There really is no trick or mystery to getting your website to the top of Google (or any other search engine). Good content (words and pictures) and lots of quality links to it.
So why is there so much mystery and controversy surrounding the field of Search Engine Optimisation ?
Two reasons. Firstly, it suits incompetent companies to be vague and non-committal. It provides them a buffer against expectation and performance. Secondly, most people take it as a personal afront if they do not appear at the top of the search results. They see it as a reflection of them and there business and get awfully defensive when they perceive themselves poorly scored.
As professional (and very qualified) internet marketer’s Greg and myself have worked hard over the years to develop a systematic approach to achieving solid rankings and maintaining them.
We start every ranking and traffic project with a detailed breakdown of required tasks and expected outcomes. We will ensure you are fully aware of each group of tasks (link building, content creation and modification) and not only how long it will take, but how long it will take until you see results.
We have added the cartoon below not only because it makes us smile, but because hopefully it will serve as a reminder that unless your search engine team provide you with a clear outline and clearly defined results they are probably best ignored.
One last point (and the answer to a question I am asked almost every single day). If you get emailed an offer to boost your website rankings please ignore it, regardless of how good it sounds. A reputable company will contact you personally – no good ever comes from responding to SPAM.
My favourite thing in life is fun. Fun makes everything well more fun. Brands can be fun too, just like people. Of course it needs to be at the appropriate time. Here is a fun viral video that Rochelle from twosheep.com.au (Australian Ugg boot makers) just sent me.
I hope you enjoy watching it. Time for me to get to work sending out our next Bush Telegraph wishing you all the best for the holiday season. If you have not signed up for our newsletter please do and I would love to hear back from you if you think our next newsletter has some fun in it.
With December on the door step our home-grown client Presso is preparing to pump out an online and public relations campaign for the gift giving season. The campaign, “I’m dreaming of a Green Christmas” features a Presso with the special offer of a free designer sugar spoon and espresso beans, from Green Cauldron in Australia and from te-aro in the United States and Canada. To really Green things up Presso is going to plant a native tree for each Presso sold. Trees will be planted as part of regeneration projects on the Cromwell Farm in Australia and the Gregory Farm in Chatham Ontario.
In North America we will be planting trees native to the endangered Carolinian Zone which lies south of an imaginary line between Grand Bend on Lake Huron and Toronto on Lake Ontario. “Carolinian” is a name coined by early botanists, who observed that hardwood forests in southwestern Ontario share many characteristics with forests as far south as the Carolinas. Forests in Ontario’s Carolinian Zone are enriched by trees having a strong southern affinity, such as tulip, sassafras, Kentucky coffee, cucumber magnolia, black gum, and papaw. Carolinian forest is one of Canada’s most threatened habitats.
In Australia native rainforest trees are being planted in an area known as the Big Scrub. The Big Scrub Rainforest was once Australia’s biggest subtropical rainforest covering over 75,000 hectares. Sadly 99% of this area has now been cleared.
It’s that time of year again and we can’t wait for it to be Friday. This year’s soiree has the added dimension of a social media workshop to warm up before we dig into some slow food from within 100 miles of our farm. More big news is we have moved to a bigger farm.
Our mates from See Saw signs have expanded their operation and have opened up an office and workshop in Lismore. The new location is right in the heart of downtown Lismore on 72 Conway Street. Bush Marketing and See Saw have a long standing working relationship dating back, way back to the start of See Saw in 2004 when we shared a little farmers cottage together in Coorabell on Coolamon Scenic Drive.
There are almost as many sayings, philosophies and processes about how to best translate a clients web wants and desires into something they are happy with and more important willing to pay for then there are questions below. If you are considering briefing us on a web project please take the time to read the following 72 Questions to Ask Your New Web Design Clients–written by Douglas Bonneville of bonfx.com. Thanks Doug I hope you don’t mind us making some additions and revisions to your great questions–they will be noted so as to not confuse.
1. How does your company handle email? 2. Do you need any password protected areas? 3. Do you have the Pantone numbers for your current company colors? 4. Did you take a look at our portfolio? BBM Portfolio 5. What is your time frame? (then multiply it by 2) 6. Is this a brochure site, blog, forum, shopping cart or mash up? 7. Who is your audience? 8. Do you have any specifications? 9. What are the website addresses of your competitors and 3 websites accomplish what you are after in terms of look and functionality? 10. How many other companies have you talked to? (If we are the first please talk to at least 2 more) 11. Do you need a business card and letterhead? 12. What is your main message (what is the one essential thing you want to say)? 13. Did you or someone else register the domain? (do you have pass words to manage the dns)? 14. How familiar are you with search engine optimization and best practices? 15. What are several websites you like? (and why) 16. Do you currently have a website? (what is the web address) 17. Do you or anyone on your staff have Photoshop or other image editing software? 18. Do you need search engine help? 19. Does the site launch need to coincide with a product launch or any other important milestone? 20. Do you need a content management system? 21. How long have you had a website? 22. Do you have photos you need to use? 23. Will several people be editing the site? 24. How many pages do you need? 25. Do you have a catalog or brochure? 26. How do people find your current website (do you understand and have access to web stats)? 27. Do you have a newsletter? 28. Are you in touch with the orginal designer? 29. Do you have access to the web server? 30. What are several websites that you like the look of? 31. Do you have control over the domain? 32. Do you need any other promotional material? 33. How familiar are you with usability studies? 34. How important is search engine ranking to you? 35. Is there any specific functionality you need? 36. Will you be providing creative direction? 37. Do you have your content done? 38. Will your IT person be involved? 39. Do you have a logo? What format is it in? 40. How familiar are you with graphic design best practices for web designs? 41. What is your current hosting company? 42. Have you been through the complete web design and development process before? 43. Who are your competitors? 44. How often do you need to update the site? 45. Describe the style of website you are looking for? 46. Is the orginal developer still available? 47. What is your budget? 48. What is compelling about working with us? 49. Do you need an image gallery? 50. Are you are anyone on your staff familiar with HTML and CSS? 51. Is your logo in Illustrator format? 52. Do you need this to integrate with your existing identity pieces? 53. How are you going to maintain the site? 54. What software do you have? 55. How did you find us? 56. Did you read any of our blog? 57. What bugs you the most about websites? 58. Do you need any other graphic design help? 59. Do you need social media tools built in, like Digg, Facebook, Twitter, Stumble Upon, etc. 60. How familiar are you with web standards and web design best practices? 61. Do you need the website to tie into any particular 3rd party applications? 62. Do you need a contact form? 63. Do you have a domain? 64. Do you have any proposals from other design firms? 65. How important is customization to you? 66. Will you want or need help in making changes? If so, would you need help routinely? 67. What do you need your website to do? 68. Do you need ecommerce? 69. Have you considered redesigning your logo? 70. Do you have hosting? 71. Have you considered taking a fresh look at your corporate identity? This a good time to consider refresh or an entirely new identity. 72. When is the last time you updated the site?
You know you are going to have a good day when a client gets in contact with you via facebook and sends you a link to a clip that takes the piss out of clients. Thanks Chari from Hampton & Larrson for making our day. If you are a prospective BBM web client please watch this and if you don’t smile please don’t call.
It has been a long time since I have graced a library. But here I sit in the Byron Bay Public library working hard researching for a client marketing meeting. Here is some interesting information I just gleaned from Google Insights.
Better get stuck back into it. Next stop the new word tracker.
We have just done a very soft launch of a new product for a great Bush client Ivan of IVANiTY SHAVE.
The launch is as soft as the natural bristles on the shaving brush because we are waiting with excitement for the final samples to arrive so we can photograph and video for the website and further branding and marketing. The pictures above were taken today while Alison and I were out doing some location scouting. Turns out we only had to go as far as Karl Gould’s hair Studio in Byron Bay for the perfectly manly location for a shave shoot.
This morning I let Andrew Bleakley know our property on Mill Rd in Goonengerry (Byron Hinterland) was going to Auction in early December and I needed some help on promoting the listing. As the day is coming to a close here is what we have got done. Firstly, Andrew did some on the fly SEO work and found out that horse property is searched for way more then horse properties. Good to know. I have been working away on one of my pet community projects (goonengerry.com.au) and have got a joomla property plugin loaded up and working. You can see the listing in our horse property section.
This just in straight from the horse’s mouth. Andrew has bought www.horse-property.com.au–no wonder we get along so well the Bleak is as impetuous as I am. Great score getting that domain name I reckon.
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