Most everyone is striving to have a first page listing on Google. Just think of all the business it would bring your company, or will it?

There are numerous companies offering you a first page listing if you pay for their services. What you will discover, is that they may not be that be able to meet your expectations. The truth is, you already have a first page listing on Google.Simply type in your web address on a Google search, you will find yourself on the first page.

So what does it really take?
•    It Takes Time. Google protect their reputation by looking for sites, which are relevant to what people are searching. That means your new 5-page site needs to prove it’s self. It will take a little time for that to happen.
•    The Target Keeps Moving. Google and other search engines are constantly re-defining what’s most important to their audience. So your website needs to be treated like a living and breathing animal. It needs frequent attention. If your site was built two years ago and has not been updated since, it might as well be posted on the moon!
•    You may need professional help. There are good honest techies who will help you for a fee. The good ones will provide you with provable info, not just a sales pitch. They should also be able to offer a volume of info on how the ranking system works. You will be paying for a professional so ask him to PROVE IT!

I’ve done all that, so why isn’t my phone ringing more? The market has shifted from buyers to investigators or lookers. People are taking more time researching prior to purchasing these days. If your website appears professional, you will be in the running, when it comes time to buy. If not it will simply be another bounce to the next site.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

Hi All,

Bear and I have been working hard to make improvements that will HELP you promote YOUR business.  To that end, we have added the ability to forward your posts to your Twitter Account.

How does this work?

A plug-in we use uses your title as the tweet text, and uses a url shortening service (cli.gs) to include a link to your article.

Twitter is a proven (FREE) way to drive more web traffic to your website.  In addition to being index by Google, your Tweets are searchable with-in Twitters network such that people looking for what you do will find your tweet and a LINK to your website.

To add your twitter account info, log into the community and go to your profile.  Add your twitter account user name and password and you are all set!

If you have any questions, please drop me an eMail or give me a call (503) 709-1454.

Happy Blogging and Thank you for being a part of PortlandBusinessCommunity.com.  Together, Small Business can thrive during this recession!

Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
a division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.

In a recent Marcom Writer Blog post, Dianna Huff noted that, while going over her Google stats, she realized that one single archived issue of her newsletter was drawing a ton of hits. Rather than pat herself on the back for a job well done, however, she was dismayed, because “the keywords people [were] using to get to my site [had] nothing to do with my B2B marketing communications services. The newsletter in question was an interview with another B2B expert.” This one issue was attracting “a lot of untargeted—and unwanted—traffic,” she complained. To help other B2B’ers avoid overloading their Web sites with useless hits, Huff offered this advice:

Regularly check your analytics to ensure you’re getting targeted traffic. “If a page or piece of content is driving traffic you don’t want, remove that content!”

Optimize all of your Web site’s content—not just the homepage.

Archive your optimized e-newsletters. If you publish monthly, that’s 12 additional pages for your site, she notes.

Publish them in HTML instead of as PDFs. “Although Google does index PDFs, it’s easier to optimize the HTML code. You’ll also find that other sites will link to them, that people will ask to reprint them, etc.”

Write content based on your keywords. Using your analytics and a keyword tool, develop a keyword list and try to write content based on those keywords.

The Po!nt: Not all traffic is good traffic. Take steps to ensure your newsletter content draws only hot prospects to your archived issues.

Source: Marcom Writer Blog. Read the full post here.

It’s a brand new year! Time to start fresh, set new goals—and write 52 dry-as-bones B2B blog posts.

But wait. The words “B2B blog” don’t have to strike dread in the hearts of readers. Chris Brogan wrote a terrific post in 2008 that will surely help you polish your B2B blogs. It’s worth a revisit as 2009 gets into full swing. Among his tips and topic ideas:

Think hard about the customer/user. “Write your posts with your customers’ usage in mind,” Brogan advises. For example, you could write:

• Profiles of little-known, third-party products that nicely complement your products
• How-to posts explaining details about your products or services
• Product-release roadmaps—if they’re public—to keep your customers in the know

Respond to industry info and topical news. “Look for stories in the mainstream news that might cross over with your B2B customers, and write the tangential article to match,” he says. A big plus here: Google loves news; the right blog post could rank quite high. Example: Did you blog about the iPhone when it debuted, with an eye to how your clients might use it?

Ask questions and solicit input. “[Y]ou might find yourself getting information that will help you improve your product, service, or maybe the business itself,” he notes. “Be open to it. All of it.”

The Po!nt: You, too, can be a blog star! One key to success: write for your clients, not just to them.

Source: Chris Brogran. Read the full post here.

I am sure you have received one, or a thousand, of those E-mails, “I can put your website on the first page of Google”.  We all dream of having the top listing on any of Internet search engines. We can visualize the money flowing into our bank accounts. “We’ll be rich!” we think. That is the hook of these promises of grandeur E-mails.

The truth is, the average businessman needs help to optimize their website’s performance. You can spend $2,500 to $7,500 and wait a year to improve your ranking; but there is no guarantee you will be on the first page. Websites require continued maintenance to maintain high rankings.

SO WHAT’S THE TRICK?

I have found that writing a few blog articles and commenting on a few more has really helped my page ranking. And yes I have a first page on Yahoo. Just search, Trout fishing Portland, Oregon. As of the date of this article, 1/11/09, I had the 8th spot. I did not spend thousands of dollars. I do spend about $100 per month with a coach. But as I continue to learn about blogging and links, I may not need to continue that service.

It takes me about two hours per week, to write an article or provide an answer or two. The power is in the links back to my website. I always provide a link. My ranking goes up every time someone clicks on my link.

I also try to blog on high traffic sites. That way I have a better chance of more people clicking. I am also ranked higher because I am linked to a higher ranked site.

Give it a try. There is nothing like finding your website on the first page.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC