Virtual Worlds and Famine

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(reproduced here with permission from the 101 Computer Consultants' blog)

In the years before WWII, Hitler repeatedly told the world he intended to have a war in the East for Lebensraum. There were quiet rumblings that didn't always make the headlines: the renouncement of the Treaty of Versailles, the build up of German forces, and the bold new attitude of Germany at the Olympics. (Did anyone notice that is where the torch relay began?)

Far more interesting were the many new technologies that emerged: the Zeppellin, radio broadcasts around the world. The world was exhausted from the Great Depression. Everyone looked to new ideas for hope.
And the "funny little man from Germany" sounded a lot like a few other fascist dicators, Mussolini and Franco. Who would take him seriously? He was just beating his chest to give his countrymen courage.

I've always looked at the news was more like a conversation between writers than separate factoids.

Famines and Civil War
From the back pages of the Herald Sun today:

UN food agency chief Jacques Diouf (of Haiti) yesterday warned of civil war in some countries because of global food shortages and called for a revamp of the international food system. ...

"Unfortunately, we always wait until there is a catastrophe in this world before we react," he said.

The price of rice, a staple for every country, has more than doubled in the last year. Some rice producing countries have banned exports to preserve the food supply for their own people.

Turn the Page
Turning a page, virtual worlds are seen as invaluable elearning tools. IBM has set up a website to manage its stake in the virtual world, and to protect its virtual property rights. A high level executive manager has been hired to oversee virtual operations.

Australian telecommunications incumbent Telstra last year launched what was said to be the country’s first major corporate presence in the online virtual world. Dubbed “the Pond”, Telstra’s Second Life islands aim to encourage customer interaction while creating new sales and marketing opportunities.

Clever Zebra has developed ready-made corporate complexes that it has made available under the Open Source GPL license. Telstra spent $20,000 to customize a corporate complex on Second Life.
In Melbourne, train conductors use tweetscan to announce late arrivals and canceled schedules. Dell uses the same service to keep its ear to the ground about product approval and marketing opportunities.
Even more startling, Calvin Klein has produced the world's first virtual perfume. -- And you thought scented business cards were a bit much? (Yes, there is a company in Sydney that makes scented business cards!)
Teachers in virtual classrooms use twitter and twitterscan to listen to their students' comments, and react to questions.

Technology
In my online resume, I state flatly that I believe technology can save the world. I believe deeply in the power of communication across national boundaries to prevent catastrophes and bring people together.
There must have been a few like me in 1936 or so, too. Radio was the big thing then. Communication with anywhere in the world at the speed of light. In the light of history though, the record doesn't look so good.

The Flat World is facing its first crises.
None of this stuff was unpredictable.
Overpopulation and food shortages have been discussed for decades. I remember long conversations in the 1970s about it. Food shortages and social changes were the subject of movies. The paintings were gut wrenching. Those paintings and movies are now called "vintage", and rarely available anywhere.
Food shortages cause civil wars and wars between nations. Governments are overturned violently by desperate crowds. How many times has this happened in a lifetime?
Global warming has been predicted by scientists since the middle of the last century. Researchers in the early 1970s found lead levels in the Greenland ice packs were toxic. The levels had been deposited in the ice since the turn of the century, when automobiles started using ethyl gasoline to power cars.

Have we turned to virtual worlds to avoid dealing with the realities of the problems facing us all?
That would be a cruel choice.
One researcher put it plainly: "We have the capacity to feed the world. We have the tools to deliver that food to everyone who needs it." No kidding. The central valley in California is fertile enough to feed the north American continent, with billions of tons of food left over to export. There are other fertile areas around the world which only need to be put into production. The nations of the world have more than enough transport available. The US can deliver rice from the Sacramento delta to anywhere in the world.
The facts are there. International leaders like Jaques Diouf are pointing out the need. What's stopping us?

I live and work in the virtual world. The Internet has been a passion for me since before its inception. Groups of programmers gathered to dream about it, and speak quietly about our experience with its military predecessors, for years before anyone heard of the "Internet."
We knew it could be done.
The virtual world has eclipsed television as an entertainment source in Australia.
The virtual world has proven its value as a business resource, an information resource, and in entertainment. The power of the Internet has opened up the world to all who access it.
It's time the Internet showed how it can help those who desperately need help. Those millions who are not looking for entertainment or money, but for the daily needs of living.
I know this is just one post in a massive blogosphere. I hope a few people see it. More than that, I hope many people act on the ideas I've put forth here. I will place a similar post on all my blogs.
It's time to show the real power of a dream.SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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Contact details

Image by BR0WSER via FlickrIs this an issue for SEO, or web design?

Recent surveys of online buyers indicate they will spend less than 3 minutes searching for a way to communicate with the company.

Even business owners new to the Net know. I don't know how many times I've heard an SEO client tell me to make the logo bigger (because it has the contact phone number) or to put the phone and email both at the top and bottom of the page. The look is intrusive, yes. It is also good business.

MaCorr Research, working with web hosting firms offering web design, reports that "77% of respondents will switch to a competitor if the business does not provide a phone number, e-mail address or live chat."
Consumer expectations drive the need for businesses to provide a means of communication.

• 85% of the 1,025 respondents cite the ability to contact a business as the most important aspect of using a company’s web site.
  
• 78% are irritated when unable to find a way to communicate on a business’s web site;
  
• 48% have felt angry to the degree they tell someone about the failure. 91% are most irritated when unable to find a contact phone number,
  
• and 82% when unable to find a contact e-mail address.

After successfully contacting a business:

• 97% of survey respondents say they would visit the web site again and use the business in the future;
  
• 93% say they would use the business more frequently,
  
• 92% would recommend the business to others
  
• and 85% would bookmark the site, the survey finds.

I have to say that I distrust those numbers, frankly. They're just too high. Or there is no commitment indicated. I'd have to question the participants of the survey, and how it was worded.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey. Sphere: Related Content

Chat with your Customers

Image via WikipediaI've got to admit to a bias towards small business. I want to see small business be as effective at using the Net as "the Big Boys."
A few days ago, one of my clients said, "Can you put online chat on my site? I've heard it's the best way to make a sale."
I'd talked to this guy about a number of options for his site: animated FAQs, online chat, and messaging. Like most small business owners, when he found out it would cost him a monthly fee, he suddenly was looking for the door and his watch. So I asked, "How many sales do you think you'll make if I do?"
It wasn't really fair. He had no idea how many sales he'd make from online chat. Recognizing I had to get him out of a corner, I said, "How much do you make on a sale?"
That same expression. Now this one he should have known: I'd given him a spreadsheet with a complete breakdown of pricing and profits. Obviously, he hadn't looked it over or just didn't think of it in terms of average profit.
Fortunately, I had. But I was interested to see what his number would be. After all, I don't know the sales he's made. I just get a fee for my work.

Like anything else, the online chat facility has to be considered in terms of ROI - How much is it gonna pay to play?
When you're just starting out, you gotta try stuff to see if it works for you. You need to think realistically though. It's not just a monthly fee, or a per-minute use fee, there's also your own time involved.

Online chat costs
If someone is asking about something, it's time to go find out about it. Soo...
I had always looked at online chat as a means of making a site more 'sticky' - meaning it would keep potential Customers around longer. Turns out that was a pretty naive perspective,
Let's look at the upside first.
From the Internet Retailer:

Orvis, a multi-channel outdoor gear and apparel retailer, invites customers to chat only when they are on certain pages, such as customer service. “We have a lot of stuff on the customer service page,” says Brad Wolansky, vice president of e-commerce. “If 15 seconds go by and you’re still on that page, you’re probably looking for something and haven’t found it.”
Orvis also offers chat to customers lingering on the checkout page. But the retailer does not offer chat on product pages, where visitors may linger reading reviews, examining photos, watching videos and comparing products. “Sitting there for a long time is not an indication you have a problem,” Wolansky says. “I don’t want to bother you.” Wolansky says customers who chat convert 15% to 20% of the time, roughly triple the rate of e-mail.

Mr Wolansky is getting sales from 20% of his Customers he chats with. Considering that 68% of visitors will abandon the shopping cart before checking out, he's saving a lot of sales, too. He's effectively reduced the number of abandoned shopping carts by 15% or so - based on the averages.
It's interesting when and why Orvis will offer to chat. Picking up on lingering customers on the checkout page is a great idea. And Orvis will offer to help a (potential) Customer understand his customer service page too, which adds a lot to Orvis' credibility and reputation for integrity.
That's long tail advertising. It just goes on and on.
Kevin Kohn at LivePerson Inc. claimed that 15% of site visitors accept invitations to chat.
One thing about averages and ranges: They are just averages and ranges. Your business may do much better. (It could do worse, of course, but why expect the negative?)

• 20% of web chats result in a completed purchase
• Web chatters spend approximately 35% more per order
• 30%-40% of Web site traffic includes self-service shoppers (consumers who make purchase decisions without vendor assistance)

Online chat services range in price from $39.99 to $159.99 per month for single seat or 1-5 seats.
If we can estimate the average sale online is about $25.00 with a conservative markup of 50%, or about $8.00 and change, it would take at least 5 new sales each month to break even - on just the cost of the software.
There may also be setup fees, costs for employees to attend, training costs and other niggling costs.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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Back to the basics

SEO is about maximising your search engine positioning. You can Do It Yourself (DIY) or engage a search engine consultant to do the work for you. To save time, another option is to do it yourself with a little assistance from a consultant.

One of the truisms on the Web is that over half of all webpages are not indexed. There are no links to the pages, or the website. If you have a online business, the website is useless if it does not attract visitors.
The key feature and importance of SEO is to make it easy for search engines to understand your site, page by page. That's SEO in a nutshell.
You SEO the site, page by page, to support the next step: SEM.
SEM is the process of making the website and pages visible to search engines and potential customers.
SEO and SEM are part of website optimization, a part of the overall development of a website for business or community information purposes.

Some companies don't need SEM
Some people think so, anyway.
Companies with very well known brand names don't need to market their site to get visitors. Everyone in Australia will type in 'telstra.com' to find the Telstra website. For almost all of the rest of us, we get to squabble with the search engines to be seen.
Some companies will short the queue, expensively, by buying a place on a list called 'Sponsored Links' using PPC advertising. PPC advertising is popular. These links will be in direct competition with the largest companies in their industries for spots on those lists.
And when the PPC campaign stops, the link -and the visitors- stop.
You see, the largest companies know they do need SEM.

There are three important steps for search engine success.
First, the search engine must know of your site.
Second, because most people using the search engines only look at the first or second SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Using the default settings for Google, that means the first 20 listings. Ever notice how many results you get from a search? It's often in the millions.
Third, if you get a page in the top 20 listing, the person has to see what they're looking for.
Actually, you can break down the numbers a little more.

• 40% of searchers will not look past the top 4 listings; another 20% will look to the rest of the first page. That means over half - 60% - won't even look to the second page;
• another 20% or so will look at the second page. It's about the same breakdown there too. Of this 20% of searchers, only 1 in 5 will look past the middle of the page, or 6 listings, on the second page.
• By the end of that second page, only about 1 searcher in 10 is going to see you.
  

If the searcher doesn't see what they're looking for, they'll launch another search.

What if they do find it?
Finding accurate statistics on the behavior of Australians is tough (or expensive.) However, we can get some idea from US statistics (from Coremetrics March 2007)

Samples of Coremetrics’ U.S. benchmark data for March include:

22.41% of visitors left retail sites after viewing one page, while 51.65% got as far as a product page.

Average page views per session was 13.76 and product page views per session 3.78.

The average order included 6.12 items totaling $140.10. The shopping cart abandonment rate was 68.42%.

14.84% of consumers used site search during their visits, resulting in a 5.60% conversion rate and an average order of $151.92.

47.89% of traffic and 67.35% of sales came from visitors who typed in the retailer’s URL or clicked on a bookmark. The typical conversion rate on such “direct load” visits was 3.29%.

Natural search results accounted for 13.35% of visits and 7.83% of sales, producing a conversion rate of 1.66%. Referrals from sites such as affiliate networks and comparison shopping engines accounted for 5.71% of traffic and 1.97% of sales, producing a conversion rate of 1.36%.

What is this stuff telling us?

1. If a visitor (not a searcher any more, hopefully) finds a retail site, one in five will leave. More than half will look at at least one product page.
2. On average, the visitor will look at about 4 times as many product and company information pages than product pages.
3. Once the visitor has figured out what they want, they'll buy 6 items. However, almost 70% of visitors will abandon the shopping cart before completing the purchase.
4. Visitors that are looking for something in particular (using the site search) will buy more often than those just browsing the website, and spend more money.
5. Half of those who came to the site, and 2/3rds (67%) of sales, came from people who typed in the site name.
6. Over twice as many visitors came from natural search results (not PPC) as from affiliate or comparison shopping sites. Nearly 6 times as many visitors who found the site from natural search results bought something compared to affiliate links or comparison shopping sites.

Yeah, I know. I love to play with the numbers. The numbers are the reality of this stuff. They make it manageable.
Take another look.
What those numbers means is people do want to know about the company and the products. They'll go to great lengths to find out, even running the shopping cart and abandoning it to see everything they can.
Those numbers seem to tell us that twice as many people will buy if they find a site in the natural search results as if they type in the name of the site. But that's not the whole story. Three times as many sales and visits came from visitors who typed in the name of the site. That means they've been there before. They know the name of the site.
These are either repeat customers or people who've checked out the company and products.
The time worn adage on the Web is a visitor converts to a customer after 3-5 visits to a website. Guess what? The adage holds pretty well based on those numbers.

The numbers also tell us that about half the visitors won't look past the first page. That starts the old sales numbers game running. To get sales, you have to get visitors.
That note about using site search reminds us to make it easy for the customer to do their job: to buy from you.
And we are back to web design, SEO, and SEM again.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey. Sphere: Related Content

Crawling through HTML forms and Flash

Google is constantly trying new ideas to improve our coverage of the web.
In the US and UK markets, Google now scans JavaScript and Flash to discover links. That's an improvement that hasn't been implemented in Australia yet, but is expected soon.
Just to emphasize, that doesn't mean Google can retrieve content from Javascript and Flash, only the links.

Google's latest foray is with forms. The Googlebot will try a small number of queries using the form. The whole story is available on the title link. I was pleasantly surprised to see this news, and wanted to make a note to myself...

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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Black and White

Image via WikipediaChannel 7's Sunrise program presented a segment on "Why Dads should be banned from the delivery room." Sometimes you can't help thinking you can make an argument for anything. And someone will, sooner or later.

Black and White
I can make the argument that black is the same as white, for example.

"Black and white" is used to describe an attitude, perspective, or understanding of a topic. In this commonly used context, it doesn't matter which is "black" or "white".
"Black" by itself has a negative connotation emotionally and racially. Other than to describe the color, the word is rarely used. The same can be said for "white." The racial connotation is socially unacceptable, even implying racism. The word is used more commonly than "black" to describe color only because of the broad use of the term "white goods."
The only other common use of the terms "black" and "white" is to "put it down in black and white" which means to clearly state something or write it down. In the modern world, it really doesn't matter what color the text is however. It could just as often be white text, or blue, or green, or any other color.
Therefore realistically, the terms "black" and "white" other than the often misused abstract colors, the terms "black" and "white" are equivalent in use, which is the only meaningful definition after all.

What do you think? Is it semantics - the use of words - the only thing that's important? or is it a dictionary definition which only marginally describes the meaning of the words in the real world?

The arguments presented above are intentionally provocative. Often, I think the same is true for many of the ideas presented in the media, too. Anything that sounds different or contradicts accepted perceptions is attractive to the media -like the topic of the report to ban dads from the delivery room.
The whole point is to grab attention. At some point, you have to think for yourself and be practical.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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Selling SEO

Image via WikipediaWhen I want to sell SEO to someone, I tend to do it very simply.

I ask them what keywords they think describe their business. Most people intuitively know what a keyword is, and they know what categories in the Yellow Pages apply to their business.
Let's say the answer is: "Tools. I sell mechanics' tools. Garden tools."
I launch a browser, and type "tools" into the Google search box. 1,070,000,000 results. Let's cut that down a bit just for the sake of sanity and reality.
Select 'pages from Australia', and launch the search again.

1. Much better: 345,000.
2. Now 'mechanics tools': 317,000.
3. And 'garden tools': 216,000.

Big numbers, yes. But not as incomprehensible as a billion and change.
Those sites did good SEO. They're listed number 1 through 4 out of 300,000 or so.

Look again at the sites on the screen. There are maybe 5 or so above the fold.
Now, see these guys over here under 'Sponsored Links'? They're paying $4-$6 a click to be on the same page. (A little preparation goes a long ways here..)
Do you remember how much you paid for those test ads we ran about keywords? (A few days can easily cost $100-$200.) That means the Sponsored Links are paying a couple of thousand dollars a month to be on the same page as the sites that did SEO.

You might spend a couple of thousand to get your pages into the top of the natural search results. But they'll stay there for a while. It depends on what you do with the pages. But if they're at the top for a few months, it's gonna take a lot to get them out of position.

And remember, 40% of Australians won't buy from Sponsored Links on principle? That means your SEO dollars are that much more valuable. 60/40 is 1.5. So if you spend $2000, it's worth $3000 - 1.5 times $2000. -thanks to the peculiarities of the Aussie market.
Those guys over there probably know that (pointing to the Sponsored Links), but they're bidding against each other over what's left.
Now if we're really successful, we'll get your site into those positions for particular brands or even popular tools.

It isn't hard numbers, no. But the point usually gets across. The approach is demonstrable and understandable. The customer doesn't have to be a math wiz to figure it out. It also sets some achievable targets for the future.

Spin, Duck, and Dodge
Some of the strategies and tactics out there are pure manipulation.

DON’T DO THIS: Get lost in the details.
Do you think the CEO (or small business owner) wants to hear about meta tags, site architecture, content and link popularity?
Probably not. He or she just wants to hear one thing: How will SEO benefit me? Which brings us to…

DON’T DO THIS: Dodge direct questions.
While “talking points” are a powerful way to stay on
message, make sure you know when to answer a direct question.

I realize this is 'good sales technique', but I'd prefer to give a direct answer to a direct question. If someone has taken the time to learn enough to ask questions, they deserve an answer. I may warn them the answer may have a lot of detail, but if they're willing to hear the full answer, they'll get it.
As much as possible, I'll focus on the benefits. I don't want to wade through the vagaries of site structure and different search engines either. But try explaining the benefits of a heading tag without mentioning the rest of the page structure.
If you want to end up in a situation analogous to spaghetti code, wait til someone has told your prospective customer: "I don't even bother with the keyword or description tags. The search engines ignore it anyway." And then have to explain.

DON’T DO THIS: Focus on to many benefits .
Remember the power of threes: When information comes in three bits, it usually sticks.
Too little and it sounds half-baked, too much and it sounds too good to be true—or your audience will forget your additional points.
Stick with three, high-level and pertinent benefits.

I have to agree with this one. Somehow, I want to know what the person really wants from an SEO campaign. Not only do I want to know, but I want to put those goals down in writing (or email) . Setting goals in writing makes me accountable. Having the goals in writing also avoids my having to hit moving targets, and the horror of all technical projects: scope creep.

Is the goal of the site to sell products? - or a service? -or is it to generate leads?

• If the goal is to sell a service, the site structure is different than if to sell products. For example, the most accessible pages will focus on the service. There will be more pages supporting the sale of the service.
• If the goal is to sell products, then the products should be front and center on the homepage. Services will only be another option amongst the products.
• Generating leads is analogous to branding. If the company name is associated with a service or product (i.e., branded) then the search terms will lead directly to the site. Otherwise, the site should focus on the benefits, and let the benefits to the consumer get the lead.

It's possible to have a site do all three things, of course. One focus will support the others. There may be a lot of pages though.
If the stated goal is to sell a service, and somewhere in the process it changes to selling products, then back to selling the service - the site will just be an unsuccessful mess because it's much harder to hit a moving target.
That's a form of scope creep. If you don't write things down, scope creep can slosh back and forth, increasing then decreasing, to create nothing but dissatisfaction and confusion.

DO THIS: Talk the talk.
Now you have your three key SEO benefits.
The next step is to transform them into “talking points.” Political junkies out there will be very familiar with talking points, and to see them in action is a thing of beauty. No matter what question is thrown at them, they somehow manage to weave back to one of the talking points.

I'm not very big on buzzwords. You know you're getting there when the customer starts picking up the jargon of SEO.
Not just as buzzwords though. - like throwing out "ex dividend" pretending to know all about stocks - but when customers use SEO terms in context to describe what's happening, and why.
It's also a good sign that you're failing to get the point across if your customer hasn't picked up the basic terms, too. You're missing something in the communication. It's time to regroup and rethink how you're presenting your efforts.
When both you and your customer manage to weave any discussion back to the goals, you've got yourself a team effort.

Learning to communicate with customers is a way of showing them respect. You're not there to impress them with your brilliance or superiority. Your job is to help them achieve their goals. You're there to make your customers part of your SEO team. Part of that job is to help them understand their goals, and how you can help achieve those goals.
After all, they are the experts in their business - not matter how large or small the business.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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Flaming Underpants: the 1956 Olympic Hoax

I know it's not directly pertinent to SEO in Australia, but this is hilarious!



The Museum of Hoaxes story will save me a little typing.

Then someone whispered in the mayor’s ear, “That’s not the torch.” Suddenly the mayor realized what he was holding. Held proudly in his hand was not the majestic Olympic flame. Instead he was gripping a wooden chair leg topped by a plum pudding can inside of which a pair of kerosene-soaked underwear was burning with a greasy flame. The mayor looked around for the runner, but the man had already disappeared, melting away into the surrounding crowd.

There's already a web buzz rippling across the Net. You gotta wonder what kind of internet tsunami this stunt would cause today?

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The Buzz is all Broadband

Image by Brett L. via FlickrFrom Reuters:

Australia has slower and more expensive Internet access than many other developed countries, and though penetration rates are on a par, officials and experts have warned Australia may fall behind in competitiveness without faster, nationwide coverage.

They're not telling anyone in Australia anything new. Expensive broadband with poor service has come to be expected. Leading the race to the bottom is the company that can most affect service: Telstra.
There is even a term: fraudband, to describe ADSL service sold for too much but slower than dialup.
Some people in the technical field consider all Australian ADSL service fraudband because of the coverage maps. Coverage maps are published online (supposedly) showing where ADSL in different versions is available. There are two problems with the maps:

1. Commonly where coverage is shown, the telephone exchanges are too far away. Although full service is indicated within 4km of an exchange, past 1.3km or so, the quality (read: speed and reliablity) drops off dramatically.
2. The out of date, or just poorly wired, exchanges are full. ADSL may be offered in an area, but you take out a lottery ticket to get service. Some homes almost next door to an exchange have waited over a year.

IHT picked up on the story:

Australia could be a step closer to building a high-speed broadband network after the government canceled a deal for a rural system that would have overlapped with the one planned nationwide. The scrapping of the rural network plan, which was to cost 958 million Australian dollars, or $888 million, came as the government planned to invite bids for a national network as early as next week.

Hate to tellya, folks, but that's been going on for more than 5 years.
The government has commissioned Telstra to provide outdated service to regional (rural) areas, then realized the service would conflict with other plans - wasting years and hundreds of millions of dollars. Regional users are forced from one flaky plan to the next (CDMA to NextG is the latest.) and still have dropouts and poor service.
The government has looked to private enterprise to pick up some of the slack by offering grants and special loans. Satellite service and free service expands too quickly for these small firms to keep up. One abandoned network is cobbled onto the next, creating a nightmare for customers and those companies that took the bait.

Like the old AT&T in the US, Telstra is great at the big projects:

Australian telecommunications company Telstra has begun the arduous task of laying a 9,000 km undersea internet cable from Australia to Hawaii.

Again, that's not the whole story. Telstra is laying that cable, not out of social consciousness or entrepreneurial zeal, but out of monopolistic necessity. Telstra has been buying bandwidth from old rival Optus for years.

If you can't even get email, why bother to open up a business online? An inspiring example is as passion for beauty.
There is no question some companies have braved the madness and succeeded though. Relatively, for a country that needs reliable communications from coast to coast like no other, Australia has made the road to success unnecessarily hard.
There are many words to describe the slosh of media in one direction then the next, with only miniscule real progress: most of them 4-letter words.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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ROI: The 800 lbs Gorilla in the Corner pt 2

Image via WikipediaA surprising question appeared on a business forum recently: Do I need to get business cards?
The poster said that his business was entirely online. He had no face to face contact with his customers. The only communication was by order and email, with an occassional phone call to clear up immediate problems. He didn't see why he needed business cards - and his arguments were pretty sound.
The question must have astonished most of the forum. No one replied for nearly 3 weeks.
Finally, someone posted that business cards had helped build his business. He included business cards in all packaging along with the invoice, and passed them out whenever he met someone. The business cards helped his customers remember his business, or to find his online store.
The discussion ended there.

The question is valid though: Does a small wholly online company need business cards?
Marketers will say emphatically Yes. Invoices with contact information are good. Most people put them away after they're paid. The only time an invoice gets any attention is at tax time.
People handle business cards differently. They're usually put into a card file on the desktop. Whenever the person thumbs through the cards looking for something, they momentarily see each business card. Even though it's just a fraction of a second, that's enough to remind customers of the business.
For that small moment, the Customer will remember the purchase. They may even return to the website - and buy something else. That's enough. The business card has paid for itself and more.
5oo business cards cost about $100, or about 20 cents a card. If the merchant makes $5.00 on the purchase, that's an ROI of $5.00 (- not counting the original purchase -) for 20 cents.

Let's have a little fun with the numbers.
If that were the only purchase anyone made because of a business card then the guy spent $100 to get $5. That's assuming he got rid of all 500 of the cards. If he did put all 500 cards into potential future Customers' hands, the chances of him getting the one sale is .. 500 to 1.
That's pretty good odds. - Sorta.

How many Customers have to buy something for him to break even on the business cards? $5 per sale. He needs to make $100. That means he has to make 20 sales to cover the cost of the business cards. - What are his chances of that? 20 out of 500, or .. 25 to 1.
The odds are getting closer. But most people would make a bet if they knew there the odds were 25 to 1 in their favor.
What if he only passed out 100 cards? That's 5 to 1.
Or 200 cards? 10 to 1.
The odds are still in his favor. But where does he decide he's willing to make the bet. He's betting his business and income, remember?
The potential ROI on his business cards depends on how many cards he puts into potential customers' hands.

There's a joker in this deck of cards. What he makes depends on how quickly he gets the cards out. Let's say he finds for every 10 cards he passes out, he makes a sale.
If he passed out 100 cards, - That's 10 sales. - or $50. He hasn't paid for the cards.
If he passed out 300 cards, - That's 30 sales. - or or $150. He's paid for the cards, but hasn't really made much.
How long will it take him to pass out 300 cards? A week? A month? A year?

If he made $50 ($100 for the cards. He made $150 from 30 sales.) from 300 cards in a year, that hardly makes the cost reasonable. He could make more money from doing something else to promote his business.
Thinking about ROI means thinking about thinking about how long it will take to recoup the investment.
If his online store made 1000 sales in a year, and only 30 of them resulted from the cards, is that a worthwhile investment?

The answer is .. Yes. -- Why?
After the cost of the cards, he only made $50. Then again, he sent out 700 invoices that didn't have business cards, didn't he?
There are maybe 700 of his Customers that never got a card. And he could have handed out cards in other places.

But none of these numbers are the real reason he should have a business card. The reason he should have a business card is Customers' expectations. A business card with the invoice supports the perception of the business.
If he meets someone, handing out a business card is expected. People question of he's really in business if he doesn't have one.
A business card supports his reputation. There is nothing more valuable to a business -especially a small online business- than their reputation. It reflects upon the perceived integrity of the business.
But how do you put a value on reputation? It's part of his investment in business cards.

There are significant factors in ROI that can't be expressed in hard numbers.
How valuable these factors are to a business depends on the nature of the business.
If the owner assumes that Customers will come to the site one time to either make a purchase or not, then there is much less value to distributing business cards to help establish reputation. There is still some value since one-time Customers may refer others.
If the company expects to sell repeatedly to Customers, then the value of business cards to establish reputation -and to bring Customers back- is much greater.
More depends on the long-term plans of the business:

• Does the business plan to add more products?
• Will the new products be more profitable?

We now have a significant factor that affects many more significant factors. In order to understand the value, how do we quantify these factors?
Incorporating a little fuzzy logic may help. There is an old marketing adage that it costs 6 times as much to keep a Customer as it does to find a new one. That means the $150 he made from the business cards is worth .. $900. He only made $5000 for the year. Suddenly, the value of the business cards is worth nearly 20% of the revenue.
It is using fuzzy logic, but the difference of $650 can be seen as the long term value of the investment in business cards.
On a card by card basis, the $100 spent on each card represents an ROI of $900. The cards that cost 20 cents each have returned $1.80 per card (- really $3.00 because only 300 of 500 cards were distributed.)

There are many other factors. Some can be quantified, and some can't. Determining the quality of these factors depends on the priorities of the business.
Assuming again that the company made $5000 for the year:

• How many visitors came to the site? We know that 1000 people bought products.
• How many times did repeat Customers return to the site?
• How many times did visitors come to the site before buying?
• Why did people return to the site?
  

For web design, software training, community building, and web programming a similar sort of analysis can be made. Hard numbers can be put to some things. Some things are difficult to express in numbers. Overall, the value of these unquantifiable aspects is qualified by the goals and vision of the business.
We'll explore a few of the specifics in another article.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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ROI: The 800 lbs Gorilla in the Corner pt 1

Image from WikipediaA lot of the stuff I do is difficult to present in terms of ROI: web development and programming, software training, SEO/SEM, and Community Building can be very esoteric in terms of raw dollars.

Old Days
It's been like this since my first days in the computer field.
My second job in IT was as a commission sales person for NEC. To the world back then, IBM meant Computers. NEC was unknown outside Japan. They entered the US market through Europe with a superb microcomputer system based on the new 286 processor. (I did warn you I'd been at this a long time, right?)
Not only was the system faster, but it had the best color monitor on the market. It could be networked - with a little careful programming- with the new Netware software, so it didn't need a license for token ring technology from IBM.

I didn't know much about programming or computers in those days. All I knew was I wanted to work with this cutting edge stuff. Fortunately, microcomputers leveled the playing field for folks like me. Colleges were training people on mainframes. Even people with Masters' degrees in Computer Science had rarely seen a micro.
My only real advantage was to be organized. I might not have had much more to say than what was in the brochure, but I made sure I got to every appointment on time to say it.
I was really excited to be working for one of the obvious industry leaders as it expanded into a vast new market.

This one manager was impressed with my naive enthusiasm. On the second visit to his distribution company, he smiled and told me: "If you can find me one piece of software that will run on that system, I'll replace every computer in the room." I looked across the room at 25 computers, and my pupils must have dilated.
Then he said, "I'll replace them all,...if you can find me one piece of software that will run on 286 systems." Then he handed me a copy of DataSources. DataSources was once the Bible of the computing industry. These two huge books were 4 inches thick and the size of a coffee table book. One was for software. One for hardware.
"Go ahead. You can take them with you. You find one piece of software, even if I can't use it, and I'll sign the requisition today," he said. "Then come talk to me next week."

I took those books home and poured over them. I even looked through the hardware book hoping to find something to trace down in the public library. There was nothing.
I had to go back in there the next week and admit defeat. He just laughed as he handed me some coffee.

The new DataSources came out in about 6 months. It was filled with software that ran on 286 systems, and software that was compatible for both 286 and 8080 systems. Both had options to use CP/M, PCDOS or MSDOS as the operating system.
Turns out, he did replace all his computers, networked them, and signed on to an annual service contract to contain his costs - all through me. I ended up doing a lot of the work myself. I followed the NEC tech around and helped him to learn about all the new technologies.
The owner and I had a lot of coffees together.

This was the days before the Internet and Windows. Windows was out, but version 2.x didn't work reliably. It was a year or so later when version 3.1 came out that Windows began to make a place for itself.
The Internet was a secret subject for tech people. We wished upon the stars for it. It was more an impossible dream than reality. And many people thought it would never happen. The Internet would mean too much information and freedom, the hacks canted. No government would allow that.

Faith?
Thing is, this guy didn't replace his computers because he could show a real return from the dollars spent. He didn't buy them because he needed the fabulous 10Mbyte harddrives, or the advanced CGA graphics.
There wasn't any way to calculate an ROI on so many unproven technologies. The technologies were so new no one knew how much it would cost to keep them running. Netware was promising to make micros work like mainframes. It sounded almost impossible.
It wasn't hard for IBM to show that converting paper records to searchable databases saved money and increased productivity. But that was for big business with hundreds of thousands of records. IBM had whole systems: printers, terminals, harddrives, and mainframes.
No one even knew how to connect printers to these new microcomputer networks. In most cases, a programmer had to write a driver for a Netware network. How do you figure that cost into the ROI?

IBM threatened, then released their own Personal Computers. But they didn't even connect to the mainframes. PC's worked like dumb terminals which cost much less. IBM only got into the microcomputer market to quash the upstarts.
We know now it didn't work. But when this guy bought that room full of micros and networked them, he could not have justified it to anyone.

So ... Why did he buy 25 computers, a network, and a long term service contract on unproven technology and put his whole career and business on the line?

• Part of it was the excitement of the microcomputer revolution.
• Part of it was a need to keep technologically ahead of his competitors.
• Part of it was to keep up his company's reputation.
• Part of it was NEC's international reputation.
• Part of it was all the times I came to him over coffee so many times to tell him exciting and good news about the developing industry.

He made the right decision. But he only saw the ROI in passing. I doubt he ever sat down to figure it all up. If I had had to justify the purchase in terms of his return on investment, he would never have made the purchase.
Many times, I've sat down with prospective customers and told this story.
I emphasize the brilliance of his foresight by quoting Napoleon "L'audace. L'audace. Toujours, l'audace." Then I mention the practicality of the long term service contract which guaranteed him support any time, and specified hourly programming fees - and how that limited his exposure to the uncertainties.

Options
Could he have made safer, more productive choices? Maybe. No one knew it at the time, but his network absorbed technology and upgrades for almost a decade. Netware upgraded to accommodate 386 systems and software, then 486 systems.
If he had networked 8080 or Z80 systems with Netware, it would have been much more risky.
Software is defined for workers in terms of the interface. The costs of retraining staff would have been much more dramatic to move from green text on black screens to 16 and then 256 color monitors.

Color screens turned out to cause less eyestrain, headaches and were proven to be more productive. People were more willing to put in long hours and could concentrate easier on choices distinguished by different colors.

NEC did not offer a long term contract for support on such an ad hoc (technologically) network. Programming and technical support would've had to be billed at the market rate. Netware was made to run on the 286 (or at least the 8086/80186).
Replacing 286-based systems turned out to be much less expensive because IBM opened up its architecture (in a last ditch attempt to bury micros, many thought).
But no one could have known all of that.

What does this story prove?
As the story unfolds, many advantages showed themselves:

• color screens for productivity (and employee moral);
• harddrives saved server time;
• projects and departments were separated for security and practicality;
• improving technology melded software and hardware to reduce upgrade costs;
• Microsoft broke free from IBM and Windows came into its own;
  
• and much more.

Today we have the advantage of those years of anticipation and determination. But still, many purchases come down to prioritizing the goals of the business. That's really how this forward-thinking manager made his decision.
Look back at the list of reasons I gave. Then glance over the whole article. Not many of those elements could be expressed in hard numbers going in. They had to be managed to prove themselves.
And there is an element of just plain luck.

He chose to make the purchase because of his own priorities. His priorities were not easily quantifiable. There is no question they are qualifiable though. And in time some of his qualifiable reasons proved themselves.

The story illustrates a reality of any technology purchase: hardware, software, training, websites, SEO/SEM, and community building, the decision is made on priorities, not necessarily hard numbers. Technology in business is too closely integrated with ergonomics to quantify everything. Employees and customers are a part of the equation.
If the technology is not a priority, it will not be purchased no matter what is quantified.

Does that mean not to put into numbers anything that can be quantified? No. At every opportunity, quantify. Managers need numbers to manage. It's an old adage of management.
But management at every level has to respect the elements of technology that are qualifiable, but resist being quantified.
We'll explore these topics further in the next few posts in terms of each of the services and products.



SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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eMarketer speaks to me

One of the best email lists I ever signed up for was eMarketer.
Take a look at this graphic.
Admittedly, these figures are from the US, and the Australian market would have slightly different numbers. The saying here is: "Australia is about 10 years behind the US." - It serves as a self-fulfilling prophecy especially for smaller companies.
These numbers are probably pretty accurate for larger businesses in Australia; and close for small- to medium-sized companies. Smaller companies have put less of this information to use in Australia. From what I have seen here, that may change soon and quickly.

An effective adjustment to the numbers could be made by adjusting the numbers using statistics about Australia from the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). Australia has slightly fewer college graduates and a larger number of people between 35 and 64. The most active economic group in Australia is defined as the 15-34 age group, for both online and conventional sales, for example.
From intuition, for example, I would say the Australian public would trust a Non-Profit organization or Healthcare specialist more than an Academic source. I have to wonder if as many as 12% of Australians would find Bloggers a trustworthy source of information. The long term effects of a continuing Internet-phobic media campaign by the government, combined with the fact that Australia has opened up the Net in the last 4-5 years, leaves the perception that Bloggers are a questionable source.
Overall, the graphic above will spark useful discussions about the online marketing targets for businesses of any size in Australia.

Further:
Advertisers will spend £3.4 billion in 2008, up 27% from 2007 levels, and will continue double-digit growth through 2010, passing £4.3 billion in 2010 and exceeding £5 billion in 2012, according to online ad spending data released by eMarketer, MarketingCharts writes.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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Why make it hard?

Image from Wikipedia

When I buy something online, I'm a lot like everyone else. I'm either looking for a bargain or want something in a hurry.

Why would online business owners spend countless hours following every possible search engine optimization and marketing technique to get me to visit their website, and yet make it so difficult for me to actually make a purchase?

Haven’t they realized that if they don’t make it easy to order right now, I'll go find it somewhere else?

Even street merchants accept credit cards now.

It shocks me how often website owners will have page after page convincing me to purchase their product, but then make me look for the link to buy right now.
eBay figured this out long ago and provided the famous Buy NOW! button. That Buy NOW! button has saved millions of people the hassle of bidding and waiting to get their purchases. Some folks love the auction. Others just want what they see. If it looks like a good price: Let's do it!

Yes, online shoppers have many different buying habits.
Some will be ready to buy. Others will want to know everything before proceeding. If the price looks too good, some will just want to see if the site is there next week.
More savvy buyers will run a search through the forums to see if anyone has had a problem with the company. eBay knows this, and incorporated formal Feedback into the site. The history of a seller is available without leaving the site.

Smart move. Nobody trusts reviews.
On one site, I suggested setting up a link to a web search of the forums on the company name.

An old ecommerce adage is a visitor will come back 3 times before purchasing.

You can meet the needs of all types of buyers by first making sure they can easily see the link, and providing more the opportunity to make the purchase from any page on the site.

Similarly, if you make people register before they can make a purchase, you are going to lose some business, it is as simple as that.There have been many times when I clicked on an item because I more information, only to discover the prices weren't visible until I registered. What an annoyance!

If the site uses what I call forced registration (you must register before you can continue) I am very likely to leave the website without making a purchase. I assume they are more interested in my contact information than selling me something. I know they can sell my information.
Again, I don't want to read a lawyered Privacy Statement to find out.

Shipping prices, handling fees, and any other information had better be quickly and easily available whenever I want to buy. I really don't want to have to read half the Terms and Conditions to find out there is a $25 handling fee for purchases under $500.
If I get to the last page of the checkout to find out about a handling or shipping fee, I'm likely to just cancel the sale.

Why on earth would they even consider making me go through all of that just to find out if they will accept my Discover Card?

If you step back and look at these scenarios for a moment, you might also see where the site owner could have put me at ease long before it ever reached this point.

• Is the product available now?
• Clearly indicate what credit cards can be used, and how.
• A simple statement that my information is not going to be sold.
• Handling and shipping charges clearly indicated.

I don't trust a company that makes me click a buy button to find out which credit cards the company accepts, or to find out shipping charges and policies. This type of information should be available up front!

I want to say to site owners: "When I'm ready to buy, your credibility is on the line." Once I pull out credit cards, even minor details missing from the site will spook me away.

Before clicking that button, I'll look down one last time to make sure the site displays full contact information. I might even Google it, just to see if it makes sense.
Did I have to search for this information? Or, is it right at the bottom of every page?

I won’t spend much time looking for additional information. If I don't see what I need quickly and easily, I will move on to another site that they feel comfortable. I'll even if that means spend a little more for that peace of mind.

Give me information you know I'm going to need to make an informed purchase. Help me do my job: To buy from you. Or I'll go find somewhere else to get it.

(This is a reworked article from one of my old blogs. I was roaming through my old research blogs and found it.)
SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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One Keyword per Page

Image from WikipediaSearch Engine Herald ran an article by Noel titled "SEO Basic - One Keyword per Page" which stuck in my mind for a bit, so I posted the following comment:

What do you mean by ‘optimizing’ when you say one keyword per page?
The LSI process tracks the use of associated terms to interpret the subject of a page. If you define ‘optimization’ as terms within the 2%-15% keyword density (some people target 5%-12%), then the goal of optimization would be to get as many of the commonly associated terms into that range - not just one keyword.
Whichever range is used, getting just one keyword (or phrase) into that range dictates some very short pages. Google once looked at only the first 250-500 words of content in order to build up their index quickly, that’s true. That was a few years ago.

The result was many SEO people writing a lot of short pages that resembled intrusive advertising as opposed to truly relevant information.

But Google has changed its perspective recently to favor pages with around 1000-1200 words, which arguably allows for more pertinent information.
Many business websites find it difficult to find 500 words about a category or product, much less 1000, which reflects Google’s long-standing policy to return SERPs which favor information as opposed to sales pitches.

The article is on SEO basics. My comments took the subject matter a little further. I just didn't think this short article was being very clear, that's all.
I'd just finished a keyword density analysis on a homepage. There was one word on the page that was within the indicated range. I'd rewritten the page to have 17 words and phrases within the 2-15% range. All but one of the terms clearly pertinent to the topic and the goals of the homepage.

Homepages can be difficult for SEO.
A company may provide a number of services and products that need to be presented along with a brief introduction to convey the attitude and quality of the business.
The Value Proposition of the business is often expressed in a slogan that is not commonly associated with the type of business.
The wider the distribution of services and products, the more the keyword density will be diluted. This is the challenge of SEO and web design.

It's much easier to get the right mix of keyword density for a page on a category of services and/or products; or for a particular service or product. Although finding 250+ words to say about some products can be difficult too.

LSI can actually make writing relevant pages easier, too.
A little research can reveal a number of associated terms on most topics, which means the text can flow more easily and include greater detail without losing relevancy. In fact, using the right combination of terms can make the page more human-readable and more relevant.
Complexity isn't always a negative. Humans are complex. I suppose it could be said the complexity of content has to match as closely as possible the complexity of the target audience.

The complexity offered by LSI and longer pages poses the challenge of writing content that is still scannable. Web users still scan the page. Very few read more than about 55 words or so.
Visitors can be induced to read more of the content by good presentation and interactive content, but that has its limits. A great deal depends on assumptions about the type of traffic the site will draw, and the marketing goals.

Australia
Is it fair to tell a DYI web designer to try to target only one keyword or key phrase per page?
Part of the answer depends on the locale. The article referenced above was written for the US market, where competition is fierce. Content designers in the US market have to contend with a more balanced apportioning of the search engine market.
In Australia, Google with LSI still controls 80% of the search traffic. That's really the basics in this market.
Australian web designers must write for the cutting edge technology, or seek traffic elsewhere. Most Australian sites are designed to be marketed within Australia and New Zealand.; if not regionally within Australia.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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Online Community Building

Image from WikipediaI had a friend in Monterey California whose passion was growing grass.
Ever watched grass grow? It's not the most exciting thing to do. Watching time lapse photography of growing grass is much more fun.
My friend used to sit and watch grass grow. She loved it. She would sit and watch for hours.
She could make grass grow anywhere. And it always came up lush and green, thick enough to just lay around in.
She wouldn't just pile on fertilizer and chemicals. She worked with the native soil. That meant sandy mushy soil around Monterey. Not many people around Monterey have lawns. The soil just doesn't work.
She worked with the soil as it is. Her reasoning was simple: "The native soil is going to come back anyway. Why fight it?"
They hired her to work on the Pebble Beach golf course. She was a consultant.
If you watch a golf tournament at Pebble Beach, the first thing you'll notice is the long, gorgeous green fairways. Those aren't just fertilizer and sod. That grass grows because my friend knows how to make the grass grow.

Growing Communities
Growing an online community is a lot like watching grass grow. If you know what you're doing, it's just a matter of wanting to see how well it grows.

My first attempt at growing an online community was largely a failure. There were a lot of reasons. The guy I was working with had never heard of blogs. Almost no one in Australia had a blog in those days. No one had heard of Digg or Technorati. At least neither my client nor his customers.
It was a few years ago. Google hadn't even opened up an office in Australia. The Copyright Law amendments hadn't nearly closed down local entrepreneurial search engines. That stuff almost caused Google to refuse to index Australian sites altogether.
And, probably more than anything else, the Howard government was still working to frighten Australia away from the Web; and using Telstra's lust for profits to keep access slow and expensive.

Just an aside, I was talking to a guy who lives in Berwick a couple of days ago. He tells me he can't get ADSL. There are no ports on the phone exchange.
Berwick is a fast growing suburb of Melbourne with a university, a large TAFE, a hospital and a major regional clinic. Yet the residents can't even get reliable access to fraudband, much less ADSL.

Now, only a few years later, Australians are probably overrepresented on Facebook. There are even a couple of Australian social networking sites!

The goals of my first attempt at building an online community weren't lofty.
It was just to keep the customers of my client coming back to his site. We set up a local business directory, and offered members the option of putting a web page on his site as advertising.
Not much of an effort, I know now. But, it did build the traffic to his site.
Members could comment on any of the articles on the site. In over a year, we got one comment. Maybe two, not counting the spamming on the blog.

Communispace, a company in Boston, sets up online communities. I found their press release from 2006 "10 Best Practices for Online Customer Communities" cited in a book by Larry Weber on Marketing the Social Web. Reading through the list as a sort of post mortem on my own efforts, it's not hard to see what worked and what didn't.

1. Invite the right people, keep it private and small. That wasn't hard. The company only had about 40 customers. Because my client wasn't familiar with the concepts though, he never invited them.
2. View members as advisors to the company. Membership was resisted because my client didn't want to be a source of spam. It was impossible to get past the idea of spam to the idea of community.
3. Find the social glue, make it member-centric. This was my mistake. I chose a social glue that could be perceived as negative. My intention was to empower the customers by informing them.
And then the social glue was never properly implemented. The blog was informative, but the website never adopted a goal of being informative or useful - in the customers' eyes.
4. Work at building the community. Building the community was done backwards. We would include a customer's website in the Local Business Directory, then try to get them to become involved.
The SEO boom hadn't begun. Internet access was much worse than today. Small business owners couldn't see the advantage of giving them a link to their sites. For that matter, many didn't know why the had websites - other than public expectations.
Almost all of my client's customers were home or small business. In my enthusiasm for the Web, I had closed my eyes to a reality of the target market.
5. Be genuine, encourage candor. We didn't have much response for other reasons. Too often the articles on the website and the blog were simply commercials for the company.
And there was the sense that some of the information in both places was giving away trade secrets.
Candor was not a goal. (insert wry chuckle here)
6. Just plain ask. When I could, I did. In an environment where the customer just wanted to know when it was done, asking for opinions and viewpoints was considered offensive. Customers didn't like being asked for their opinions about something they "knew nothing about but their kids (or grandkids) did".
This may seem like a strange reaction considering the statistical make up of Australians on the Web.
7. Pay even more attention to what members initiate. Instead of getting the customers' reactions on the site or blog, we did pay attention to the changing nature of customer requirements. On the ground, so to speak.
At that point in Australia's web history, maybe on the ground was the only means of discovering what the customers wanted (or initiated.)
8. Don’t squelch the negative. Despite some effort, this customer relationship was still one-way. In one-way customer interactions, negatives are always squelched one way or the other.
My client, and his customers, had expectations based on the principles of interruptive, not interactive, marketing.
9. Don’t ask too much, too often. Refer to comments on No.s 1-8 above.
10. Use the right mix of technologies and methodologies, and keep experimenting. Bingo.
The whole effort was the wrong mix of technologies and methodologies. My responsibility, of course. The community was largely a failure.
We certainly kept experimenting though.
The experiments bore fruit. The goals of the project were to:

1. Maintain the customer base;
2. Generate leads for new business;
3. Promote referrals;
4. and to Explore new sources of income.

No.s 1 and 4 were successful. The small local customer base stayed loyal.
Only a few new customers were added because of the site. But those customers opened up new avenues for business. The site gained prominence in the SERPs and page rank.
As an attempt to produce a community, the effort was largely a failure. But the project did double the business gross income and profits within a year.

I can't help but wonder if I made a good lawn?

We worked at it for over a year with poor results. There were so many things missing, not the least was an understanding of how to build an online community. Or even Why to build an online community given the online environment created by government, physical connections, and the naivete of most of the customers.
The results were better than the quality of the effort deserved perhaps. Then again, it was an innovative project for a small local company to initiate.
I had gone into the project with ambitious goals based on my experience in the US. This was Australia. It became a struggle with infinitesimals. The delta between 1 and 2 may be 100%, but the result is still insignificant for most purposes.

When I got the idea to work through this exercise, I had hoped it would offer some insights into building a community online. Looking over it, I can't say that it did. The concept of an online community could be better described as a point of conflict than a business goal. The story looks like a project management "failure to get high level advocacy" lesson.
I mean, with only 3 people involved, how much closer to the "reins of power" do you have to get? The answer is something like: "You just don't understand my customers." unfortunately. And in the end, that may be right.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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Why some businesses stay small

Image from WikipediaHogan's Heroes is still popular in Australia. Frequently in off-prime time advertising, you'll see commercials for DVD sets of past episodes. It's been the same ad for more than 5 years. Must be doing pretty well still.
Hogan looks around the room. "Look. I came up with the idea to steal it, right? -- Well, the rest is just detail." - He could be talking about parking a Tiger tank behind the barracks...
Bob Crane's (Hogan) wife was Col. Klink's secretary in the series. You can almost hear her say, "He's just like my brother. He has all sorts of great ideas."

Dr. Greg Chapman PhD, business coach and university lecture -also a Telstra Business Awards judge- , has authored a new book about Australian small business "The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success.

AUSTRALIAN small business, in many respects, is recognised as the backbone of the economy. According to government statistics, there are more than 1.88 million small businesses, employing 3.6 million people. Their combined capitalised worth is $4.3 trillion -- more than four times that of the Australian Securities Exchange. (The Australian)

Dr Chapman's book and Col. Klink's secretary are talking about the same things.

SEO and SEM is a part of the expansion of a business. Even successfully applying a few techniques can put pressure on a business that it may not be prepared for.

Why do small businesses stay small?
My first reaction is deterministic: They choose to stay small. One way or the other, it's a choice made by the owner(s) of the company.

Some businesses choose to stay small consciously in order to be more involved in projects and to offer better service and response to their customers. There's a sort of critical mass here. The profits must be enough for the business to survive and prosper. That means the business has an established reputation within a region or profession. If either of these factors is missing, then the choice to stay small is only going to lead to the business closing.

In some cases, there may be no choice. The business must stay small because of limited resources. The qualifications of the owner are the reason the business works. Or the business may be based on some legally or physically limited natural resource, such as water. The business is defined by the resource, not the market, and that sustains profits.
Expansion means stretching those resources or lowering standards. If the business is based on the owner's qualifications, even adding a second truck could mean those standards will not be maintained. To expand means making compromises the owner is not willing to make.

Planning
As Dr Chapman points out, most businesses fail because of planning - or more correctly, the lack of it.
If you ask most small business owners though, they will cite financial reasons. At a given point in the growth of a business, this may be a valid reason.
Most often though, that point has been reached because of a lack of planning and good financial management. Few small business owners are skilled at maximizing the value of their assets, receivables and cash flow.
On the ground, too often the business is financed using credit cards. Small business owners will say over and over, "You have to spend money to make money." - not to explain why they've invested in marketing or financial planning, but as an excuse for why the company has not grown. The saying is followed by: "And I don't have the money!"

Two ways of saying the same thing: "90% of businesses don't have a plan. 90% of businesses that have a plan succeed." and "Only 2% of small businesses have a plan for their business."
Which brings us to..

Goals
Planning for a small business is critical. But not grandiose. It's incremental:

• Set goals,
• Take a step,
• Evaluate it,
• Then based on the results look to the next step.

Too often small business invests in a new project because someone told them it was a good idea, or they feel pressured by recent circumstances. The volume of business grows, so they add a new truck. When the momentary volume falls off, the business is stuck with a new -now non-producing- expense. There was no Goal, and the business is forced into the Evaluation phase. The only evaluation is less money.
The business is forced into the cycle of Planning without any Plan to work with. The business capacity has expanded, but there is nowhere to use it - until another rush of business.

Establishing an online presence by applying SEO/SEM can be one of those steps. Within a Plan, SEO can help a business accomplish its goals. Without a Plan, the business may see SEO as just another expense, and abandon the effort before it bears fruit.
One of the keys is to have some means to evaluate the success or failure of SEO. Most of the time, that means placement in the SERPs.
When a reputable SEO Specialist tells the owner that they can't guarantee placement in a week or a month - that's all they hear. Sometimes, a little work is all it takes to get into the top 1-3 or 4-6 listings. To maintain that placement though, and usually to establish it, takes a few months if not a year or more.
What's frustrating for SEO Specialists is to find that the company has not incorporated the successful placement into the Goals of the company. Which brings us to the next topic...

Utilizing Resources
Resources are not just money or equipment. The most valuable resource a business has is its employees.
Small business owners find it difficult to transition out of the "founder mind-set" in which they micromanage others and do everything themselves. At all levels of business, one person may lack all of the talent and skill-set to grow a company. It's rare to find one individual with all those skills. This mindset limits the growth of the company to one person's capacity for work.
Learning to respect others for their skills and abilities is a critical element in growing a business.

The old saying goes, "Get good people. And let them know how much you appreciate them."
Another common problem for small business owners is the failure to communicate with employees. The small business owner is defensive and fails to share with employees how they fit into the big picture. The business fails to enroll employees in the company's success.
Too often, a small business owner is offended to find that someone working for them has skills they lack instead of being delighted to find this person has added much more than expected to the company.
Small business owners that do not grow do not look at their company as a portfolio of skills. There is no team concept. Many are unaware of the skills and experiences are required to run the company, much less grow the company.

On the ground, employers in Australia too often see hiring someone as giving them some sort of gift. The employer is not hiring a valuable person to contribute to the value of the company.
The question was asked on an Australian employment networking site recently: "If the guy didn't hire you to add something to the company, why did he hire you?" - It's a valid question for both employer and employee.
Small business owners cannot grow their company without knowing what skills are needed. If the owner is unaware of the skills (and assumes s/he has to have all of them) how can they appreciate the person being hired?

Unlimited Resources
Even a small business can offer a wide range of service and product, even if they don't provide the service or manufacture the product. How?
For the products, the answer if simple: find a supplier. Even if the business is service-oriented, offering quality products makes the service much more valuable. The answer is the same for a service: find a supplier of the service. Whether the small business is product- or service-oriented, having ready answers for customers is always appreciated.
For small business owners in Australia, this means calling their mates.
Mateship is a wonderful part of Australian society. But in business it fosters mediocrity. Mates will refer business to someone they want something from; which means the referral from a mate may never be forthcoming.
If a mate takes a quality and professional attitude towards the service, there is no reason not to call them in. Otherwise, network to find someone who adds to the quality of your own business. Australian small business has been slower to learn that fact than large business.

Market Driven
Small business owners see their products or services as first-rate. They work hard to maintain the quality, and are rightfully proud of what they do.
A roadblock to growth is to fail to look at the business from the Customers' view. Customers don't want a custom-made doll because they are impressed with the quality of the fabric. Customers want a custom-made doll as a special gift for their children, or because they want a blond doll to fill out a collection.
The wants and needs of the Customer are what sells the product. It's reassuring to the Customer that only the best fabrics and sewing techniques are used, yes. And those facts may make the Customer choose one manufacturer over another. But at the end of the day, if the child weren't having a birthday, or they already had a blond doll, the Customer wouldn't even be looking for a doll.
For the company to remain product-focused business and ignore the definitions of market demand leaves alternative distribution channels or market segments for someone else. The company's focus is directed inward, not by the needs or wants of their Customers.

Keywords define the Market
SEM uses keywords to define these market segments. The keyword analysis may suggest new distribution channels for the company's services and products.
One of the keys to successful internet marketing is permanent links to a site and deep links to specific pages. Linking strategies abound today, but the basics still apply. And SEO Specialist will find complementary services and products in the course of their research. The linking strategy can be seen as a first step, incrementally, in a broader strategy of channeling and partnerships.
Any good marketing effort includes polling the company's past and current customers. Too many opportunities are missed by small business because their focus is inward. An inward focused business ignores one of the most valuable resources of marketing information: their own customers.
Customers may suggest product enhancements that hadn't occurred to the owner. Customers may reveal trends in the market that the inward focus missed. Other companies will find those trends and enhancements, and business market share will ultimately shrink.
Successful businesses, large and small, constantly change and expand by actively listening to their Customers. SEO/SEM can keep a company aware.

Which brings us to the most important factor:
Implementation
Entrepreneurs often cannot execute their vision. They find it difficult to stay focused, jumping from one great idea or opportunity to the next. As often, a good run of business is just as distracting.

Integrity is the foundation of small business. It can be seen as a multiplier of the value of the product or service. That multiplier can double or halve the value of the business. The integrity of the owner or representatives is what makes a business valuable or useless in the eyes of the consumer; and other businesses.
Big business can absorb and defend itself against a bad reputation. A small business cannot.
Once a small business gets a reputation for reneging on agreements or poor service, it may as well close its doors.

A good idea is put forth. It's "new" and exciting. "I wish we had that." or "We'd have it made if we were..."
Instantly, other ideas or opportunities discussed within the company are forgotten.
A professional is called in to provide the service or product. A plan is put forth. Benchmarks are set to implement the plan - probably more planning than the owner has ever done for their business.
Agreements are made. Initial payments billed and paid. And the plan is put into action.
Then the circumstances change. The small business owner decides that this is not a plan they can afford, or cannot make the compromises from their inward focus.

Small business owners in Australia take the attitude that they can change an agreement on a whim, -- especially if mateship is involved.
Verbal and written agreements are equally vulnerable. Documenting progress is only useful if taking the dispute to court. Since the owner did not have a long term plan to keep the agreement in perspective, the goals of the agreement are lost.
There may be valid reasons, but small business owners don't seek agreement. Instead of communication and negotiation, the attitude is taken that they are "the Boss", and that's enough.
Although unprofessional and rude, the practice is common. The practice is so common as to be acceptable to many small businesses when dealing with other small businesses.

One good idea after another is begun, then cancelled. Money is spent. Time and money wasted for all involved.
Implentation depends on the integrity of the business owner The business owner -as the primary representative of the small business- must depend upon a plan to keep any effort in perspective. Planning provides the confidence to enroll employees in the success of a business, and to build a team to make the business successful.

SEO/SEM in Australia is a special issue for so many reasons. Join me was we explore. It will be a fascinating and informative journey.

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