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Granger Businesses Launching Campaign – The real “super hero” (MONEY) is in the LIST

Jul 17th, 2010 by James

Okay, all I can say is wow. The simple-minded foolishness and desperation of business owners in trouble. And this “granger superhero” effort really smells of desperation. Let me give little disclosure here to explain my justifications for calling it desperation.

I used to work in Granger for many years, riding 23 much of the way to various construction sites dotted throughout. And the arrogance of each and every business I had contact with was simply unbelievable. It seemed (to me at least) that very few business owners actually cared about their customers. If they lost one customer, there would almost always be someone else to replace them as Granger, IN grew and grew and grew.

Flash forward to today. The economy is stinking like rotting meat in a garbage can on a hot summer day and many businesses are in survival mode. But the real bad news: What happens when you take ANOTHER hit to your business? For some local businesses owners in Granger….it’s a long delay in road construction in front of their business along Indiana 23.

So…lets band together….give away a free gift…..create a sale….and oh…offer a GRAND PRIZE! Wow, I CAN’T WAIT to go out of my way so I can get in on the drawings, the prize, and oh…..save me some money. GET REAL. Everyone of those businesses along Indiana 23 should have been doing this from the get go. In fact, they should have been treating those customers like gold and putting systems and processes in place to keep those customers happy, informed, and spending money.

Case in point:

I have a friend (yes – I consider him a friend) that used to own a local sports bar. He still serves in an administration/advisory capacity for the business. We were having breakfast together a short time ago and as I’m doing nearly ALL my business on-line, we were discussing the importance of having an email list. I was telling him about one of my lists of over 3500 (at the time) subscribers and he was discussing his. Without going into detail of everything we talked about, here is what he said… “You know Jim, one of our worst days for business is usually the day following memorial day. We sent out an email to our list and did over $19,000 more in business than we would have done otherwise.”

Are you TALKING to YOUR customers?

Be excellent to each other

Posted in Local Mistakes | No Comments »

Links: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – BKR Studio?

Jul 9th, 2010 by James

Man O man. I really hate starting on a new site/business. All the “hard” work starts completely over. The research/testing, and building of the site is finished….but here comes the slow and meticulous task of link building to start getting the site ranked.

Finding good…..scratch that…..great links is such a vital part of seo but I really wish there was an easier way. Oh sure, there are companies and individuals that will do it for you, but for me, I have to have a hands-on approach the whole way. I just can’t trust anyone with my business which = my money. Paying someone, or even hiring a …insert hard swallow here…”link broker” to get links to my site without me actually doing research on each link is akin to just outright buying links. I know you can buy links, but according to Matt Cutts from Google, there are only three allowed…those are the Yahoo! directory, the Best of the Web directory and the Business.com directory. I guess because Google trusts their “strict editorial process”. Pony up the $1000 or so and your site’s credibility is well under way. That little nugget of info is straight from the August 2010 issue of Web Site Magazine.

Well, I’m working on a local “thing” and I’m looking for some “local” links to get to the site and what I found caused me to shudder a bit. While looking for some local directory sites I came across what first appeared to be one of those 1990′s amateurish attempts at a local portal. But man o man, when I looked closer I realized that the links out were keyword specific… definitely intentional.

I quickly who-is ‘ed the site and found it to be a local web design company here in South Bend called BKR Studios. Following the links and doing a little more Googling, I found 3 attempts at what I would call a “In-house” link farm. Not only was it page after page of links to the sites they designed, they went so far as to be keyword specific in those links. Multiple keyword specific links to each site to be exact. I think the picture here says 1000 words.Michiana.tv - A Link Farm

I could go on about how/why they linked those 3 sites together and blah blah blah. But I can’t help wonder why a company that says they know SEO would even attempt to build a link farm…ahem…. I mean Local Information “Portal”….. to rank a business’ web site. I wonder if any of the business that are listed in those “local portals” know that they are most likely being penalized by the search engines because of it? From the looks of the who-is, they have been doing it for 10 yrs or so and might continue for some time.

Here’s an original thought…..Lets lose the link farm, focus on doing true seo for your clients, and maybe …just maybe… BKR Studio could get their customer, USsigncrafters.com, ranking in the local search results on Google for the terms “sign shop” or “sign store”. In case anyone is wondering why I picked those 2 search phrases….it is the terms I would use to find a local sign shop…..and lo and behold…. who did I find in the PAID section of results for those phrases? You guessed it…..USsingcrafters.com … I wonder how much LESS they could be paying in Adwords if they would at least SHOW UP on the local results?

 

Sign Shop search google search result

On a side note, I never investigated the keywords in the links from the “local portals”, but one can’t help wondering if those keywords were “money keywords” for each business…..and the kicker is they were all out there (in one place mind you) for each type of business they have done work for……. all in a nice, neat little list….. ripe for the cut, copy and paste of a competitor. THAT’S LOW HANGING FRUIT!

Be excellent to each other

Posted in Getting Links | No Comments »

Content is King in Mishawaka…. and the world

Jul 7th, 2010 by James

Well, I thought long and hard about my first post. I think it should be about Content Creation.

I know you’ve heard this over and over, but content really is king. Every time you write…..every time you create….. remember this: Writing/Creating the absolute best content, whether for your business, blog or whatever, is a must to compete in this information overload of a world. Great information, in any form, will attract those links and garner quick(er), lasting search rankings. Everything you do on-line, start it with GREAT content. You’ll never go wrong. It’s probably a good thing that this is my “ramblings” blog. :)

Nicole Nicolay wrote a great article (excerpt and link below) that everyone should read. Although shes writing about/for the real estate professional, what she says holds true for anyone doing business online. Whether you own a on-line business that markets to consumers in Mishawaka or the world, content really is KING. Be sure to check out the whole article. It’s worth it. The cartoon at the beginning is hilarious!

So, while some “experts” may be leading you down their automated paths or filling you up with hope of launching a comprehensive social media marketing plan in 5, 10 or 12 days….my advice is “think for yourself”. There are no quick fixes with social media, it takes work and it takes drive….just like with any successful marketing or business plan. Most importantly, it begins with content. The tools and strategies for sharing good content with your sphere can be learned. But, creating and sharing good content takes skill.

via The New Rules of Content Creation & Curation | MyTechOpinion.com.

Be excellent to each other

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »