One of his hypotheses is that those who are logged in are going to have a different analytics profile than those who are not logged in. I have pondered this as well, and thought that more tech connected and tech savvy people may be more likely to be logged in, and may exhibit different online behavior. This behavior could vary based on what topics are being searched. It turns out that this appears to be true, at least for the sample outlined in the article.

An interesting fact is that those users who are logged in are getting a more personalized search experience, because Google very likely knows their location and past search history. The personalized search will alter search behavior because of the assumptions it makes about the current search and what Google will choose to display.

By delving deeper into the analytics data that is still available, Dave could see that a higher percentage of those logged in were using a branded search to arrive at his site than those who were not logged in. He concluded that this made sense based on the fact that users looking for internet marketing by brand were more likely to be logged in. He applied the same principles to other data to glean information and make some extrapolations about hidden data, using what is known.

Although it is still annoying that Google is shielding data, methods are being researched and tested to find the information we need to optimize sites and market brands and businesses online. We love the challenge!

Photo Credit:  http://www.sxc.hu/photo/889385

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client - tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com, or find her on Twitter, @ReginaSillitti.

I prefer clients who want to understand the Search Engine Marketing journey and who take the time to ask questions as they come up. These clients are often, although not always, more engaged and better partners in their campaign. Many times this is the difference between a campaign that has a hard time getting off the ground, and one that is more successful.

As in any human communication, there are frequently unasked questions lurking behind the ones that are given voice, and the person doing the asking may not be aware of them.  In a lengthy conversation with a relatively new client, I explained about general keywords and long tail phrases, why it is important to focus on a smaller number of phrases that will result in highly targeted traffic to the new site, and other basic SEO type information.  The client then wanted to understand how search engines knew to look for his site, and I started in on an explanation of XML site maps and spiders and internet competition.

Then he asked a very telling question. Will someone who is running a small business and creating and managing their own site know about how to communicate with the search engines to let them know how to find the site? This is a much deeper question, and of course there is not a pat answer here.  None of the things that Dinkum does is very secret, and information on SEO and all related topics are available on the internet for anyone who cares to read up on them. I know this, and the client knows it now, too.

What he was really asking is, “What is Dinkum going to do for me that will set me apart from the other sites on the web with similar offerings? How will you make me unique, and get me found?” Even more basic is the underlying question of, “Why should I pay you to do what I can learn from the internet?”

That is the important question to answer here! I needed to explain everything clearly and in an understandable style so the client was comfortable with the idea that he can take care of his business, and Dinkum is there to help him by doing the hard work of making his site visible on the web and help him to understand that the years of experience that we have enables us to take advantage of opportunities to promote his site when changes in the online world occur, as they inevitably do.  Answering the detailed technical questions is a means to enhance the trust necessary in this relationship to give this campaign the best shot at being successful.

The next time a client is peppering you with questions, take it as the opening to creating a trusting, mutually beneficial relationship. Earn their trust by knowing and being able to explain how you are going to help them be the best they can be. And always listen for the questions not asked when chatting with your clients.

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1238327

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client - tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com, or find her on Twitter, @ReginaSillitti.

Step One: Identify the Right Customer
The right customer or client is the one that wants what you’ve got and that you enjoy working for and selling to. It’s about matching their needs with your skill-set. Dinkum begins this process by performing an audit, writing a change document, constructing a list of keywords and using analytics to work out your target market.

Step Two: Spend Time Where They Spend Time
Once you’ve identified your ideal customer, you need to spend time where they spend time so you can meet and chat. It’s about using the right networking sites, sending out information about yourself and spreading the word about your services. Dinkum uses a range of techniques to achieve these goals including solid content distribution and ‘link building’. One important way Google ranks websites is by the number and quality of links pointing to your website – you won’t rank without these links. We also hang out in chat rooms, on Twitter and Facebook and share blogs. We make you the honey pot. It’s about listening in to the conversation and finding matches.

Step Three: Referral Agents
One of the best ways to generate new business with ideal clients is through referrals. You make friends with their friends. If you’ve added value and helped solve their problems, they will tell their friends and you end up working with more people like you who love what you do. The Dinkum strategy of search engine optimization, website design and Internet marketing gets you in front of this ideal audience.

Internet marketing is not about driving traffic to your site. It’s about driving the right kind of traffic to your site. The process of building these contacts takes around 6 months. The combination of ‘target market’ identification, using social media tools, and link building is a bulls-eye for your ideal customer and cha-ching at the register. Find out more now.

Photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1115856

Rick Simmons is a principal at Dinkum Interactive, a firm specializing in online marketing solutions for small and medium sized businesses around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience in advertising and marketing, Simmons has spent the last four years focused on search engine optimization, and other Internet marketing strategies. Reach him at 267-626-9094 or rick@dinkuminteractive.com.

Jargon? Upon reviewing his report, I saw that there are numerous places where we indicate that there is an action item associated with a particular section of the site, without fully explaining what or where the item in question resides or even if it can be seen by web visitors.  Phrases like Title Tags, Meta Description, Image Alt Tags, and the like, each with an explanation of why they are important, and possibly how they need to change, but nowhere is there an explanation of exactly what they are and how or who will update them. Even more esoteric to a client are phrases like robots.txt and XML sitemap.  Jargon, indeed!

I had to wonder how many of our other clients are having a similar head-scratching moment. Reports that we assumed were crystal clear contain new words and phrases with no real context clues to give them meaning. We tell clients all the time to avoid jargon on their websites and in their press releases, unless they are very sure that their target audience speaks their language. Hm. Time to practice what we preach.

It is often not easy to recognize this kind of missing data.  In the process of moving to a more streamlined reporting system and making deliverables more responsive to the fast pace of the early part of a campaign, we have inadvertently “streamlined out” many of the explanations that populated earlier versions of these reports. After all, we know exactly what we mean.  It is part of the human experience to see the parts that are not there when we know what they should be.  We have all had the experience of proof reading our own document, only to have someone else point out a spelling or grammar error that we just couldn’t see because we knew what we meant to say.

This is one more phase in good customer service. Really listening to customers, finding their pain point and doing something to make it better is the right thing to do, and will create loyal fans out of customers.  Of course they have hired us because we have experience with the intricacies of Search Engine Marketing and Website Design. We don’t need to baffle them with the words that define our world, when we can dazzle them with our ability to clearly explain what we are going to do for them and their business, and then impress them by doing it!

I am off to write a glossary to include with our reports.  What are you doing today to clearly communicate with your clients?

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1238333

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client - tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com, or find her on Twitter, @ReginaSillitti.

Search engine optimization (SEO), social media, email marketing, Google rankings and market research can all help your business to grow in one form or another.  Don’t make the mistake of rushing in to try and work on all of these areas at once – you may feel completely overwhelmed.  Instead, have someone outside of your company or someone with fresh ideas help you develop a strategy to achieve what you feel your company needs to move forward.

Once you invest time in the strategy and to get clarity in your message and vision, your focus to improve your SEO, social media, and use of other tools of the internet will fall into place much more easily. This will leave you more time to go out and network and obtain new business to reach your ultimate goal: Business growth today, tomorrow and into the future.

Kelly Dunning is a Sales Consultant for Dinkum Interactive. With 10 years experience in sales and marketing, she keeps Dinkum’s new accounts, and Rick, in tip-top shape.

The following post is a dead giveaway of the amount of time I spend in the kitchen. However, just as with tennis and music, there is an easy correlation between cooking a delicious meal and executing a successful online marketing effort.

Below, I’ve outlined five elements through which I attempt to break down our process in a way completely unrelated to technology or business. Why? Well, delicious food has a far more comfortable connotation for most people than computers, no? And for good reason!

When you begin cooking, or even cooking in a new style, it’s hard to know where to start. Even with a list of ingredients, without some instruction, it’s nearly impossible to know how to prepare or combine them or the order in which to use them. With some cuisine, it’s even difficult to know where to find them at all! The same goes for marketing your business. You may have heard of all of the ingredients (research, keywords, meta data, link building, optimized press releases, social media, etc.) But what does it all mean?

1. Use a recipe. Dinkum has a “recipe” that is just right for your company. We have a library of tools that we know like the back of our hand, including when and how to use them. Part of our process includes getting to know you and your business, what you do, and what your goals are. Once we understand this, we devise a strategy.
2. Quality of ingredients. We never take a cheap, easy, or underhanded approach. This would not be good for anyone! Just as it takes great care and attention (and perhaps a little extra expense) to grow delicious organic food, the long-term benefits can be huge for both consumers and the environment. Will your site jump to number one on Google in a week? Nope. But will we meet each of the important goals that have been outlined by building and following a solid long-term strategy? Absolutely.
3. Importance of prep work. It’s a team effort! You know your business best. In order for us to do our job well, your contributions to help us gain a complete picture are invaluable. Take care with your intake form and engage with the research we come back with. It can be difficult to carve out time, but these pieces lay the foundation. Have you ever tried to cook without doing any prep work? I have. It’s a frantic mess that takes longer than it should, and the food rarely tastes as good! You get the picture.
4. A little love goes a long way. Just as thinking creatively about a meal and preparing it with love can make all the difference in its quality, once a strategy is in place for your site, implementation and follow through are what makes it all come together. Can’t get us that press release? Need help with some blog posts? We understand, and we’re happy to help. Progress depends on action, so even if the only action that can be accomplished is communicating what you need, take the love you have for what you do and make it happen.
5. Enjoying the fruits of your success. Increased traffic, sales and brand recognition are only some of the benefits you’ll realize by utilizing the SEO and SEM services of Dinkum Interactive. Over time, as your initial goals are met, we will continue to come back, revise, strategize and set new goals. In other words: Enjoy your meal, take what you’ve learned, and let’s keep cooking!

I would be remiss if I didn’t add one more thought to this post: Dinkum Interactive isn’t a supermarket or even a farmer’s market where you pick and choose ingredients (a bit of SEO, a dash of social media).  While many companies offer just that service, we’re more like a fine restaurant or (better yet) a team of personal chefs!  We see the best results when you leverage the expertise of our awesome team to help you evaluate your goals, choose a recipe, gather the ingredients, cook the meal, and judge the results along the way. You never know – a dash of salt or a shake of the pepper mill might be all that is keeping you from that perfect meal.

Photo Credit:  http://www.sxc.hu/photo/781602

Meg recently joined Dinkum Interactive as Director of Operations. Her industry experience spans 9 years and includes website design and development, digital resource management, marketing, online strategy, SEO/SEM, and training and support. Meg’s work at Dinkum is focused around client services and education, quality assurance, marketing, and business operations.

This week, a client asked me to explain ‘why’. I’d suggested a press release topic and he wasn’t sure about it. “What would the focus be?” he asked. “I want to make sure that we’re adding to our message, not diluting it.” It was an absolutely valid question because the purpose of press releases has changed.

Previously, a press release was written only for editors and producers of newspapers, radio or TV to generate interest in a topic. It was just one part of building a relationship between the publicist and editor. Working as a journalist for ABC Radio in Australia, I’d receive many press releases every day but I’d only read the ones I thought could be of interest to the program (often based on the headline) or if it came from a publicist I trusted. Plenty went straight to the trash.

Today, press releases have a dual function. They still arrive in the inboxes of editors but are also important for search engine optimization. And the thing about search engines is they don’t read press releases the same way editors do. The algorithm used to determine which content is more relevant is complex and frequently changing. It’s based on a combination of factors including keywords, inbound links, long-tail searches and so on.

My client has excellent relationships with editors and he doesn’t want to dilute his message by sending out too many press releases and possibly putting them off. I understand and respect that. Search engines don’t operate in the same way and if you want to appear higher in searches, you need to speak their language.

Take-home message: the purpose of press releases has changed. And the strategy needs to change as well. My advice is to maintain relationships with editors and target your releases to them. But remember that the social media world operates in a very different way and you need to think about this space as well.

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1287369

Jennifer Fleming is Specialist Content Writer at Dinkum Interactive. With a background in journalism, Jennifer is a best-selling writer, writing coach and media strategist. You can reach her at jennifer@dinkuminteractive.com.

I recently had an experience that brought this home to me in a very vivid way, and will impact my relationship with clients moving forward.

My husband spent some significant time in a local hospital recently. He was admitted through the emergency room, the immediate issue was taken care of, but tests indicated the need for some serious antibiotic treatment. As it was now into the wee hours of the morning, I went home, assured that I would bring him home later that day. Various complications that appeared to me to be deteriorations in his condition, and numerous days later, I kicked into meltdown mode.  I became the client we all hate. I demanded audiences with every doctor on the case and asked for detailed explanations of every procedure, test, and drug ordered. I refused to leave the room, and stood where the medical professional of the moment had to make eye contact and speak to me before I moved to let them leave.  I even brought “Guest Services” into the picture to kick up the care to an acceptable level.

So what, I hear you say, does that have to do with what we do? Well, imagine this. A client hires us because their website or their internet presence is subpar.  We assure them that, yes, it is ailing, but we can fix it.  We will tinker with this site that may represent their current livelihood, or future potential livelihood, and make it more modern, more visible, and more profitable for them. This site is important to them, and they are turning it over to us. Sometimes however, we run into a challenge or two along the way, and things take longer than the original estimate we shared with the client, or unforeseen technical tweaks need to be made. If we don’t keep the client informed along the way in language that they can understand, and in a timeframe that makes sense to them, we run the risk of turning them into a client screaming to be heard, and demanding to understand what is going on. I now realize that this is born of frustration with a situation outside of a client’s control, but most often not outside their ability to understand, if someone takes the time to talk with them before they hit meltdown.

Medicine is an art as much as a science.  There is not always one clear path to the desired end. Web design and SEO are also a mixture of art and science. The internet is constantly changing, and what worked yesterday to help a site convert visitors into customers may not work tomorrow. Through a solid relationship with each client, we can begin to know how much communication each client needs to maintain their trust in us and the work we are doing for them, and how much involvement in the process makes them comfortable with the variety of possible outcomes for their website and internet presence.

For the record, everything ended well.  But I can’t wait to fill out the hospital survey and mail it back! What has shaped your approach to client relationships?  Share with me in the comments.

Photo Credits
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1100587
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1327383

Regina Sillitti is Project Coordinator for Dinkum Interactive. She has worked in programming, design, business analysis and quality assurance. Her background in design and data processing give her a unique perspective on client - tech translation. You can reach her at regina@dinkuminteractive.com, or find her on Twitter, @ReginaSillitti.

Internet not just search

While it is not complete in my eyes it does serve a good starting point. If all you are doing is looking at results from your “search” strategy – you are missing the direction of the Internet. The users are dictating a change – are you ready?

Have you included optimized press releases, article distribution, videos, podcasts, etc as part of your marketing mix? Coming from the offline more traditional model it was easy to talk to advertisers about a mix – you did directory advertising, magazine, newspaper, direct mail, etc… In many ways the Internet is no different – the major distinction and in many ways an advantage – the prospects tell you where to put your efforts – do you have a way to listen to them? That is the key.

What are you doing with your mix?

Rick Simmons is a principal at Dinkum Interactive, a firm specializing in online marketing solutions for small and medium sized businesses around the globe. With more than 25 years of experience in advertising and marketing, Simmons has spent the last four years focused on search engine optimization, and other Internet marketing strategies. Reach him at 267-626-9094 or rick@dinkuminteractive.com.

It did get me thinking about my other second life….the one online. I keep forgetting that I have this whole different set of friends and colleagues, all online. Many I have never seen (except on video), many I have never met. I talk about these people to my “first life” friends and they have no idea, even supposedly famous ones.  Am I hanging around the wrong crowd?

Actually I think I’m hanging around the right crowd. These are folks I can tap into when framing out a potential online marketing plan. Many of these are our target audience, the regular Joe’s and Jane’s who I want to get my client’s product in front of. These are the occassional user. Those who do emails, spend some time on YouTube, don’t really have favorite blogs, most importantly they do a lot of searching (mostly Google BTW). I use them and abuse them (they don’t mind, it’s not that cruel) especially when planning a website design  but also part of planning for keyword strategy. You can get keyword data from a variety of sources, I think including a small group of everyday users should be part of your strategy.

Paul Fleming is co-founder and VP of Interactive Services for Dinkum Interactive. A trained teacher, Paul has worked in a variety of forms of Internet Marketing but with a focus on SEO. Originally from Australia, he now resides in Philadelphia with his wife and 2 ankle-biters.