SEO and the Female Entrepreneur

I have been ranking internet sites to the first pages of Google for quite some time now. I have observed the altering of search engine algorithms as well as the decay of once highly successful websites as they grow to be no longer viable. I have watched with great curiosity as the market has devoured my competitors, leaving absolutely nothing but bones stripped bare. I have survived the crushing weight of an unbalanced economy and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to encounter those difficulties.

One of the elements I have noticed the most in the world of business, in particular the tech industries, is just how much of it truly is dominated by men. In a number of cases men who only got the position they hold by calling in favors from their friends already well situated in the sector. As an example: there are many Search engine optimization firms in operation right this moment selling Search engine marketing solutions at exhorbitant rates that simply do not produce good results. These are primarily owned and run by men, often times having a female sales person reeling in the business.

The notion behind a female sales person is fundamental, and is a tactic utilized in many industries. Women are more at ease with other women, men are just about always too glad to speak with an engaging woman about anything. It's even better if they get to do it at the workplace. Are these women the most qualified for this sales position? In some scenarios without a doubt, and in those rare cases there exists an amazing synergy. Many times however, that is not the circumstance, instead their business saavy and management skills are overlooked by the men hiring them simply because they are thinking about how much more receptive clients will be to a woman. When they get into the sales position they find themselves hitting the dreaded glass ceiling and unable to arrive at the position they have had their eye on since they began.

As a result numerous women are simply starting up ventures of their own. They pursue marketing, advertisement, branding, web development, and careers in the fashion industry. They do more research, develop superior business plans, and make smart partnerships. They are unequivocally proving that secretarial employment is a great misuse of their skill set. They are standing up with a bullhorn and announcing as loudly as possible "Step up to the level of service you deserve, do business with us!".


Why are they such tenacious entrepreneurs? This is not just a business venture to them. This is their retirement plan and college tuition for their children. This is the moment they have been waiting for, this is their opportunity to show a male dominated business world that they can not only compete, they are able to win. This is their chance to lay seige to the glass ceiling. They are going to do this by outsmarting the competition. They will operate their business with little to no overhead, focus on creative advertising strategies rather than pricey print ads and television commercials with ludicrous return on investment. They are going to work on the weekends and play frisbee with the kids between conference calls simply because this is their dream. They will not take no for an answer.

In that pursuit a great number of them realise that they are not likely to obtain the clientele they need to be truly successful without tapping into the large numbers of people browsing the web each and every single day. This is where SEO comes in. Search Engine Optimization is no longer a mystical artform practiced only by a select few. It is an integral part of any business that hopes to compete in this bloodthirsty economy.

Due to the fact Female Entreprenuers are so driven to be successful they leave no stone unturned in their research, especially the research that can boost profits. Their research invariably leads them to Pay Per Click advertising and marketing, which many have the unfortunate experience of engaging in only to see their investment garner lackluster success. PPC is a
good deal like radio and television advertising. There is no lasting impact created from the advertising, it's there for one particular potential buyer and regardless of their choice to buy it's gone moments afterwards. In frustration with the PPC R.O.I., they turn to Organic SEO wishing they had taken that route from the beginning.

They now face an even greater challenge, how to avoid getting schooled by skilled sales veterans willing to sell them front page google exposure for a $2,500 initial charge and $1,000 worth of ranking maintenance every single month. Take into account the sales veterans tend not to implement the SEO, they only sell the service. They don't in fact, build the SEO Strategy or in most scenarios even play an active part in Keyword Analytics. The female entreprenuers take those numbers quoted them and do the most intelligent thing possible. They shop around, and in that effort they discover a mass of questionable sites promoting questionable results for questionable expenses. If they are lucky they will have a respectable, realistically priced SEO firm recommended to them by a business associate or a good friend. More often then not they end up engaging in an endless search for an SEO consultant and like numerous other business entrepreneurs attempt to implement the SEO on their own in the meantime. Many of them will see results from this approach, a few of the more diligent ones may even manage to rank themselves for a low competition key phrase.

A few of them will land a contract with a reliable SEO business that understands what it really takes to drive targeted traffic to a web page and their business will explode with new customers. The days of ranking one solitary web site have long since passed. Today's SEO requires a critical focus on all assets. It requires not only optimizing the whole site but every one of the Web 2.0 properties in addition. It takes intelligent, strategy driven social bookmarking, and a significant focus on high-grade written content. Content is the only way your web presence will ever get noticed by Google's Panda algorithm. Content is furthermore the only way you're going to reach those potential customers with your message.

With the fierce level of competition the Female Entrepreneur faces there has never been a more important time to do the research and find the right methods to bring in those hard to reach customers. SEO is going to be the secret weapon their business uses to dominate the competition and shatter the glass ceiling once and for all.

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Is Google Panda the SEO Deathray?

Just take a deep breath. Most of the aftershock from the Panda update has already been felt. Yes, it's true. Many sites lost hundreds to thousands of ranking positions. Do you know who didn't lose any ranking at all?

Us. Also, the other sites that had the foresight to build their foundation with solid, high Page Rank Web 2.0 properties, well written articles, and quality backlinks to support it all. The sites that were penalized were mostly giant link-farms. Let's face it, we don't really want them in operation anyway. 

I for one, was ecstatic to see such a powerful shake-up in the SEO world. Google, the clear leader in Search Engine Technology has made it clear once again they intend to keep their listings as unbiased as possible. Maybe Bing can take a cue from them and do some work on their discovery techniques. It seems like their spider is still learning to crawl.

What do you do if you were one of the poor unfortunates hit by the Panda Deathray?

You have two options, the first being to batten down the hatches and prepare for a long, cold winter while you re-build your Social Network with relevant content and shy away from spammy backlinks. The second option, and in many cases the most logical would be to hire a professional SEO company to take care of this for you. 

While it is true that I am the man behind the Giant Robot Engine and I may be a bit biased, we can definitely get your listings back where they belong. The quickest path is with a Web 2.0 linkwheel supported by a social bookmarking pyramid backlinked with well written articles supported by anchored links.

Yes, we really can do that for you. Either way, good luck with getting your mojo back.

How to avoid targeting your Paid search to the Masses

It’s the norm for consumer packaged goods (CPG) traditional media marketers to create campaigns and initiatives specifically targeting their desired demographic within traditional media. Whether it’s a sporty advertisement for a product in Sports Illustrated or emphasis on the health of a product in SELF magazine, the personalized effort is there.

However, in paid search, this approach is much harder to target in the same way. Reason being: Google and Bing aren’t privy to just one type of user demographic.

Despite the ability to target specifically at the engine level, there are several ways that savvy CPG marketers, and digital marketers altogether, can target their paid search campaigns for a specific demographic to boost their overall brand and online performance.

Most consumers are lumped into several different niche markets – from technology buffs and the technologically impaired, to health nuts and runners, to new parents and empty nesters. These are the exact demographics search marketers need to identify in order to deliver the best online experience for consumers. While the niche markets are an important growing sector of consumers, in order for search marketers to further capitalize on the personalization of their brand they need to remember key demographic variables such as ethnicity, income, and age.

Currently, most search marketers are targeting the masses with their paid search campaigns. The focus is more on a call to action or trying to best differentiate a product within the character limit.

While a call to action is important, a savvy search marketer should seek out more unique opportunities to directly speak to their consumers. By incorporating consumer’s interests and values, they will not only improve the click-through rate (CTR) and more actively engage the target demographic with the brand, but this integration of brand and culture will end up being the differentiator amongst competitors.

If search marketers don’t necessarily think they need to target specific niche markets or appeal to their consumers by engaging them in a message they already believe in, the bottom line will only begin to suffer. In an age when Facebook serves personalized advertisements and iTunes technology chooses music based on individual music taste, brands are likely to be left behind in the consumer’s mindset if they stick to the one-size fits all mentality of paid search advertising.

For example, Brand X, a hairstyling products company, has just completed the Spanish version of their U.S. website and wants to begin driving traffic as soon as possible. They ran paid search campaigns in the past by translating their English ad copy directly to Spanish but had very little user engagement. To solve this issue, Brand X began doing some research:

What is the Hispanic market looking for?
What’s important to them?
What type of content are they reading online?
By asking these crucial questions, Brand X was able to determine that the Hispanic demographic they were trying to reach holds their family as number one priority. To capitalize on this, Brand X developed ad copy for their hairstyles with using family as a call to action. “Find a New Hairstyle and Impress Your Family!” and “Need a New Look for the Family Party? Get Tips from Brand X Today!” By incorporating the message of family into the ad copy, Brand X was able to increase their CTR and on-site user engagement metrics dramatically.

To help begin the process of targeting paid search campaigns with a specific demographic or niche market in mind, below are a few steps to get the ball rolling to personalize a brand.

Identify
Identify the niche markets and demographics that are likely to have an interest in your brand. Start by asking yourself which sectors you could play in. Are you an eco-friendly company? Do you have a killer iPhone app? These could be great ways to edge your way into the environmentally conscious and technology markets.

Research
Once you’ve identified the demographics that are aligned with your brand or products, research the values, interests, or pain points that these consumers struggle with. You can use this in your messaging to persuade them to learn more how your brand can relate.

Message
Ad copy is the first avenue where you can insert your personalized message for the targeted demographic. In just a few words, you can portray your brand as knowledgeable on what is important to them and how your brand can make a difference.

In the example above, the Hispanic market’s biggest interest is with their family. Using family references in ad copy will help you relate and connect to the Hispanic consumer.
Content is King
Once the visitor has landed on your site from your targeted ad copy, they will expect to see content relevant to the ad copy that enticed them to click on your ad. Building out website content that is directly correlated with the values and interest of your demographic will ensure the visitor will more actively engage with your site, brand, and product.

Networking
Create a content network campaign to specifically seek out websites with content related to your targeted demographic. For example, a baby food company that wants to target new parents should check out baby blogs, new parents forums, or diaper websites.

Socialize
Social media sites are here to stay. Whether your brand is on Twitter or Facebook, the easiest way to relate to your targeted consumer is by interacting with them on their favorite social media networking sites. By participating in conversation or sending out news updates that the consumers will find interesting, you will establish yourself as a credible brand that cares about its consumers.

Summary
By engaging niche markets by using creative messaging and developing website content around their interests and values, digital marketers are creating a relationship with the consumer that will pay off in a conversion later down the road.

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