Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

Ask The Panel

Sarah W., from Houston, Texas asks:

1. What is SEO, and how will it increase traffic to my site?

Nicole: SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and basically this process is about ensuring your web site is visible to those who are searching for what your business sells or offers.  As an example, say you sell aftermarket parts for trucks.  What would someone “Google” when looking for your product?  (I’ll give you a hint, it’s not usually as general as ‘aftermarket truck parts’!).  Someone would typically search on a specific product, or the type of product they’re looking for, such as “bed liners for Ford F150 ” or “lift kits, Dodge.”  If you sell a variety of these items (or provide service or info for these items), you want Google to display your website when someone searches on this.  How do you get Google to do this?  By being the most relevant site for these products!  Make sure your site contains a good amount of related content for these items, like product descriptions, product reviews, customer reviews, expert advice on which product to select, how to install, etc.  Also, links to your site from relevant sites, like blogs, forums, and so forth, are very helpful.

SEO is not an easy task for a beginner to take on, but with a little research and by making sure you cover the basics you’ll ensure that your site is relevant to your customers AND appears in search engine results.

Amy: SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a combination of different techniques used to improve the volume and quality of the traffic that comes to your website via search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask, etc).  The goal is to get your site at the top of the results list when people search for keywords that are relevant to your company.

There are many different factors involved in optimizing a website, which affect the html code, the design, links, content, etc.  Because there are so many different strategies and rules, it’s a good idea to work with a 3rd party company or your hosting company if you’re not an expert.  You’ll want to make sure SEO is an appropriate strategy for your company and combine this practice with other marketing efforts, to ensure that you’re not entirely dependent on SEO.

2. What is the best way to announce a grand opening?

Rob: Like everything in marketing, there is no best way that works for everyone. The best way to announce a grand opening for an electronics store may be completely different from the best way to announce the opening of a dance studio. And if your store is online, you may need to consider other options altogether. It comes down to getting noticed by your customers.

Let’s say you are about to open a dance studio for girls between the ages of 3 and 16. The “real” customer is likely a parent who is looking for a reputable teacher for their child. How do you get these parents to notice you? Where do they hang out? What other products do they use? Can you get noticed there? You might consider reaching out to elementary and secondary schools or talking with a group that manages a neighborhood sports league. How do they get noticed? What can you do to find and interest those potential customers?

Of course, if you’re opening a shoe store or an online jewelry boutique, you will want to consider completely different ideas. (But ask the same questions: Who are your customers? What do you need to be to get noticed by them?) Bottom line… figure out who your customers are, where they will be, and what message will be most relevant to them. Then give them a reason to try you out.

Nicole: The best way is the way that lets your target market know you are now open for business!  Opening a lawn mowing business for a specific area?  Stopping by and chatting with homeowners in the neighborhood is great, but if that’s not an option leaving door hangers is a good way to connect to homeowners with lawns, in your area.  Short on time and have a bigger budget?  A nice direct mail campaign to local homeowners is very relevant.

What if your target market is a little more tricky?  If you’re a high end spa that targets professional women, you’ll have to work a little harder to connect with potential customers.  One option would be to find a relevant but non-competing business you know your target market frequents, like a high end gift or clothing boutique.  Ask if you could place, and offer to do the same for them at your business, a poster in the window or small postcards or business cards on their counter (you may want to give a free service to the manager or owner of this business, as an incentive for them to advertise your business).  Or look for a local magazine your target market might read, to advertise in, or radio program they might listen to, and sponsor a segment of the program.

As you can see, there are many options to announcing a grand opening, and the first step starts with thinking about ways to reach your target market, and what messaging would work for them.

Posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 4:48 pm and is filed under The Panel: Q & A. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.