Wyoming Entrepreneur Blog

Your Company’s Name – It’s Where It All Starts

I’ve had a number of clients over the years ask me why their company never shows up on search engine results.  There can be any number of reasons why search engines aren’t “seeing” your website.  However, I’d like to discuss one that often times is missed in the rush to “optimize” a web site.  A key reason for search engine invisibility can simply be the name of your company.

When Google looks at a search term, it tends to first think of it as a brand before anything else.  Ann Smartly, writing on the MarketingProfs website (www.marketingprofs.com) gives an example of the results for the term “Armstrong”.  She indicates that most people would think of “moon”, “space” or “Tour de France”.  Most people would be wrong.  Google shows “Armstrong Flooring”, “Armstrong World Industries” and “Armstrong One Wire (an internet service).  The astronaut and the bicyclist follow these “brands”. ; As Ms. Smartly says, “Google seems to favor brands and is likelier to suspect that your intent is navigational instead of informational (go instead of know).”

One way of winning the war is to instead of fighting a battle against multiple opponents; try to make your brand name unique.  This can be challenging if you have a common name.  “Jones Consulting” would be a pretty poor choice.  There are a lot of companies with that name out there.   Renee Jones Engineering Consulting would be better, but with such a common name, you might need to look for a more unique usage.  “Rock Springs Engineering Consultants” would, as I write this, probably come up first in Google as there are no companies showing up with that name. 

The idea is to become the dominant interpretation of the combination of words in your company name. Google suggests that if you can make your name and brand stick together, you instantly become a dominant interpretation.  Using this concept, a company called Renee Jones Mining Engineering would likely rank number one on Google.

So there you have it.  Before you worry about optimization of your site, and certainly before you sign incorporation papers, spend some time searching names on the internet.  A unique business name can be an important first step in achieving online visibility.

Have you had problems naming your company?   Do you have a great name?

Cloning Your Best Customers - Can it Be Done?

If you keep good customer records - name, address, how much they've spent with you over a period of time - you can use simple GIS analysis to determine what your best customers have in common and where you can find more of them. Basically, GIS (Geographic Information System) analysis means utilizing maps to display and analyze various types of data.

A simple spreadsheet with the information I mentioned above can be used to create a map showing where your customers are located. After that, there are various tools that can be applied to learn more about these customers - the average household income for their neighborhood or how much they spend annually on the types of goods and services you provide, for example. There are also ways to find other areas of town that share similar characteristics with your best customers.

Think about it this way: if you run an auto repair shop, wouldn't you like to know if there is a neighborhood in town that spends an unusually high amount on vehicle maintenance every year? Wouldn't it be advantageous to be able to target a direct mail campaign to this neighborhood since you already know they're more likely to use your shop?

GIS Analysis can help you make these decisions. The process, at its core, is quite simple. First, your raw customer data (name, address, amount spent with your business) is represented geographically on a map. This gives you a basic idea of where your customers are. Next, there are a number of "layers" that can be placed on top of the map. Think of it like placing a sheet of tracing paper over a picture - you still see the picture, but you can add more to it by drawing on the tracing paper. These layers can contain a variety of data, but let's use annual expenditures on vehicle maintenance as an example. When this layer is applied to your customer map, let's say you notice a high concentration of customers in a "hot" area (one with above average expenditures on vehicle maintenance) and then notice another neighborhood in town with similar expenditures but very few of your customers. You've just found your next target for a direct mail campaign.

GIS analysis can be a powerful tool and can help you make informed decisions about your business instead of just guessing. Contact the Market Research Center at mrc@uwyo.edu to learn more.

Website Usability: Keep it Simple

One of the most common problems on websites, and one of the most easily avoidable, is usability. Usability encompasses many aspects of a site: organization, ease of navigation, visibility of important information, loading speed, etc. Basically, anything that affects how somebody interacts with your site (and how easy that interaction is) can fall under the "usability" umbrella.

There are many ways to improve a site's usability, but I've included three basic tips below that will give you a good foundation on which to build each page on your site.

• Don't try to fit too much information on a single page. A lot of times, you'll have so much great information to share that your first instint will be to put as much as possible on each page. Resist this urge. Limit the textual content on each page to a few short paragraphs at most (pages that require too much scrolling actually get abandoned pretty quickly). Highlight the most important points about that page's topic and don't oversaturate the page with a large amount of text that people won't read anyway. If people spend more than 30 seconds reading text on a page, you're lucky. Keep that in mind when creating content on your pages.
• Keep the navigation bars on every page consistent. Make sure that your navigation bar always stays in the same spot on each page and contains the same links. It will only serve to confuse your customers if they visit a page and try to navigate elsewhere only to find that the navigation bar has moved or has new links in a different order.
• Keep images to a minimum whenever possible. It's no secret that alluring images and graphics can enhance a website's aesthetics, but too many of them can have a negative impact on a site's loading speed. Above all other usability issues, a slow loading speed can be the quickest way to get somebody to leave your site. Images are fine, but make sure their file sizes aren't too large and they aren't causing your site to load slowly. Finally, avoid Flash animation as much as you can.

In addition to these three basic tips, you can always find checklists to use to make sure your site's usability is functioning smoothly. A simple Google search for "website usability checklist" will get you started with plenty of options.

I have recently been contacted by a company offering to help my website to be found by search engines. Are these companies good or are they fraudulent?

Yes and no on both counts.  If you cannot manage your website’s search engine optimization yourself, here are some things to look for and to look out for in any company you hire:

First, I would be very cautious about companies coming to you, especially those who telemarket or send unsolicited emails.  If they are good at what they do they shouldn’t have to engage in push marketing (people would find them on the internet, right?).  The exceptions would be a familiarity with your industry, geographic proximity or some other compelling reason to engage in business with them.

The next often-omitted step is checking references.  If the business was referred to you, this might already be taken care of.  Find out what they were able to do for other businesses and see what their expectations are for your website and what they can do to improve your search engine rankings.  This is important, as there are different levels of competition for different terms.  For example, imagine trying to be on page one for a Google search on “iPad” vs. “Procurement Technical Assistance Center in Wyoming” and you can imagine which term would be easier to have better rankings for.

Find out how they seek your input and keep up to date with your search terms.  The search terms should not be industry jargon.  They should be the words your customers use, especially when searching for you, your product or service and these search terms should appear in your webpages.  Normally these terms change over time, so what will they do to keep up?  Will they monitor and report your rankings on important terms?

Finally, if you have the slightest concern that the company might use unscrupulous techniques, stay away.  The techniques I am mentioning are things such as using phony web pages that backlink to you, stuffing your pages with text the same color as the background (Google (or any other search engine)can read it in the code whereas your visitors will not see it) and other tricks.  When (not if) Google catches people using these techniques it will blacklist the entire site.  Being blacklisted means instead of just being on the fifth page of results, your site will never be found. 

If you have questions about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), how your site is doing or would like some help optimizing your site, please contact us at www.wyen.biz.

 

Why Use Social Media?

Increasingly, many consumers are using social media channels like Facebook and Twitter to discuss companies, products and experiences with their friends and peers.  Monitoring what people say about your company, your service and your products is an excellent way to find out what you’re doing right or wrong. 

Consumers are also using these sites to research buying decisions.  If you are being discussed, it’s probably a good idea if you are part of the discussion.  A recent survey by ROI Research asked social network users the reasons they use social media to discuss products and services.  The table below shows some of the results:

View this photo

The study points out that when consumer voice complaints using social media channels, they tend to be in the areas of household products, telecommunications and healthcare.  Sports-related brands, magazines and newspapers and alcoholic beverages tend to receive relatively low levels of complaints. 
Would you refuse to discuss your products and services with a customer who came into your store?  If the answer is “yes”, then social media is probably not for you.  However, if you refuse to talk to your customers when they are trying to tell you what they like and dislike, then you may find it very challenging to be successful.  However, if you are interested in understanding how your and your products or services are perceived by the people who pay your bills, then social media can be a valuable tool and a way to connect with your customers.

No matter the industry, your customers are using social media and the web to research and discuss you.  If you want to be part of the discussion, you have to enter the conversation.

What have been your experiences with social media and your business?

With All of the Abilities of Social Media Are Websites Necessary?

Social media has exploded over the past several years.  In a listing dated August 17, 2011 showing the most popular websites, Facebook at number two is only topped by Google.  YouTube is third, Twitter ninth, Linkedin is 13th and WordPress 18th.  I’m pretty sure that our WyEn.biz isn’t in the top 1,000 and I guess that yours is not either.  So why maintain a website in the face of the barrage of social media?

The reason is simple.  Handling all of the options available to market your business on-line is a huge challenge.  Customers are faced with an absolute deluge of information and data, and if you want to help them, they need a central location to go to act on the interest that all of the social media efforts you may be doing has generated.  Social media is changing rapidly and social media sites come and go.  Your website can be a source of stability for both you and your customers.  Your website is where customers go when they want to get detailed information about your products and services.

Another reason to maintain your site is that YOU control the content.  Social media by its very nature is uncontrolled and you can present the story you want customers to read and address any problems on your terms.  This doesn’t mean that people won’t look you up and confirm your information on social media sites, but it does mean that in at least one area you can manage the discussion.
A final reason to keep your website is to avoid limitations.  Facebook, Linkedin and MySpace can all have e-commerce tools added in.  However, these tend to be limited in terms of layouts, size and content.  With your website, you can tell your story your way and be much more creative and unique.

In today’s world social media is a vital part of the marketing mix for any business, but don’t neglect your homebase – your website!

Are you using social media in conjunction with your website?  Have you decided to eliminate your website altogether?  If so how is it working?

Attended a virtual conference recently?

For the month of May I attended a conference on Social Media. Yes, an entire month of sessions about social media presented by amazing speakers and opportunities to network with people from all over the world. How do you attend a conference for an entire month? It was a unique conference as the entire event was implemented virtually, utilizing social media sites/tools for presentations and networking. Michael Stelzner, author of “Writing White Papers” and the founder and executive director of the online magazine, SocialMediaExaminer.com, was also the person behind the Social Media Success Summit of which I was a participant.

Virtual conferences are an intriguing idea to me. Virtual conferences eliminate travel, hotel and various other expenses associated with conference traveling. They allow you to participate from the comfort of your home or office. You get the front row seat, so to speak. The presentation is clear, you can ask questions, receive handouts or links and network with the speaker. Maybe the most wonderful benefit is I didn’t have to run to the next session and fight for a chair and feel exhausted at the end of the day. I was able to focus on the speaker and really listen to what he or she was saying.  Pretty amazing! The 2011 Social Media Success Summit fueled the excitement for me to chair our Virtual Women’s Business Event scheduled for March 2012 (which is also Women’s History Month).

Thanks to our state director, Diane Wolverton, our organization has made a commitment to have a presence on many social media sites and assist Wyoming small businesses as they market and set-up “shop” utilizing social media. Diane wrote a grant and received funding from the Small Business Jobs Act to implement several special projects and one of those projects is the Virtual Women’s Business event.  Consider this the first public announcement.  Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis is co-sponsoring this event with our organization; Wyoming Entrepreneur. We have a vibrant and talented group of professionals working on the committee. Visit our website: www.wyomingentrepreneur.biz and link to our many social media sites to track our progress.

Have you attended a virtual conference? Tell us about your experience. 

Online Invoicing & Time Tracking Tools for Small Businesses

I own a small, but profitable, engineering company.  I make far more money doing engineering than doing books, and have a bookkeeper that takes care of my taxes.  I need a simple application that will help me track my time and do my invoicing.  Do you have any ideas?  Eric R. - Casper

There are a number of online tools available that track time and do invoicing, and many are free, if your business has a very low volume of clients.  FreshBooks is an interesting option that does time tracking and invoicing.  The service is free for up to three clients.  They charge $19.95/month for up to 25 clients.

You can use FreshBooks to track your time and expenses, generate invoices in any currency, send invoices either via e-mail or snail mail, track online collections, and automatically send late payment reminders to your clients.  You even can set-up recurring bills to automatically charge a client’s credit card on a regular basis.  Clients can pay online through a number of different payment gateways and view their own accounts. 

You can email invoices directly from the system or, for clients that prefer a physical invoice, print them and send via snail mail.  For an extra fee, FreshBooks will take care of the mailing chores for you, sending invoices directly to your clients in a window envelope, complete with a return envelope and return voucher.  If you have a client set-up with a recurring charge and are having FreshBooks mail your invoices, the entire process will happen automatically.  You just deposit the checks. 

This application is great for companies who bill time and use subcontractors.  You can set-up a project to include different tasks and different team members to be billed out at different rates.  You can even add outside contractors/subcontractors who can record their time on your project remotely from a smart phone.  You can track your time remotely too.  The system will also create cost estimates that can later be converted into invoices.  FreshBooks can also generate a number of bookkeeping reports.  Of course, for these reports to be accurate, you will have to enter your general business expenses into the system, in addition to project expenses. 

FreshBooks allows your micro business to look like a mega-business to your clients.  You upload your logo, pick your color, and the result is a very professional looking invoice.  FreshBooks has been highly rated by PC Magazine and others, because the program has so many features and connects to so many other applications, including Salesforce, Basecamp, Outright, Typepad, Constant Contact, and Peachtree.  The program will import client data from any source that can export in CSV format.   

FreshBooks is not a full-blown accounting program, such as QuickBooks or Peachtree.  Personally, I would not want to be without the checkwriting and posting abilities of that software.  Also, a one-time purchase of an accounting program is probably less expensive in the long run than paying a monthly fee.  But, if simplicity and convenience are your most important parameters, and the only accounting functions you require are invoicing and time tracking, this application fits the bill.  If you don’t need the time tracking component, other programs such as Zoho, Citrus, and Invoices Made Easy are less expensive.   Each of  these products offers a free tour and trial, so experiment to see what application will best meet your needs.  To find additional online business applications, check-out the directory on The Small Business Web, http://thesmallbusinessweb.com/directory?page=1.

The Internet and the World - an introduction

By Anya Petersen-Frey, Regional Director, MBA, PhD (abd), Certified Global Business Professional

Recently, Amy in Burns asked me about tips to use the Internet to explore reaching the global market for her retail product.  Below is just a small initiation into this topic but it is a starting point. 

First let's review the value of considering the worldwide market.  Anne Kennedy, in an article for Web Content Today (January, 2011 from http://www.wilsonweb.com/seo/kennedy-global1.htm),  offers the following data:

• 86% of the people using the Internet around the world are outside the US, quite a drop from 1996 when two-thirds of the world's Internet users were US-based. Europe is home to more of the world's online population than all of the Americas combined. Add the burgeoning Internet use in large populations in Asia and it becomes clear the best opportunities for website marketing will be outside the US.
• US search engine searches expanded only 18% last year. But China's searches grew 32%, Korea's 34%, and Brazil's 38%. The biggest gainer was the Russian Federation with a whopping 92% increase in search engine use.
• The percentage of Internet shoppers in the US has been edged out by South Korea, Germany, Japan and the UK, where virtually all those with Internet access shop online.

In theory, as soon as you build and publish your website to the world-wide web you have created a globally accessible page.  But just because a global audience can get to it, does not mean that your page will be understandable around the world.  And this does not mean just language. While a great deal can go into creating a more world-wide friendly website below are a few things to consider that are relatively easy to implement:

• If your page is about a regionally specific topic, then make sure you indicate that. Preferably right in the title of the page. Put the region in the keywords and page description as well. This will insure that someone in another country does not get frustrated by a site that only caters to a certain geographic area.
• Even a regional topic or product might have value to global viewers. What if someone from another country, say Germany,  is visiting your home town and needs a particular service there? You might consider expanding your site to give more generic information that would appeal to a more global audience.

Have you ever found your way to a website in a foreign language and attempted to buy something on it, or even to just navigate it? Think about how confusing that experience was for you and realize how confusing your US-based English language website could look to visitors in other countries.  Simplify pages as you are able and assess ease of navigation.

The first step might be to have a web optimization and review done on your website as it is now - and then decide where it can be simplified or adjusted to better meet a broader world view.   Contact our Market Research Center or myself to order a web optimization report at no cost.

The following blog, Building Keystones, gives some nice examples of how website are viewed in different countries.

http://www.buildingkeystones.com/2010/11/designing-for-different-markets/

If you have a business that has had success getting orders via your Internet site, please share your experience with us here. 

Website Linking Strategies

 

Website linking strategies require attention if you are trying to increase your visibility on the internet.  They are often misunderstood so some clarification is needed.  

There are two types of linking strategies, internal and external.  Internal links are the navigation links that allow users to navigate through your site.  They are also the live links to your site map, articles and tables that are within your site.  The often neglected internal links are picked up by search engines (as are external links) and will help to increase your visibility.

External links are of two kinds.  They are the links from your site to other sites and they are also the links leading back to your website from other sites.  Links from your site to other sites are not so important.  What is important is having links to your website on other sites.  This is what drives traffic to your site.  Link popularity is critical because it gives searchers different ways of getting to your site.  It is like having several “back doors” to your web pages instead of relying just on your URL and business name to get people to your site.  Having your URL on other websites also gives search engines different ways of indexing you, thus increasing your visibility. 

The quality of these links is more important than the quantity.  When selecting sites to which you want to be linked, choose ones that not only get lots of traffic, but are credible sites.  The stronger these “backlinks” to your site are, the better your site will look to indexing bots. 

One way to increase your link popularity is to put your site on reputable search engine and business directories.  Another is to have organizations or associations that are related to your business link to you.  Many associations have member lists that are live links so think about joining associations to get traffic.  Does your large national supplier have live links to distributors on their website?  How about your local chamber or tourist bureau?  Organizations like these generally get lots of traffic so if you were listed on their websites, it could increase your traffic.  As an aside, most chamber websites have business directories but not all have live links to member businesses.  If your chamber does not provide live links, suggest it to them.
Here is the link to a free online link popularity checker so you can see which websites Google, Bing and Yahoo are picking up as backlinks to your site.
http://www.linkpopularity.com/