.

Google Grants Information

If you want more information about the Google Grants program, contact Ron Evans at Groupofminds Arts Marketing Consultants directly. As I mentioned, he is managing several large Google Grants accounts, with over $25,000 per month in total spend. However, if you are a small non-profit do not be intimidated by the program. Google offers grants for small nonprofits, I’ve seen monthly grants as low as $400 per month.

If you are “for profit” business who wants to use the Google PPC to attract new customers and revenue, contact me directly: Contact Ryan Nagy. You may be surprised at what we can achieve together.

cheers! - Ryan

Register Your Website URL in Your Name

Who Really Owns Your Website?

I have noticed that many businesses and individuals are letting their webmaster or web hosting company register their web address. Bad idea!!

If you are establishing a new website, or a new business, it is critical, that you register the URL in your name. If you don’t…then you do not own it!

Several times in the last few months, I have dealt with situations in which a client wants to change hosting companies or webmasters and the webmaster has refused to give up the URL. I’m sure my clients can fight the hosting company. And one is consulting an attorney. But the best thing to do is to register the domain you want yourself. Put it in your name. Pay for it with your credit card. That way, there will never be a question about ownership.

SEO & Blogs: A Blog Can Keep Your Website “Fresh” on Google

A Short Post In Response To An SEO Client Who Wrote Me And Said:

Ryan, How long does it take google to notice a change on my website? I’ve put in the title and meta tags that you suggested but things haven’t changed on Google. Why would this be?

The web is huge and even google doesn’t have the resources to notice every change that happens online. It takes a great deal of time for the search engines to reach and index all the various sites. Sometimes it can take days.

But Google Updates Are Nearly Automatic If You Blog

If are using a blog, the usual update rules do not apply. Blogging platforms such a Wordpress have built in “ping” services that notify many services whenever you post new content. That is, you when you click the “publish” button, a notification is sent to services such as Ping-o-Matic, Technorati, FriendFeed, Icerocket, Google Blog Search and others, so that they can come to your blog and index your latest content.

So, the best and easiest way to get Google to your site, is to write a blog post and within the blog post link to a page in your main website. Google will come to your blog and also follow the link to your main website. Sometimes, once you publish a new blog post, you will have an updated listing on Google within the houry

For more information check out Wordpress Pings.

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