Getting Noticed on Google

As promised, I'm going to start to share new tips. Credit for the content ideas goes to the book "Getting Noticed on Google - in easy steps" by Ben Norman. Probably not the latest and greatest but it's the book that is sitting in front of me and was my inspiration.


And we're going to start with basics.


Why is Google so important? Because it is. Practically no one refers to "search engines" anymore they just "Google It". Because Google presents unbiased and trustworthy results, Joe Public has come to rely on them.


Google uses an algorithm to rank websites. This algorithm is constantly improving, changing, evolving and most importantly SECRET. Which is why there is always going to be conflicting advice on how best to googlize your website.


And I think by now we all know what we mean when we use the term spiders or crawlers. If not, then you need to give me a call.


Google will penalize you for breaking it's rules and using what we in the biz call "black hat SEO". So always stick to white hat SEO. You can find the official Google rules on their home page under About Us (where else would it be).


We'll only talk about white hat stuff anyways.


And the first item up is the Google Toolbar. So take a minute and install it, if you don't have it yet. And you'd have to be diligent like me not to have it yet, because the darn thing comes bundled with every free Adobe product.

Did you know that you can do a quick one button check to find out who is linking back to you. For example, if you know a certain restaurant or members of your local RTA are supposed to be linking to you, a quick click of the Google toolbar button will let you know who actually followed through with that.

Under Page ranking, click Backwards links.

And it doesn't have to be your website either, you can do your competitors websites and find out which local businesses are linking to them. Then you can approach them for links to your own business.

Perhaps you're a new restaurant in the area, and you want to find out which businesses are open to linking to local establishments. Let the Google toolbar do the researching for you.

Perhaps you're a local DMO consumer facing website and you want to know which local companies are promoting your site. the Google toolbar will tell you. Awesome.

What's next.... The Google cache page checker (also under Page Ranking).

This little feature shows you how your page looks on Google and therefore when was the last time the Spiders came around. And it tells you the date Google took the snapshot. And so you get a feel for how often and when the spiders do come around.

Another button that hides under page rank is similar pages. Find out similar pages to your business page, or just use it to improve your searching.

The next parts about Google Analytics and Google site maps require a Google Account -so go get one and we delve into more next week.

Fast facts

Every month I read an online version of Website Magazine, the subscription is free if you're interested. Here are a few tidbits from the March issue.

Cisco has disclosed that it will release new routing equipment within this calendar year that will be able to stream every motion picture ever made in four minutes! As well enable every person in China to simultaneously make a video call!

We'll have to wait and see if they deliver on that promise but the announcement or even the thought of such a goal is proof of the influence of video on the Internet.

Cyber crime costs Americans more then $560 million in 2009. The most susceptible cities were Seattle, Boston, Washington, and San Francisco

You Tube is adding a captions feature. Great news for those posting to You Tube and taking advantage of being able to then have it embedded into your product page on the TAP website.

Lots of content about the new Google Android phone, the Apple apps store, and Palm losing market share, if you're interested.

Page 28 (a mildly interesting article about SEO) gives a shout out to local company Radian6 for their social media monitoring software :)

Eeek - where does the time go

Greetings,

Just a short note to say, I'm still here.

I've been all around NB talking to operators about how to increase their presence online, and believe me even though the province seems small, with 2000 tourism products it takes a long while and a lot of driving to see even a quarter of the operators!

I've got a lot of tips on Google Toolbar tips and tricks to share over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

Also I'd like to announce that the Tourism Technology project is putting on day long Social Media workshops specifically geared towards tourism operators. I'm excited about this, and hope that you'll take advantage of this great opportunity. The other techies and I have worked closely with the presenter to customize the content and make sure it's relevant!

Moncton, April 30
Fredericton, May 3
Bathurst, May 4 (in french)

Check your email for more details or drop me a line at beth @ tianb . com

5 Hot Tips

As you can tell from the title, today's post is generously borrowed from Susan Rice Lincoln's e-newsletter, Social Media Matters. You can read all of Susan's posts at her blog, Mastering the New Net.

I would never use the word "hot" in my own titles ;-)

I really enjoyed tip number four, with the house/garden/social media metaphor. Readers of my blog will know I love metaphors.




Don’t try to do too much. The people/companies that have the best success in social media are using a maximum of three tools. You don’t need to use every single social media tool known to mankind. What you need to figure out is which tools match your strategy.


Create editorial calendars. Editorial calendars on a monthly basis are a great way of keeping your social media program on track. Otherwise, your social media engine is just run on disorganized spontaneity and you will eventually run out of steam. (Regrettably, I think this is happening to my blog)


Repurpose everything. If you are creating a photo stream on Flickr, you should make sure that will be seen in Facebook or on your website. When you post a blog, it should automatically be posted everywhere you are active on the social media space. Maximize your social media presence by making sure everything you do is repurposed in an automatic fashion. (And I don't do this)



Commit at least 1 hour a day to social media. A website is like a house. You construct it. You keep an eye on it to make sure the roof isn’t caving in. But you don’t have to be looking at it every single day. Your social media, however, is like the garden around the house. It needs to be tended to every single day. You need to water and weed all the time. So make social media an integral part of your daily schedule. Or you will fall way behind. And your garden will never bear any fruit.



Have a purpose. The number one most important thing you need to do to be on top of your social media game is to have a well-defined strategy. You need to know what you want to achieve. You need to know where you are going. Without that, it will just be a frustrating exercise of fragmented conversations and dead-end streets. Know what you want to do.

March Madness

Greetings All,

Not much new to post, just wanted to let you know that the "Achieve your best presence online" training sessions with Tourism and Parks are being very well received.

So I'm on the road a lot and not much time to ferret out good content for my blog :(

However I'm meeting a lot of operators and I'm encouraged because a lot of them are finally seeing the need for a GREAT online presence.

It took a while but I think they are coming around.

Online booking did not turn out to be a fad or flash in the pan, it's here to stay. And it's becoming the booking option of choice for more and more travellers.

If you haven't registered for the training session, there are still sessions available all across NB.

And if you're one of those operators whose finally turned the corner, there's loads of valuable and relevant information in my previous posts.

So browse around.

Beth

CTC and Social Media

The CTC (Canadian Tourism Commission) is doing great things.

A 2009 campaign consisting of 15 sec user generated videos aired for nine weeks. Results showed the campaign had a higher recall then print. The videos achieved a higher click through then banner ads alone. The success of the campaign was also the fact that it was backed up with relevant web content.

350 of social media content were created and seeded during the campaign. Demand for the material was overwhelming, and reaction to the content in social media spaces was positive.

A viral facebook quiz was created as well as a Twitter delivery schedule so that tweets would be consistent, timely and useful.

Through the national asset development program 10-15 experiences from each province were highlighted via video.

I learned all this at a CTC presentation at Canada eConnect. I urge you to check out the CTC site and browse around. Follow them on facebook and learn from their example.

Check out their You Tube channel

Maximize your DMO/ PMO presence

One of the sessions at the conferences was called Leveraging Partnerships and Maximizing Marketing Dollars.

One of the best tidbits from this panel of experts was this fact:

Operators who take full advantage of DMO/PMO websites

have higher click through rates to their own website

It is in that spirit that TIANB has teamed up with TAP to deliver training on everything you need to know about maximizing your presence on the the TAP consumer facing website. Sessions start on Monday and continue throughout February and March around the province.

Visit the TIANB news item for more details and the link to register.

Make this your first step to a better online presence.

The very first keynote

Greetings,

I have returned from a week of learning in Montreal. Online Revealed and Canada e-Connect proved enjoyable, insightful, and illuminating.

Right off the bat I'd like to share some high points from the very first keynote, Geoff Ramsey from eMarketer

In the year 2009 there was negative media spending growth, companies spent almost 15% less then previous years.

In the year 2009 there was 1.8 billion dollars spent in online marketing in Canada. That's 89$ per internet user.

So how did they spend so much online with out spending more?

Companies pulled money from their traditional media budgets. Which is something I recommend to clients to finance websites. Pull money from your print budget. Print less, be better online.


If you're interested in a myriad of statistical information visit the eMarketer website and sign up for their free daily newsletter or subscribe.

Stay tuned for more conference tidbits
Beth

Conferences

Greetings,

Just a short note to let you know that next week I'll be attending two premier conferences in Montreal.

Online Revealed Canada is one of the best Online Marketing conferences with a Tourism focus. Produced by A Couple of Chicks e-marketers, I'm looking forward to learning lots of new ideas to share.

Canada e-Connect , Canada's Tourism Online Strategy conference organized by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) is also shaping up to be a great two days of exciting speakers and presentations.

The organizers of the conferences have placed themselves back to back to bring a full week of learning to tourism operators, DMOs, governments and folks like myself. My aim is to bring back and share the best of ideas with you.

Take care, and I'll have my first post conference post in February!
Beth

What I learned from watching TV marathons

Greetings,

I hope you enjoyed your holiday, whether you only had the mandatory days or extra days, I hope you made the most of it like I did - watching TV show marathons!

Holiday programming consists of marathons and seasonal movies. Frankly after four weeks of this, I've forgotten all the "regular" season shows I used to watch.

The more you watch a show, the more involved you become in the characters, plot, outcomes. To the point where after watching 5 hours of Mad Men, I really wanted a drink of scotch and a cigarette, and I don't smoke.

Compelling TV almost made me want to start smoking.

And that's what I want from your website. Compelling content and imagery that makes me WANT to book a vacation immediately.

At the very least short list the destination and come back to revisit it.

This is why fresh content is important from month to month, and for repeat visitors from year to year. While I enjoyed those 5 hours of Mad Men, I can't imagine myself doing that every weekend...but in a few months... I may watch 5 different episodes.

I'm not talking vastly different changes. I mean it wouldn't be Mad Men without Don Draper :) The characters would be the same but the plots would be different. Like those locations working on being four season destinations. I should notice a subtle change up in the content for each season. Varying photos.

Seasonal activities should be highlighted and move to the top of the list as they become applicable.

Engaging video

Local personalities

Content that conveys first hand knowledge


Just little things like that will make your website more appropriate, engaging, relevant, enticing and make me CRAVE to visit you :)


Beth