SEO, SEM, e Marketing and Inspiration Quotation

How far can you take a web site using SEO? On the surface, that depends solely on your ability to implement strategies and tactics to overcome the competition. Yet when you peel back the curtain, you realize there’s a lot more going on requiring you to have what essentially boils down to a psychology degree.

PragmatismFrom helping site owners deal with an unfocused business offering all the way to understanding what goes through the minds of users performing a search, it’s a psychological process. In many ways it’s also an emotional thing. And if you don’t grasp these factors, you yourself are going to need a psychiatrist. :-)

This article isn’t a how-to as far as overcoming psychological issues – I’ll leave that for a future article. Because that alone could be book-length. Instead, this is more about waking you up if you’re not already awake to the fact that psychology is a critical aspect of what we do. And to get you thinking about it.

I stopped counting years ago the number of site owners who THINK they have a well defined business model, only to have me rip that notion to shreds with just a few questions during our first meeting. What are your services? Who is your market? Do you have different types of customers? What are your immediate business goals? What are your long term business goals?

Just one out-cropping of the lack of focus issue is where you’re dealing with someone who swears what they’re doing is unique. They will jump up and down with passion, throwing a plethora of buzz-words that (they think) proves what they’re offering is unique. Which may be possible. Except if so, they’re still going to need to use phrases that other people use when looking for things. And that means competitor results even if they’re just perceived competitors. Site owners don’t like hearing that.

Or it just may be the case that no matter how it’s communicated, the perception of users doing a search that this site’s offering is just like all the others out there, could very well be so insurmountable that you have to help the site owner accept this reality. And help them find a way to adapt or adjust. Even when they’re emotionally attached to that “you won’t believe how great and unique this is” mentality.

We all know about these. They’ve been discussed over and over. Yet the reason they’ve been discussed so much is because they’re now standard fare. And it’s up to us to understand how to break through that thinking.

Many of my clients come to me at a time when they’re hovering over keeping what works and scrapping it to offer something new altogether. Maybe the owner’s burned out. Maybe their market dried up. Maybe they think this is the perfect time to shift focus. Whatever the reason, you’re going to have to help them break through the indecision and commit to one path. Otherwise you’ll never be able to truly optimize the site. Because it’s going to be a moving target.

All of this just becomes exponentially more challenging when you come to find out that the SEO is being seen as a savior to an already dying business. That it’s a last ditch effort to bring in revenue before the creditors bang down the doors at your client/employer’s offices. Especially when they’re still in the denial or anger stages. Because if they are, they may not even see that it’s hopeless. Because if they did, why else would you be in dialogue with them? Or maybe they’re in the last throes of false hope.

Whatever the stage of grieving they’re in, it just might be up to you to wake them up to reality. Unless you want to take on yet one more client who will work you to near death then inform you that they can’t pay you what you are otherwise owed. Because they just reached acceptance that their business is dead.

Even when all else is in alignment with the site owner, as an SEO you need to understand user mental models. You need to get into the mind of the user for all sorts of reasons related to Information Architecture, yet just as vital, you need to do so because only then will you be able to help determine the best keyword phrases for this unique site.

How well can you delve into the minds of users? Especially when it’s for a market you have no previous experience working in. Can you step into the shoes of a victim of mesothelioma? If not, you’re going to miss 80% of the people who are really looking for an attorney specializing in that highly niche field. Because it’s not all about “mesothelioma lawyer”. I know. Been managing one of those sites four years this November.

Seriously though – how good are you at getting out of your own mind and into the minds of your client/employer, the marketing manager, the developer(s), the graphic designer, hosting provider, product manager? And how good are you at looking at things from the eyes of the site’s ideal client or customer? Without polluting your thinking with your own experience/linguistic bias, intellect, emotional filters?

The better you are at detaching from your own inner mind and emotional filters, the better your chance of seeing things from and knowing how to reach the mind/emotional buttons of those people. And THAT is quite often much more important than knowing when to use h1 tags or how to get back-links that count…

Read more on www.searchenginejournal.com

Have you ever wondered how search engine results change from country to country? If your company is multinational, it is important for you to know how your site ranks for relevant keyword terms in different countries. If your company is seeking to expand into new geographic markets, international keyword research can provide invaluable insight into local country demand and trends.

The best way to conduct this research (or at least the most interesting) is to travel to your target country. But that’s not always practicable. Fortunately, there are a number of resources available to give you access to the world of search from your own computer.

Here are five tools that provide highly useful information into what is happening around the world:

Google Adwords Keywords Tool

Using the advanced option of Google’s Keyword Tool, you can select keywords by country and language. Enter an initial keyword, select a language and/or target countries, and Google will return a list of keyword ideas with the associated monthly volume for each.

For a second source of international keyword research, also consider using Trellian’s Keyword Discovery tool which includes data from many European countries.

Google Insights for Search

Use Google Insights for Search to explore trends in keyword search demand over time. This is a great tool for identifying areas of growing demand for which new market opportunities may exist. There are options to search the hottest trends by country and industry. You can also start with one or more search terms and the tool will provide a list of the hottest related keywords in the country of choice.

Translation Software

If you don’t speak foreign languages, and don’t have the budget for translation services, you could start your research by translating your English language keywords using software such as Google Translator. After translating, use the keyword research tools to further expand your list and obtain search volumes.

But be warned. Google Translator is a very useful tool but is far from fool-proof. I wouldn’t use it if I were aiming to impress a native speaker!

Proxy Server

Search engine results are often tailored to a user’s location. Location is determined by IP address. To understand how results differ from country to country, you can use a proxy server to search using an international IP address. This can be very useful for competitive analysis. Try this site for a selection of international proxy servers: http://www.proxy4free.com.

Rank Checking Software

To understand how well your site is ranking in multiple countries, try using a rank checking software that has international capabilities. Rank Tracker by Link-Assistant.com provides ranking results for the 3 major search engines in practically every country you can think of. You can also use it to keep tabs on the rankings of your competitors.