SES Chicago - December 7-11, 2009

February 17, 2009

SEW Experts: Marketing your SMB with Time and Elbow Grease

It's pretty obvious everyone is hurting and everyone is tightening their belts where they can. One of the hardest things to grasp as a small business owner is where to tighten that belt, and how tight is too tight. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Marketing your SMB with Time & Elbow Grease, Part 1," Carrie Hill begins the first in a series of articles that will give actionable advice on how to improve your rankings or revenue from search with no dollar investments -- aside from the time and effort it takes to research and implement these changes.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 3, 2009

SEW Experts: Users and Search Engines Want the Same Things

Optimizing your site for users is just as important as optimizing your site for search engines. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Users and Search Engines Want the Same Things," Carrie Hill explains that, while those are two very different things, you can often serve both audiences by being smart with your Web site development.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 20, 2009

SEW Experts: Testing Your Online Business Plan

When a small business fails at search marketing, more often than not the problem boils down to a poorly thought-out business plan. Monetizing a Web site is so much more than slapping some ads on a page and waiting for the checks to roll in. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Testing Your Online Business Plan," Carrie Hill advises you to create a business plan, and test viability of that plan before you spend any money on marketing and development.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 6, 2009

SEW Experts: E-mail Marketing Tips for Small Business

Any well-rounded Internet marketing campaign must include a strong e-mail marketing campaign. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "E-mail Marketing Tips for Small Business," Carrie Hill shows how search plays a role when you use PPC or organic search to grow your subscriber list.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 16, 2008

59% of Small Businesses Don't Do Paid Search Marketing

59% of small businesses with a web site don't do paid search, according to a survey conducted by Microsoft adCenter. 90% of that number haven't even tried. To which I say, "What is up with that people?" That is just leaving money - potentially gobs of it - on the table.

I can't say I'm surprised. Recently, on a trip to the beautiful North Carolina mountains, I was appalled at the lack of paid search listings for small businesses.

Not a single resort conducts a paid search campaign "ski North Carolina" on Live Search, Yahoo or Google. Even the ones from West Virginia could be snagging tourism dollars out of the state, but they're not. None of the resorts are great at optimizing organically either. The first ski resort appears at number 3 in the natural results for both Live Search and Google and #5 on Yahoo!

Perhaps it's because, according to the survey, 70% of small business owners would rather do their own taxes than do paid search.

Now, if you're a small business owner out there who maybe has heard that paid search is something you should do, but you'd rather become an accountant, let me give you some assurance.

I experimented with paid search for the first time this fall. That may sound crazy for someone who blogs on Search Engine Watch, but my background is copywriting, not paid search campaign conducting. I was nervous, but once I did it, I wondered what I had waited for. It was much easier than I anticipated and I can assure you that it's not even close to the awful experience of doing your own taxes.

Besides, like taxes, there are paid search marketing professionals who can do it for you. They know the tips and tricks to help keep costs low and maximize your marketing dollars.

So jump right in, the water's just fine. Or at least, it's frozen enough to ski on.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

December 9, 2008

SEW Experts: PPC & SEO -- Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together

Put peanut butter and chocolate together and you get something that transcends each of the individual ingredients. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "PPC & SEO -- Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together," Carrie Hill explains that the same effect can be had when you combine paid search advertising with search engine optimization efforts.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

November 25, 2008

SEW Experts: 25 Design Best Practices for Your Small Business Web Site

Whether you plan to hire a designer or figure it out for yourself, there are definitely some best practices you should follow when designing your Web site. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "25 Design Best Practices for Your Small Business Web Site," Carrie Hill offers a list to get a good start on finding the best Web site platform and design elements for your businesses audience.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 11, 2008

SEW Experts: Six Things You Might Be Doing Wrong (And How to Fix Them)

When you look at what is and isn't working for a small business Web site, you'll find that the most frequent issues fall within six categories. Some are flaws in site architecture, while others are the result of poor planning or marketing discipline. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Six Things You Might Be Doing Wrong (And How to Fix Them)!," Carrie Hill shows you that all six of them are fixable, if you know what to look for.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 28, 2008

SEW Experts: Building it Better -- Small Business Site Architecture

Businesses built on a strong foundation grow and flourish. Web sites with solid architecture can have stronger search results. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Building it Better -- Small Business Site Architecture," Carrie Hill cautions that, if you're thinking about designing or redesigning your small business Web site, you need to get organized before you start.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 14, 2008

SEW Experts: Where's The ROI?

Would you divert your offline marketing dollars to marketing that can be measured; where you can know how, where, and how much money you made from each ad buy? In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Where's The ROI?," Carrie Hill shows that even the most negative and non-Internet-savvy business owners can't argue with numbers that lead to bigger bank accounts.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 30, 2008

SEW Experts: The Geometry of SEM -- What's your Angle?

When you're competing with hundreds of other Web sites for the attention of just one user, how can you ensure your site stands out? If you look at what you offer, what you make the most money on, and what people are asking for, you can build your Web site to serve the most profitable aspect of that need. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "The Geometry of SEM -- What's your Angle?," Carrie Hill shows how an angle for your Web site and search marketing can mean all the difference between a successful Web site venture and a failure.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 16, 2008

SEW Experts: Making the Most of Search Engine Copywriting

Whether it's organic page titles and meta descriptions or PPC ads, it's your job, as someone who's seeking a conversion, to deliver what you promised. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Making the Most of Search Engine Copywriting," Carrie Hill explains that small business owners must be aware of what their ad copy promises, and how they deliver on those promises.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 2, 2008

SEW Experts: 6 Tips for Small Business Marketing Success

How can the success of a sticky idea be analyzed and repeated? In his new book, SES keynote speaker Dan Heath shares some thoughts that can help marketers find success. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "6 Tips for Small Business Marketing Success," Carrie Hill looks at how these rules can be applied to small business Web marketers.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 5, 2008

SEW Experts: Increase Web Site Conversions with the Scientific Method

It's so simple in description, but has unlimited potential. The scientific method can apply to any type of experiment, be it chemistry or Web site marketing. In today's small business SEM column, "Increase Web Site Conversions with the Scientific Method," Carrie Hill outlines the process involved, and shows you how it can help improve your SEM campaigns.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 8, 2008

SEW Experts: Local Search for Little Biz

For many small businesses, commercial transactions don't take place on the Web. Anything that you'd traditionally look for in the print yellow pages becomes a local search on the Internet. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Local Search for Little Biz," Carrie Hill shows small business owners that there are steps they can take to influence many of the factors that positively affect local search rankings.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 26, 2008

SEW Experts: Link Building Ideas for Local Auto Dealers

The beauty of certain industries -- and the challenge -- is they're international, national, and local all at the same time. Such is the case with auto dealers. In today's Link Building column, "Link Building Ideas for Local Auto Dealers," Justilien Gaspard shares two link building ideas for a local auto dealer that can be applied to various types of local businesses.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 24, 2008

SEW Experts: The Big Picture -- Well-Rounded SEM for SMBs, Part 3

In past weeks, we discussed some ways to drive traffic to a small business Web site and get their marketing message in front of the right people. In today's Small Business Search Marketing column, "The Big Picture -- Well-Rounded SEM for SMBs, Part 3," Carrie Hill shares a few more elements a small business should consider when looking at a well rounded SEM campaign, including local search, usability, and creating a Web site that will increase conversions.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 10, 2008

SEW Experts: The Big Picture -- Well-Rounded SEM for SMBs, Part 2

There are many different elements a small business can use to put together a well rounded online marketing campaign. When it comes to marketing your small business, the key is keeping your mind open to the possibilities -- you never know where the next big thing will be. In today's Small Business Search Marketing column, "The Big Picture -- Well-Rounded SEM for SMBs, Part 2," Carrie Hill looks at tactics for branding, reputation management, social networking, viral marketing, images, and videos.

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Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 27, 2008

SEW Experts: The Big Picture -- Well Rounded SEM for SMBs, Part 1

There are many different elements a small business can use to put together a well rounded online marketing campaign. In today's Small Business Search Marketing column, "The Big Picture -- Well Rounded SEM for SMBs, Part 1," Carrie Hill puts together a list of things to think about when putting your search marketing to the test.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 13, 2008

SEW Experts: Small Business Owners Need Twitter and LinkedIn

It's a time investment. But something worth having takes time. Keeping up with what's going on in your industry and creating a community you can talk with are key factors that successful web businesses employ. In today's Small Business Search Marketing column, "Small Business Owners Need Twitter and LinkedIn," Carrie Hill explains how social networking sites like Twitter and LinkedIn can benefit small business marketers.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 29, 2008

SEW Experts: Taking the Fear Out of Web Analytics for Your Small Business

Many small businesses are afraid of the perceived complexity of Web analytics. At the same time, they know they can make more money in less time with Web analytics. In today's Small Business Search Marketing column, "Taking the Fear Out of Web Analytics for Your Small Business," Carrie Hill simplifies the process by breaking down the four metrics you should be analyzing on your small business web site.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

April 1, 2008

SEW Experts: Small Business SEM Takeaways from SES NY

Search Engine Strategies New York had something for everyone, including tips for small business marketers. In today's Small Business Search Marketing column, "Small Business SEM Takeaways from SES NY," Carrie Hill shares some of the pointers she found for SMBs.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

March 18, 2008

SEW Experts: 30 Free Ways To Market Your Small Business Site

"Free" is a word that perks up ears and piques interest. In marketing, sometimes "free" is too good to be true, but in some instances, free is good. In today's Small Business Search Marketing column, "30 Free Ways To Market Your Small Business Site," Carrie Hill offers 30 free tips, from social media to analytics to link building, which you can use to market your small business online.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

March 4, 2008

SEW Experts: Small Business Growing? Know When to Let Go

If you're spending more time on search marketing than actually running your business, it might be time to outsource. If you depend upon search to grow your business, and you don't have time to monitor, test, learn and implement search marketing practices, giving up some control to achieve your big-picture goal may be a viable option. In today's Small Business Search Marketing column, "Small Business Growing? Know When to Let Go," Carrie Hill outlines some factors to consider before making the decision to let go of the search marketing reins.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

February 19, 2008

SEW Experts: How To Outrank Your SEO Competitors

Clients and readers often ask why a site that's younger, smaller, or just plain "uglier" outranks them. There really isn't a simple answer. In today's Little Biz column, "How To Outrank Your SEO Competitors," Carrie Hill offers some things to take into consideration when a competitor is outranking you.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

February 8, 2008

SEW Experts: The 411 on Local Search Data for Business

When incorrect listing information for your company finds its way into the local listing database of some data provider, it can start spreading like wildfire from local search site to local search site. In today's Vertical Challenge column, "The 411 on Local Search Data for Business," local search expert Gregg Stewart tells you how to keep your business' data accurate, and prevent your local search sales leads from going out the window.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

February 5, 2008

SEW Experts: 4 Ways Google AdWords Can Increase Small Business Profits

Sometimes AdWords accounts are set up with the best of intentions, only to languish or be turned off because they're not meeting expectations. In today's Little Biz column, "4 Ways Google AdWords Can Increase Small Business Profits," Carrie Hill outlines four key areas most new-to-PPC marketers overlook that cost them money.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

January 22, 2008

SEW Experts: HTML Title Tag Defines Your SEO Strategy

Search engine optimization for small business starts with a title tag. In today's Little Biz column, "HTML Title Tag Defines Your SEO Strategy," Carrie Hill explains that crafting the perfect title tag is a lot of art, and a little bit of science. She looks at three types of page titles to see what works and what doesn't.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

December 11, 2007

SEW Experts: Social Media for SEM Savvy Small Biz Owners

Social media campaigns and traffic generally have lower conversion rates -- especially from sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit. A huge percentage of visitors from those sites will never buy anything. The challenge, then, is monetizing the traffic. In today's Little Biz column, "Social Media for SEM Savvy Small Biz Owners," Carrie Hill explains how a small business owner can benefit from social media.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

November 27, 2007

SEW Experts: SEO and Usability: Use 'em or Lose 'em

Making sure your small business Web site is user- and search engine-friendly is a challenge. In today's Little Biz column, "SEO and Usability: Use 'em or Lose 'em," Carrie Hill shows you that SEO strategy combined with Web site usability can complement each other, allowing search engines and users to find what they're looking for.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

November 13, 2007

Report: UK Small Businesses Shy Away from Search

A majority of small businesses in the U.K. are not investing in search marketing, but those who do are seeing an increase in sales, according to a report published by Microsoft and Vanson Bourne. As reported in ClickZ News, 62 percent of small businesses in the U.K. are not investing in search marketing, even though 76 percent of those doing so report an increase in sales.

The study polled 400 SMBs across the U.K. via online questionnaires. Of the respondents not using search marketing, 44 percent say it is too time consuming, more than 55 percent say it's too expensive, and 33 percent say it's too complicated.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 1:48 PM | Permalink

SEW Experts: Keywords First - New Web Site Second

Where do you start once you have an idea for a new online venture? If your goal is to build it and they will come, then you need to start with keyword research. In today's Little Biz column, "Keywords First - New Web Site Second," Carrie Hill shares everything a small business needs to know about keyword research, but was afraid to ask.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

October 30, 2007

SEW Experts: SME Brand Strategy: SEM Tactics, Tips, and Tricks, Part 2

Is building a small business brand online impossible? Not when all forms of online media are converging under search. In today's Little Biz column, "SME Brand Strategy: SEM Tactics, Tips, and Tricks, Part 2," Carrie Hill tells you what to do next once you have a memorable brand. How do you get people to notice it?

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

October 16, 2007

SEW Experts: SME Brand Strategy: SEM Tactics, Tips, and Tricks, Part 1

They said it couldn't be done. You can't build your brand online with search marketing tactics. In today's Little Biz column, "SME Brand Strategy: SEM Tactics, Tips, and Tricks, Part 1," Carrie Hill debunks that myth with tips and tricks to prove them wrong.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

October 2, 2007

SEW Experts: Taking the Offline Business Online

Is your small business hiding offline? In today's Little Biz column, "Taking the Offline Business Online," Carrie Hill shows you some ways to make it easier for you to be found in search engine results.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

September 18, 2007

SEW Experts: Think Small, Win Big: Social Media Marketing

In today's Little Biz column, "Think Small, Win Big: Social Media Marketing," Carrie Hill asks if social media has arrived, or if it's still middle school for Web sites. See how your small business can make sense of it.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

September 4, 2007

SEW Experts: Say "Bah Humbug" to Holiday Marketing Stress

In today's Little Biz column, "Say 'Bah Humbug' to Holiday Marketing Stress," Carrie Hill tells you how to avoid holiday stress by getting a jump start on your holiday marketing campaigns.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

August 21, 2007

SEW Experts: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

In today's Little Biz column, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?," Carrie Hill tells you how to build a well-focused Web site to maximize traffic and succeed in a competitive online marketplace.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

August 7, 2007

SEW Experts: Don't Be a Local Yokel II – Enhancing Your Yahoo Local Listing

In today's Little Biz column, "Don't Be a Local Yokel II – Enhancing Your Yahoo Local Listing," Carrie Hill tells you how to enhance your local listings in Yahoo! Local to bring more traffic to your site.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

July 10, 2007

SEW Experts: Using WordPress to Manage Your Web Site Content – Part 2

In today's Little Biz column, "Using WordPress to Manage Your Web Site Content – Part 2 ," Carrie Hill tells you how to use plug-ins when designing your standalone or Web site blog – great tips for getting started.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:01 AM | Permalink

June 26, 2007

SEW Experts: Using WordPress to Manage Your Web Site Content – Part 1

In today's Little Biz column, "Using WordPress to Manage Your Web Site Content – Part 1," Carrie Hill tells you how easy it can be to use WordPress to build or maintain your Web site or blog.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:01 AM | Permalink

June 12, 2007

SEW Experts: Redesigning Your Small Business Web Site

In today's Little Biz column, "Redesigning Your Small Business Web Site," Carrie Hill offers a checklist to help small businesses considering a site redesign know why, when and how to do it.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink

June 4, 2007

SEW Experts: Setting Campaign Goals and Metrics for Success

In today's Search Ads column, "Setting Campaign Goals and Metrics for Success," Tony Wright explains the importance of setting initial metrics for success, especially for those new to search.

I can't imagine what it's like for the vast majority of small business owners who decide to put their toe in the search engine marketing pool without a lifeguard like an agency or a consultant with expertise.

The term “sink or swim” comes to mind. And judging from what I've seen in the small business landscape, far too many small businesses immediately sink and then get out of the pool forever. This is a shame, as the rewards of a successful search marketing campaign are great.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 7:01 AM | Permalink

May 29, 2007

SEW Experts: Universal Search for Small Business

In today's Little Biz column, "Universal Search for Small Business: What You Need to Know About Google's New Search Results," Carrie Hill tells you what universal ranking of multiple silos of search results can mean for your small business.

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:02 AM | Permalink

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