Fun facts and staggering numbers about Facebook and why it’s a good move to make your business a presence on Facebook.
Why Facebook?
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Google Maps, Superpages
I am surprised at how many of these listings go unattended. When I search online if there is no website linked on Google Maps or Verizon’s Superpages I go to the next listings.
If you already have a website – check out these listings and link your website. It’s free. Great value!
Website Video Ad
Add a Video to your Website
Everyone is looking to add video to their website. While camcorders are fairly priced you need considerable time to edit and polish your video. The prep to write the script can be daunting or you chance losing your message and your viewer.
A slide show can be the answer. Simpler and less costly. If you are considering using a video in your online advertising it might be the answer.
Animated Titles
Animated graphics add the polish to slide shows.
Videos are a big item now, Great way to drive your website. But it sounds time consuming, and done properly will be, and costly. Considering these videos as short-lived and you will generate new ones periodically using slide shows is a much faster way to create content. Adding moving titles will keep your costs down and step up the end result.
Facebook Networking
Why Facebook? Specifically is not “just Facebook” it is all social networking which helps drive your site. But if your business isn’t completely online you have more leeway.
Ignoring it isn’t a good choice, but the small business owner simply doesn’t have time to “tweet” (Twitter), blog, put up videos (though this one is growing and CAN be simplified – more another time), do LinkedIn, Digg and the rest of the bunch. On top of this Google Buzz is trying to grab a piece of the social network value, and Hotmail/Windows Live recently made a big change. Anyone using Hotmail needs to check all the new permissions, and decide what information they grant access to the whole world.
Somewhere you have to decide how much time you have to devote to this. Facebook makes it easy.
- it isn’t going away
- with over 450 million users – some are likely existing clients
- Facebook is the simple to set up and use
Facebook Web Page/Business Page 1. Facebook requires you to have a personal page. If you are doing this for business purposes keep it to a minimum:
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- name
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- birthday (then go into Accounts ->Privacy Settings and turn this to “Only Me” (can view it)
- website – let everyone view this!
As of today:
2. Upper right corner you’ll see “Account” – click it, then click “Help Center”.
3. Bottom category “Ads & Business Solutions” – click- “Pages for Businesses” at the next screen choose “Admins: Creating, administering, and editing your Page”, next screen: How can I create a Page? Click to expand this heading you’ll find a click “here”.
4. If you aren’t a musician, choose: Brand, Product, or Organization
5. Page Name: two approaches – for keyword advantage you can tweak your business name to include a keyword. ex. www.brendasimon.com My Facebook page is Brenda Simon Web Design OR keep your business name as is. You can NOT undo or change it later without deleting the page and losing the value of postings, and your fans.
6. URL = website address: brendasimon.com
7. Logo: use your website banner, if you don’t have a proper logo. At your website: Put your cursor on the banner – right click – select “Copy”. Minimize your browser (upper right corner on PCs to the left of the red “X” you’ll see a “minus” sign). On your Desktop – right click – select “Paste”. At Facebook where it asks for a logo you’ll see a “Browse” button. The dialog box that opens lets you navigate to your Desktop where you saved the banner – click on it, then click “Upload”. Once uploaded you can move the small square to select the part of your banner you want to be seen. Since Facebook uses a perfect square and most banners are wider than tall this can be disappointing. (If you know how to crop in a graphic program of any kind you can trim your banner yourself for a better result.)
8. Post something on your Wall: “We’re proud of our service…please drop by our website.” Be SURE and use the “Link” button beneath your post to create an active live link back to your website. The simplest way: Open a new window in your browser – go to your website. In the address window (where you would type “www.target.com”) select the entire address (you want the “http://www.” included) – right click – select “Copy”, back to Facebook click on the Link beneath your posting right click – select “Paste”.
9. Used to be “Become a fan”, now is “LIKE” your own page. On your business page – lower left below Fans and/or “People Who Like This page”. Click “Like” – the only change you’ll see is that turns to “unlike”.
10. Invite friends. On your business page: Left side below your logo: “Suggest to friends”. Everyone in your personal page comes up – invite all, ask them to post. You can invite others from your email program, but they have to join Facebook.
11. In order for fans postings to be viewable with your own postings: On your business page “Wall”, look below the Wall posting rectangle – you’ll see a blue “Share” button below that: “OPTIONS” – click and allow Everyone to post. You’re finished. You do need to post and get others to post to drive your page. An active page hits the News Feed* on Facebook and factors into people finding you. You can link to pages on your website when you post. It’s always good to point to your website. Don’t drive yourself crazy – find a comfortable stride and consider it one more marketing tool – with no cost. Remember Facebook DOES include outside websites in its searches. It is presumed they give preference to those ON Facebook. *A NOTE ABOUT NEWS FEEDS
Currently only the owner of the page posting get into the feed. If I post on your Web Page – it doesn’t help drive it. It’s great for people who come to your Facebook page to see interaction, but you need to post frequently, and point to your website. OR ask a playful question. I posted “Who uses Bing?” and people responded. It gives them a chance to participate. When their FRIENDS see they are a Friend/Like your page – you now have a referral. Check out Facebook ads. They are a far better bargain than Google, and the nature of Facebook means your ads will appear to the demographics you are seeking. You define your demographics and Facebook already has the data on the 400+ million who have joined.
Final note: Once you have 25 “friends/Likes” you can get a Username – see the above extension in my Facebook page name – easier to remember.
PS – Yes, your daughter/son, family member can do this for you :)
The New Google
Visit Google today.
You’ll find a handy left bar giving you more options to refine your search.
This has been in the works for almost a year. Since web designers optimize sites for search engines (SEO) we have been wondering what they were up to. This puts the results more in the hands of the user. If I know what I want I can tell Google how to refine my searches, without my changing my keyword search.
This can be a good thing for businesses. Google is now pulling from “everything” – social networking, paid, organic, images, Google Maps, videos (which can be a small slide show) from YouTube (and beyond) and discussion groups, etc..
What is helpful to “real time” searches is this handy way of NOT having to page through 10 pages of results to find what you want, or worse: give up before they find you. You can drill past the paid ads. (Though they continue to be prominent on Google.) That is the help to the organic websites (non-paying). You know who is searching for you, and while they might not get the exact keyword, this allows them to search within the search results without having to view 10 pages of results, which is tiresome.
It does mean social networking (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) is more important to drive your website. Being on Google Maps is now more helpful – you’ll notice the “nearby” button – which will allow you to find more businesses in the location you are searching. Business owners: it puts you closer to your competitors. NOT pages behind them.
This change can be good news if you are driving your website.
Local Search
Google Maps
Google Maps has always been an effective listing to get ahead of the crowd. With so many online, the competition is tough for businesses within certain categories. ex. web designer. If your business is specialized Google maps will most likely continue to work well for you.
Local Search Marketing
Now, we have new companies offering to get you ranked on Google Maps – within parameters, for a fee. It is a substantial fee.
How do you make a choice?
Can the companies be selling this info and NOT produce results? Part of your decision making comes from investigating the company: how long in business online is a BIG factor. It is too easy to charge you an annual fee and close shop. Local search marketing companies need a history.
The part of the equation difficult to pin down is: Google says they cannot guarantee placement on Google Maps, and suggest you buy their AdWords. Makes sense: if they are going to give a higher ranking it is going to be profitable for them. So, how can these companies say they can?
Part of the answer is in the keywords. If you are narrowing your keyword list to 5 – that is tough, for most businesses. The fine print of one company tells the client they, the company, can change up the keywords if they are not appearing on the first page Google Maps. The trouble with this is: keywords can be created and paid for by a client, but if no one ever searches under those words, these companies can validate themselves as delivering, but it isn’t “real”.
ex: keyword:
custom web designer loves Westies
That keyword could bring you to my website – but how many people will type that in a search? That is the trouble. Longtail keywords are known to deliver more “ready-to-buy-searchers”, to narrow down their search/save time. But choosing long tail keywords is tough, simply because: they ARE so long.
One company I researched had a video with a phone number at the end. Pricing sounded reasonable. Trouble came up when the no one answered either of their phone numbers and the pricing on the website was higher than the video. Since you have to make a decision somehow – this one is obvious.
One service these companies sell is to fill out your online directory listings. Fine, since most small business owners are short on time. But the fee is out of whack especially when one company requires you to fill in all the information and they will submit to listings.
I continue to search for someone who offers an affordable service for small business owners. The local search is the need for most of my clients, but someone who is interested in smaller budgets.
Your Custom Website
You’re ready to take the step to your first website.
You know it is time to take your business online and hire a custom web designer. Your research is beginning to make you dizzy trying to decipher the verbiage. Here’s a place to begin:
SECURE YOUR DOMAIN NAME
Your domain name is a great value at $9.13/year (update: June 18th price increase of 50 cents for .com and .net). If your business name is your branding – stick with it. But if you are looking to gain internet traffic you might consider a 2 step approach. Many of my web clients use their business name as their website domain (aka URL) to be spoken – given over the phone. The second domain name they choose is their “real” website name containing a keyword for their business. Ex. Your business name is “Cute Name, Inc.” and you sell clocks. Buy 2 domains (if available):
- www.cutename .com
www.clocks .com
When someone types CuteName.com in the browser address bar it is redirected to Clocks.com seamlessly. Unless you are watching the address bar, you won’t be aware of the redirect.
Using a keyword in your domain name is a strong foundation for your website and greatly aids in search engine optimization (SEO), which is how Google, Yahoo and Bing learn what your website is about. As Google ranks your site (something being bantered around currently) a solid keyword in your domain name can help give you an edge. As competitive as the internet has become it’s important to give this thought. Discuss with others and speak your domain name to see how it rolls off your tongue and is understood. Any “s” people may not hear and forget to put in? It needs to be clear.
You can have multiple redirects.
COM vs .NET and so on…
No matter how often we’re told CuteName dot NET – we type in the browser address bar CuteName dot COM. Not a big deal if I arrive at a site I KNOW is not the one I wanted. But if it is your competitor’s site and the visitor is a potential new client – you have much to lose. It’s also better to keep your name significantly different than your competition. It is trickier these days, with so many online, but worth giving this some thought. This is your online business. You can also purchase any available extensions if you are aggressively protecting “your domain”, and leave those parked, or add a redirect to your dot COM.
I use NameSecure for domain purchase. NetworkSolutions is another (and have acquired namesecure recently). It doesn’t matter where you go, just be aware if the price is more than $9.13 you are buying something else. These sites also sell email services you wouldn’t need most likely as most web hosting offers webmail services.
You can purchase privacy of your domain name registrant. This is about $9.00/year (it varies). Every domain is listed in what is called “WhoIs”. Anyone can look up the owner of a domain name – except those who choose privacy. I don’t recommend this for most of my clients, since their name will be on their website – people can figure out who the owner is quite simply. Why pay for something you aren’t trying to hide?
That is step one – domain name = website = URL.
Drive your Website through directory listings.
Small Business Website Owners Can Compete.
Google your business name. You’ll likely find yourself in many directory sites. These often come up on top of regular searches. Make use of them.
Create an account and “claim your listing”. Fill it out, and most importantly add your website.
While you may not have heard of Yelp! – they likely have you listed.
Where it’s offered – upload photos, fill in information. Tell people about your business. These listings free. Take advantage of them.
Google maps is a must-do. Google has a wonderful added bonus – you may appear on someone else’s Google map. Google offers other businesses similar to the one searched…so another way of being found.
This is time consuming – due to creating accounts, receiving the email to verify your email, etc. If you don’t have time hire your son or family member. Make sure there are no typos. especially in the website address. You can also add keywords or categories. These are important and need to be well thought out. Superpages allows multiple categories in their free listing.
It’s a beginning!
If you don’t have time I offer this to my clients.
My website is launched: Now What?
Creating your first website is often a major step. But once it is launched: now what?
A website needs to be driven. As a small business owner your time is limited and driving a website CAN consume a lot of time. My objective is to help steer you to the most effective and time efficient ways to accomplish this.
The internet changes so frequently. What worked 5 years ago no longer will net the same results. This can easily frustrates website owners.
When I launched my site 10 years ago there were so few sites (in comparison to today) you could upload your site and eventually search engines found it and all was fine. People found you. Now?
Driving your website needs attention. There are simple things to do and longer strategies. I hope to help you make choices for your website, and keep it simple.