For most business owners, one of the following statements is true:
- You run your business pretty much like your competitors.
- You run your business the same way you did when you first started.
Humans are creatures of habit, and our habits are comfortable. At some intellectual level, all of us are aware of some things we could to to improve our businesses… we may even try something new once in a while. The sad thing is that even if that new thing works, we usually wind up back in our old, comfortable ways.
The horribly overused cliche, “thinking outside the box”, isn’t about doing anything wild and crazy — it’s really about thinking outside of our own box — the overcoming limitations we put on ourselves.
In the past, you may have gotten away with doing things the same way for years at a time. But if your business is part of the majority that’s seen a drop in revenue over the last year, it’s obvious that you should consider some new strategies.
I am by no means suggesting that you thow out your processes and procedures that served you well in the past. Rather, we want to look at ways to build on what worked and create a new, higher baseline.
Because of the numerous factors involved in getting top 10 ranking, improving your position can take weeks. To speed up the process, we recommend using Google’s pay-per-click advertising program, Adwords.
When you use Adwords, your site will show up in the “Sponsored Results” above or to the right of the regular results.
When you use AdWords, you begin by creating “ads”, which will appear when search terms you specify are entered into Google or appear in the content of pages served by Google’s advertising partners.
When you first create an account, it may take as long as 10 days before the ads begin to show, but after that changes are reflected almost immediately.
This means you can try an assortment of ad copy and keyword phrases to see what performs best. You’ll be able to measure your percentage of clickthroughs (the number of people who click on your ad vs. the number of times it’s shown (impressions)), and you’ll see if your page content measures up to visitors’ expectations by looking at factors such as time on site, number of pages viewed, and bounce rate (the percentage of people who left your site after viewing only one page).
Your ad’s position in the Sponsored Results is dependent on the bid you make on each keyword phrase. Your bid is the maximum amount you’re willing to spend for each click. In most cases, the actual cost-per-click will be less than your bid maximum.
You want to use targeted keywords over generic terms for a couple of reasons. First, the amount you’ll need to bid for top three positioning will be lower. Second, since you’re paying for the clicks, you want anyone who clicks to be a likely customer.
To manage your spending, AdWords also lets you set a daily budget. If you set your budget to $5/day, your total charge each month will never exceed $155 ($5 x 31 days).
If your customers are within a defined geographic area, you can define the location(s) where your ads will appear.
The initial setup of AdWords can seem intimidating, as there are a lot of options and considerations that go into developing campaigns. We can take you through the setup process or create campaigns for you and monitor their effectiveness. Whatever level of support you need, we are happy to provide it.
How many searches have you done on Google in the last three weeks? How many times did you look beyond the first page of results? If you’re like most web surfers, you answered “lots,” and “zero.”
Most of us never look beyond the first page, and very few ever go beyond the third page. That means if you aren’t getting top 10 positioning for your search terms, your web site is virtually invisible.
The problem, of course, is that every web site owner wants to rank in the top 10, so how do you make your site rank higher than the others?
First, you have to know the main factors that affect search engine ranking:
- Longevity - the longer your site is active, the more established and legitimate you appear to search engines. Of course, you can’t time travel back to 1997 and set up your web site, but if you could, it would help.
- Domain name expiration date – The Internet is rife with scammers, spammers, and domain squatters who register domains for the one year minimum, do their dirty work, then move on to other domains. Because of this, search engines give preference to domains that are registered farther into the future. When search engines index a site whose expiration is years away, they rank it as higher quality. Renewing your domain right now for two years or more is by far the easiest way to improve your ranking.
- Traffic - This one is a Catch-22. The more traffic your site gets, the more search engines rank it favorably. And the more favorably it’s ranked, the more traffic you’ll get. The problem, of course, is getting more traffic while your site isn’t ranked in the top 10.
- Inbound links – If your site contains useful information, then you can expect other web sites to link to your content. Search engines look at both the quantity and quality of inbound links to adjust your site’s ranking. All links are not created equal; a link from a recognized authority site is going to help you immensely. A link from some unrelated site that’s just a page of links can actually harm you.
- Frequency of updates – Adding content on a regular basis shows your site is active. This is why blogging is so beneficial to search engine performance. Remember, in most cases you want to add pages and not remove content that has already been indexed.
- Titles, headings, and meta tags – The words that are chosen here should contain the phrases your customers would be most likely to use if they were searching for your products and services.
- Content - While being interesting to visitors and staying on point with your marketing message, the text on the each page should be written to contain applicable keywords and phrases. The page content should also be in line with the page title and meta tags.
We talk a lot about keywords and search terms. But how do you know what search terms you optimize your site for? In other words, what would prospective clients type into Google when looking for your products and services?
If you are launching a brand new site, you can’t know… but you start by making educated guesses based on the products and services you sell and the challenges those products solve or situations they address. We also research terms that make your competitors show up on Google. Design the site for those terms, then make adjustments as needed down the road.
For existing sites, begin by looking at your Google Analytics or web trends reports. You’ll be able to see search terms people entered to find you. The list will often include terms you wouldn’t have expected. And while not all terms in the reports will be meaningful to your business, we can make adjustments to your site to improve your positioning for the terms that make sense.
If you sell within a particular geographic area, be sure to include city, state, or metro area in your keyword phrases.
The challenge in all this is in measuring the effectiveness of your changes. It can take two months before the search engines fully index your changed content and reflect the changes in search results. It can be another month before you have enough visitor trending information to draw accurate conclusions over the effectiveness of you new content.
We recently learned about a point of sale advertising company that offered a solution so unique and appealing that we decided to get involved with them.
The basic concept is quite simple. If you own a business with qualifying demographics, they will install one or more video display systems and pay you $100 per month per zone… and it doesn’t cost you a cent.
But the real benefit from the system isn’t in that passive income, but rather in two key benefits the system brings.
Whenever possible, the advertising shown will include products you sell. This leads to impulse buying and increased sales. Secondly, the ads are mixed with entertaining programming, so customers perceive shorter wait times and are generally happier.
You can learn more by visiting www.InStoreAdvertisingDisplays.com.
Getting in front of the big market
Ethical strategies for getting top search engine ranking:
- Choose your keywords – Use the most profitable keywords from your Stage 1 test.
- Optimize your page – You can only optimize for 3-5 keywords.
- Include your top 2 keywords in your <title> tag.
- Include your top keywords in your URL – Example: GetTheBestWebSite.com
- Use keywords in header tags – Use <h1> once with your #1 keyword, use <h2> 2-3 times on the page and use <h3> for every subheading.
- Use keywords in image alt tags.
- Keyword-rich navigation – Example: http://GetTheBestWebSite.com/search_engine_optimization.htm
- Format keywords/phrases so they stand out using bold and italics.
- Meta tags – they aren’t so important anymore, but the description is used by some search engines when results are returned. Put misspelled versions of keywords in the meta keywords tag.
The importance of testing can’t be over-emphasized, and you want to test everything: your copy, forms, offer, and even price. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to talk about launching a new or revamped web site. Testing is just as important for direct mail, email, print or new media advertising, and sales presentations.
So, let’s begin by getting your site online. We’ll call it Stage 1.
- Test response with 1,000 visitors.
- Make one change to your copy, form, or offer.
- Test with another 1,000 visitors.
- Which ever version makes the most money, wins. That version becomes the new baseline for testing.
In an ideal world, you would keep the testing cycle going until you got the best response possible. In the real world, what works today may not work tomorrow, so you need to stay on top of your traffic and response rates.
It’s a brand new site. Getting 1,000 visitors will take forever!
You need traffic to test, and the fastest way to get targeted traffic to a new site is to use Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
- Use highly targeted keywords to keep your costs down
- Bid high enough to get into the top 4 positions
How many keywords/phrases? 50-100!
The #1 mistake is not using enough keywords.
How much to pay per click?
Total Net Income ÷Total Unique Visitors = Total Visitor Value
- ROI should be 2-3 times what you pay per click.
- Periodically re-evaluate.
- Track performance of keywords.
- Never tell anyone the keywords that make you money!
- Place different ads for each product you sell.
- Link each ad to the page where the product is actually sold.
- Pre-qualify people with ad copy.
How is your PPC ad ranked?
Cost per Click × Click-through Rate + Quality Score
Split test your PPC ads (Google Adwrods makes it easy) to determine what works best. Once you’re satisfied with the response you’re getting, you’ll be ready for Stage 2, the Rollout.
Writing salescopy is easy. Writing effective salescopy isn’t, even for professional writers. The only way to know if your copy is good is to test it, make changes, and test again.
Testing takes time
There’s no way around it. You shouldn’t expect to write your copy today for a campaign you want to launch next week. All copy should be tested, including the text you have on your web site — product descriptions, forms, offers, and even pricing.
The term “salesletter” covers more than just letters; it can be the copy on a web page, the script you use when telemarketing, or the presentation you make when meeting prospects.
The basic elements include:
- USP – Your unique selling proposition – what makes you stand out from your competition.
- Headline and sub-headline – This must catch the reader’s attention. If it doesn’t, chances are they won’t read the rest of the piece.
- Establish credibility – What is it that makes you qualified to solve the problem?
- Benefits, not features – Talk about how the product or service you provide will directly benefit your prospect.
- Risk reversal – Accept the burden of ensuring customer satisfaction and success. The more you stand behind what you sell, the more likely someone will be to trust you with their money.
- Free bonus items – Add additional value to your offer.
- Create urgency and encourage immediate sales.
- Ask for the order – Don’t forget this important step!
- Make it easy for customers to contact you.
Track Your Results
In a typical campaign, you should expect 2-4% conversion if the product you are selling costs under $50. It’s about 1% for products costing $50-200, and about 0.2% for products selling for over $250.
Email conversion (emailed to your own list) is higher than PPC (pay per click) and search engine traffic.
And speaking of email, at least 11% of your site’s visitors should join your email list.
Salescopy is the most important part of your web site. If your copy’s effectiveness is maximized, you’ll see your profits soar even if your traffic doesn’t substantially increase.
Remember, your web site should be thought of as a commissioned salesperson. If a salesperson has a compelling message, sales will be through the roof. Unfortunately, most web sites lack that compelling message. Those sites are like a salesperson who rings your doorbell, holds up a shoe and says, “It’s blue” — no matter what question you ask.
Long copy vs. short
Use long copy if:
- You sell one product or service with few, if any, variations
Use short copy if:
- You sell a variety of products or services
Anatomy of a sales letter
1. USP (unique selling proposition)
2. Headline and sub-headline
3. Establish credibility
4. Benefits, not features
5. Transfer ownership of the problem (understand their pain)
6. Risk reversal
7. Free bonus items
8. Create a sense of urgency and encourage immediate sales
9. Ask for order
10. Make it easy for customer to contact you.
How long is too long?
There’s no concrete answer, but one very successful site I know of has a 55-page sales letter (when printed — they display it all on a single web page!)
