The last few weeks have been interesting on the SEO front. There are too many companies out there who just, "Don't Get It". Just last week I delivered a program to a company and watched the face of the decision maker contort from dismay to total mental abandon.
The fear here was the prospect of a new Google algorithm. This is actually a valid reason for not wanting to commit to a search engine optimizaton program.
But what he socked me with next was actually eye popping. He wanted to put more dough into Yellow Page advertisements because he claimed at least it would get into more peoples hands.
WHERE IS OUR YELLOW BOOK?
Our yellow book was delivered during a rain storm. It sat in a plastic bag, unopened, for days on end until just a week ago. From there it was shuffled off into a corner to dry off. It was allowed a home out of sheer sympathy. There it sits waiting to be used.
Maybe one day I will use it if I have time.
My schedule lately has been one that demands instant gratification. If I need something then I need it right away. I cannot wait to get my answer. If I need a map, or directions, or a phone number of a service provider in my area for XYZ I never reach for the Yellow Book.
Either does a lot of our younger generation.
Generation X has limited means in this changing economy and they rarely do things in a predictable fashion. But Generation Y, (the youth generation that came after) has more buying power, are a lot more demanding and carry a more cynical attitude about the world around them. Not only are they a little more edgy but they are impatient. They demand answers at the touch of a button and grew up with Nintendo. Electronic gadgets and Google are all in a days effort for these kids. Chances are they are not going to go digging very deep to find your company in a Yellow Page ad. Forget about that 10% coupon and the hassle of getting a pair of scissors to cut it out. They would rather buy something online.
BEATING OUT 40 COMPETITORS
How do you get around 40 competitors in your field? It is going to be hard to do it with the kind of web sites most franchises have. A lot of franchises operate out of one web site. To find the location for a franchise you have to pull down a java menu. From there you need to get the city you want to do business in and get their web page.
Its amazing to me that many franchise owners, (many of which pay $156,000 or more to be in the franchise) consider this type of set up a "web site".
So doing something intelligent like having a separate web site with a different IP address does not often come up as a solution. This is what is going to set you apart with all your competitors. Take in for consideration that most web sites are not even positioned for Search engine optimization. Most sites come up blank and get a zero percent rating.
You need to have the right guts in your web site to make this happen.
FIND OUT WHERE YOU RATE
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Posted by Ted Cantu, on July 29, 2007 at 8:14 PM
