Google is the premier search engine on the web today. There’s no denying it, and both users and the stock market alike are clear indicators of how important Google is to search engine efforts. In some ways, Google controls the Internet economy moreso than even the all-powerful Microsoft. Appearing high on Google’s search pages for a given term – related to whatever business you’re involved in – is more valuable than any billboard or television commercial.

But is Google really the gateway to all web business? When a search engine optimization specialist tells you “Your site isn’t Google-friendly” does that mean you have to kowtow to the one company whose motto is “Do no evil”?

Yes and maybe. The same strategies that work well on Google work well on almost any search engine – Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, etc. Relevant keywords, related content, powerful links to and from related, high traffic sites – they work regardless of the search engine.

But should your site be written to appeal to Google’s search bots? Or should you write to your human site visitors? Can you do both?

In an ideal world, yes, writing for both Google and other search engine bots and human visitors should operate the same way. But while search engines prize keyword density, human readers can usually tell if a site is designed for search engines. Search engine optimized copy is not quite as natural as normal marketing copy.

For example, here’s a paragraph Google might read as very powerful for selling web design:

360 PSG, a web development company, offers website design, custom web applications, and a powerful content management system for any business website. Our web designs fit any small business. They work for e-commerce, online portfolio pieces, and online news releases.

Now, that’s not bad, but it’s a little dry. At the same time, it’s readable, simple, and clear.

Another tack we could have taken was straight-up advertising-style copy:

Take control of your website with 360 PSG. Our powerful web designs can help your business establish a strong web presence. Our Fission CMS makes it easy – just login, click, type and save, and you can have unlimited pages, and unlimited web options. Find out more today.

That’s not bad either, as ad copy – it’s inviting, it sells our system as easy to use, and effective, but you’ll notice there are very few words or phrases in that paragraph that count as keywords.

In that first paragraph, we had “website design,” “custom web applications,” and “content management system.” The second paragraph had none of those words together.

If someone is searching for those particular services or products, the first paragraph is more likely to attract search engine results. The second paragraph might be more effective selling to human readers, though it’s much less likely to attract search engine results.

So it’s a fine line to walk – on one hand you want to attract search engine traffic. On the other, you need to drive sales through your site.

Here at 360 PSG, we focus on both – the subtle techniques that boost search engine ranking, plus the effective copy that attracts visitors to a sale once they’re at your site.

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Links, in human terms, show that like minded people are seeking out and reading your site content, whether its an online store, a blog, or some other type of website. Social networks and social bookmarking sites and indexes like Digg or Myspace are great places to drum up that important related traffic.

Incoming links are any link on another site that points to your site. Search engines index sites and their outgoing and incoming links – the more you have, the better. But while almost any incoming link can help your search engine ranking, the best links come from high-traffic sources related to your website topic. For example, this blog discusses web design, web development and web marketing strategies. Good links for us are similarly focused sites – a post on the Blogdesignblog about good blog design is related to our web design topics. A post about the future of search engine optimization on the Search Engine Roundtable relates well to this particular post.

The above links both to our own site and the blogs and websites I mentioned will all be counted by search engines as topical, related incoming links to those sites, and measured as topical, related outgoing links from this site.

But, as a blog author, I had to actively search for those above topics. I used the Google Blog Search to find them, but there are other ways to get those types of incoming links.

Social networks like MySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook are good places to post links and material related to your particular industry or topic so people looking for that type of information can find them. For those types of services, you can create a profile and post links to your site, with categories that people with related interests can see.

Social bookmarking sites are similar in that shared interests can draw attention to your website, but sites like Digg, Technorati and Reddit target specifically news-style articles. That might mean you have to go through the work of generating your own content, but that content in turn is put into a feed read by over 500,000 (in the case of Digg) users who rate, read, and discuss your article. Those comments might be full messages, but users also “digg” or give your site “authority” through links. The more links or diggs you get, the more eyes will see your article, and in turn your site.

One important note: People – particularly the savvy Digg community – can see through cheap tricks, black hat tactics and spam like X-ray. Don’t cheat with duplicated, plagiarized content or BS links. It’s not cool, and could get you blacklisted in the long-run.

So get out there – make friends, discuss your business, industry or hobbies – it all can track back to your business.

PS – Digg this article! Click the icon below!

HT: Lorne Fade Design for the pic

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As web designers, we want that – hands-on and involved clients are good website design clients. But sometimes a good client can make bad decisions.

Let’s say your web designer sent you the first mock-up of your website. It’s sharp, but not too flashy. It’s got a lot of information, but not cluttered. It’s color scheme even matches the precise hue of blue you use on the walls of your store.

But there are some things you need changed. You need another menu tab for a new product line you’ve just acquired. You’d like another picture of the inside of your store. And, by golly, you want your LOGO BIGGER. How are people going to remember your logo if it’s an inch-by-inch in the top left corner?

Hold up there, kimosabe. Take a breath, relax. It’s one thing to get more information on your site, to add functionality, but if you’re paying a professional web designer to build an effective website for your business, it’s worth it to heed some of their advice.

We can say with a fair degree of certainty that no web designer will say no to stuff like an extra menu item, additional pictures or more content pages. Information that is necessary to your business or functions you want from your site can always be worked in. What irks any web designer is when a client tries to overstep into design.

Now that doesn’t mean designers want unquestioning clients – matters of taste, such as color scheme, image choice or layout (to an extent) are perfectly legitimate critiques. Even a wholesale “I don’t like it at all – do something different” can be dealt with. Clients who ask questions are smart clients, ones that make it easier to deliver something both can be satisfied with.

But stuff like “Make a bigger logo” or “Make the text as big as possible” or “Can you add some flashing lights? Oh! How about a siren!” not only oversteps the boundary, it will hurt your website and web business too.

Professional web designers draw on both client needs and their own experience of what works in websites. They know (or should know) how people use websites. They know what works – that too much animation makes a site difficult to use, that a certain size of text is easier to read on the average computer screen, that if they make your logo bigger, it’ll blot out the sun.

Remember, your web designer wants your website to be successful too – it’s just as much a reflection on them as it is on you. Trust that they have your best interests in mind. It will make for a better website for the both of you.

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A business-based or industry blog can add credibility to your website and your business as a whole. By focusing on one particular niche issue, whether it be advertising, real estate or any other industry focus, you can offer commentary that contributes to the dialog on that issue.

Think of it this way: Let’s say you own a company that specializes in dog grooming. There are thousands of people every day looking for tips for primping their pet on the Internet. Who would be the expert those people would trust getting advice from? A dog groomer, right? You, as a dog grooming business owner have an authoritative voice in that particular topic.

It’s the same thing that we at 360 PSG are trying to accomplish with this blog. We’re experts in web development – from web design to custom programming to web marketing. So we’re offering our expertise with the posts on this blog. We’ve talked about web headlines and logo design, and we’re going to have more posts about anything else that can help a web business.

Why would a business, especially one that traffics in information, offer free tips about its specialties? Well, it’s not like we’re giving up the farm, such as the secret of our amazing Content Management System or telling people exactly how to design a great website. We’re offering tips and knowledge – background stuff that, in all honesty, we want potential customers to read before they work on a project with us. The information in our blog not only tells customers about 360 PSG, but customers with good research know better what we can do for them.

That’s what you want a blog to do for you. It’s a win-win situation, really – a blog both educates consumers and also sells your company, products and services.

Targeting potential customers is one way to approach your blog. Another tack to take can be to start an industry blog targeting your business peers as an audience.

Here’s another example: You’re a plumber. Sure, you could write a blog discussing tricks for customers to solve septic tank issues, but maybe you don’t specialize in home plumbing – you’re a commercial installer. An end-consumer blog won’t help you much because your sales are driven more by referrals from other companies. That’s where you can be a source of industry news within the plumbing industry.

Instead of how-to’s or tips, maybe you would focus on new technology in plumbing, and how it helps or doesn’t help plumbers, say, implement commercial bathroom installations. Or perhaps you comment on the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Association’s actions in some way. You’re not at all targeting prospective clients, but your blog could potentially raise your profile within the plumbing industry, by extension helping your business.

The real trick is focusing on one issue, and as a business owner your business is your focus. Just talk about it.

There’s another benefit to blogging, one that might draw more eyes to your website. But we’ll put that up tomorrow. Check back soon!

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First, the definitions:

• A Unique Selling Proposition, or USP, is a marketing concept where a company offers something unique to potential customers, encouraging them to switch brands.

• A call to action in advertising and marketing refers to a copy designed to encourage a potential customer to take action, such as purchasing a product or requesting a quote. The goal is to compel the customer to take that next step towards making a sale.

A good USP offers something competitors cannot, whether it is a product or service. Popular examples of USP’s include Olay’s “You get younger-looking skin” or Red Bull’s “You get stimulation of body and mind.” Neither Olay, a cosmetic company, nor Red Bull, an energy drink, were the first companies to make their products, nor were they the first to offer the benefits their USP’s advertise. But these USP’s are effective in that they differentiate their products from their competitors, and make a good argument for that company being the logical choice for the consumer.

USP’s often times appear to be slogans, and very often they are used as such. But a USP must also position its company in a unique niche compared to its competitors, offering an idea, and more specifically an action, that sets your business apart.

Fortunately good USP’s appear to be built for the web – they employ direct language targeting a specific issue, crucial to web optimization. That explicit language, such as “you get younger-looking skin,” is already tailored to one of the most important aspects of web marketing in search engine optimization. If someone were to search the phrase “younger looking skin” in Google, websites selling Olay products would appear immediately in the search results. It’s a case of the USP separating a company in a particularly crowded industry.

Tips for crafting an effective USP can be found here.

Effective calls to action motivate customers to any action to further a sale. In traditional advertising, these can be statements or images that compel quick action. On the web, this motivation can be direct – a line of text encouraging the customer to call or e-mail, a hyperlink such as the popular “click here to find out more,” or even a buy-now button (i.e. eBay). Calls to action can also be more subtle – a visible expiration date on a deal compels quick action, or phrases such as “limited quantities” implies a customer should hustle or they miss out.

Websites can be loaded with calls-to-action – links, images, forms – all using different techniques to entice a visitor to do something.

Here are some tips, borrowed from the National Federation of Independent Business, to building an effective call-to-action

1. Have the call to action follow naturally and build upon what you’ve already said in the written material. This will reinforce your message and explain why a customer should follow the call to action. For example: “Now that you’ve seen the benefits of our product, call our toll-free number today for more information.” Or use a question such as: “Why continue using inferior products when you can gain all the benefits described in this brochure? Call today for more information.”

2. The message should always be specific. Avoid vague suggestions. Use concrete terms and descriptions, such as: “Save $5 on your purchase today,” as opposed to: “Save on your purchase today.”

3. Use power words to convey urgency. Power words include: “free” (most marketing pros agree this is the strongest word you can use in an ad), “limited time offer,” “only a few left,” “one-time special offer,” “free trial this week only,” “buy one get one free,” etc. Customers may not completely believe that they have to act immediately or lose their opportunity, but mentioning a time limit makes a call to action more compelling.

4. When you want a customer to take a certain action, be specific: “Get out your credit card and call now,” “Turn to our order page,” “Fill out the enclosed form and mail it with your check today” or “Click here.”

5. Companies wishing to convey a conservative marketing image (financial institutions, professional organizations, sellers of high-ticket luxury items, etc.) may want to avoid calls to action that give an impression of “hype” or high-pressure sales. Examples of conservative, prudent calls to action that do not sacrifice strength: “”Call our toll-free number to speak with one of our experienced representatives.” “Call today and we’ll show how you can safeguard your family’s future.”

6. Readers tend to be drawn to a P.S. at the end of a letter or other written offer. Many readers will read a P.S. just to make sure they’re not missing something. Use a P.S. to make a strong, conclusive call to action.

In general, you can strengthen every type of business communication you create by including a call to action — even when communicating with friends or associates. Whether communicating by e-mail, memo, voicemail or letter, your messages will be clearer and more compelling by concluding with strong and precise calls to action.

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