Patricia Spinelli
Most website owners spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars
(or hours) trying to get their
websites to appear on the first page of Google's natural search
results and, more often than not,
their placements are restricted to a number of obscure keyword
phrases few use to find related
products and/or services. What may come as a surprise to many,
the expense could have been
avoided had they taken a simple but dramatically different
approach to online marketing.
In a recent article published by OneUpWeb® of the Fortune 100's
websites only 13 have "properly
optimized" their websites for natural Google placement. Of the
remainder, 42 have only done a
partial job, while 45 have done little or nothing. Why aren't
the 'big boys' participating in the
game? "The answer," says Ron Scott, an internet publicist, "is
really quite simple - they don't
see the need.
"The 'big boys' have wisely chosen to focus their marketing
efforts on branding and brand
recognition," Scott says, "and the logic behind the strategy is
certainly understandable when you
think about it. You don't need to "compete" if you can induce
consumers and B2B prospects to
conduct their searches using your brand name(s) instead of
generic keyword phrases."
Scott points to Microsoft as a perfect example. "Overture
reports over 100 different keyword
phrases that currently include the company's name and they
generated over 2,500,000 inquiries
last month," he says. "Yet, when one enters the keyword phrases
'word processing software',
'operating systems', and 'software' and Microsoft's site is no
where to be found.
Googling a brand name instead of a generic keyword phrase, the
consumer will, if the company has
taken steps to even nominally optimize its site for that brand
name, see its site as well as the
websites of its dealers, distributors and affiliates sitting
pretty on the first page of search
results. If trademarked, no one outside "the family" can use
that brand name without violating
the company's exclusive right to use it so the only results to
be found are going to be directly
related to that company and its products/services.
Frustrated by the unpredictability of search engine algorithms,
Scott decided a few months ago to
trademark a brand name he could use to promote his services as
an internet publicist.
"Admittedly, I winced when a colleague suggested 'The PR Guru
Guy' - I'm sure it gives most a
sense that I am full of myself - but it didn't take long for me
to realize that it was ideal -
it's a brand that is directly related to my profession and easy
to remember," he says.
"Now, if any B2B prospects recall the brand name and enter 'the
pr guru guy', 'pr guru guy', or
'prguruguy', they'll find my site
(Fasttrackrankingandplacement.com) occupying the top position
on MSN as well as all Google driven search engines - Google, AOL
Search, Alexa, Netscape,
Information, A9, Amazon, Att.net, Compuserve, and Earthlink," he
says.
Scott, of course, had to optimize the company website for the
keyword phrase and its variations,
but the process only took four days from start to finish -
finish meaning that's the length of
time it took Google to cache and index the changes.
Once the branding concept is understood, business owners need to
think about how they're going to
develop brand awareness, ultimately getting B2C and B2B
prospects to call to mind their brand
when they are in need of a particular product and/or service.
Obviously, it's not enough to just
select a clever name.
To succeed, prospective clients have to not only call to mind
the brand, they have to correlate
it to a particular need or desire because the real value of
branding lies in the prospect's
perception that the product or service associated with the brand
name is the ultimate solution to
a particular problem. "Building brand awareness 100,000 or more
prospects at a time, this is
where an internet public relations program can be of immense
value," Scott says.
Branding, of course, won't work for everyone but those in highly
competitive industries or who
have a unique product or service, might well consider branding
as a viable alternative to
traditional website optimization and the hit-and-miss marketing
strategies they're been using to
date.
"For those who have a unique product or service that consumers
and B2B prospects are unfamiliar
with, it's a strategy that shouldn't be dismissed," Scott says.
About the author:
For business owners wanting to know more about the comparative
value of branding, traditional
website optimization, and pay-per-click advertising, the "PR
Guru Guy" offers a free, one-hour
introductory webinar. To learn more, visit
www.fasttrackrankingandplacement.com. Service by
www.nuttymarketer.com
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