Caro Consulting

Ten Thing to Consider Before You Blog

Thank you Paul Chaney for creating this fabulous Ten Thing to Consider Before You Blog! As you all know, I love lists - here is my rendition. Go to Radiant Marketing Group for more details

1. Determine your goal.
2. Determine your core message.
3. Appoint someone to support it. Write the posts. Monitor the comments.
4. Be prepared for positive and negative two-way conversations.
5. Create a blog policy.
6. Monitor the blogosphere. Know what they are saying about you.
7. Choose a blog platform... I'm thinking you may want to put this higher in the steps.
8. Create a blog marketing strategy. What's the point of putting it out there if no one knows about it?
9. Track it!
10. Know your keywords... This really should go in your strategy, buy hey he needed a 10th.

Paul sums it up by warning against self-promotion. Understand, your blog is an extension of your brand. It is you creating a relationship with your audience. Picture yourself at a party, talking about your company. Do your fellow party goers want to be sold to? Probably not.

Search Engine Optimization Tools

I was making my weekly rounds at Fabric.com the other day and ran into their search marketer extraordinaire, Mike. As usual, he found a new tool he had to show me. After weeks of new tools,  I finally asked him to compile his recommendations together into one post. Now, you can view Mike's favorite search engine optimization tools on his blog.

Here is a brief review of his list, plus some tools of my own.

• WordTracker - Before you begin to build a site, do your research. As I mentioned in my previous SEO Tips post, WordTracker provides you with the number of searches as well as competitors.
• Overture Keyword Tool - Similar to WordTracker, but free, does not provide competitive information, and only talks about a third of the marketplace.
• Netroglycerine Site Map Generator - A key step to creating a properly optimized site is to create a robust site map. Once your website is complete and posted online, Netroglycerine can help you build an outline - and identify if anything is broken. Google Sitemaps Beta is also available, but you need to be good friends with your tech guy to implement it.
• MarketLeap - Check the number of links to your site as well as your competitor's sites. Note: you can do the same thing by going to Google and typing link:http://www.yoursitehere.com. You can also check your site's search engine saturation on MarketLeap or by going to Google and typing in site:http://www.yoursitehere.com.
• Link Harvester - Another link analysis tool, but this one seems to be a bit more intelligent compared to MarketLeap. As Mike says in his post, "it will give you a good idea of exactly how many links you have (as indexed by Y! at least)."
• SERPs Position Tracking - Sick and tired of hunting for where you show up in the keyword results? I know Mike is since he is tracking hundreds of pages at this point. He hunted everywhere and found this tool to be the most accurate.
• Keyword Density Analyzer - If you're finding the page is not showing up at all or on page 5 (which is basically the same thing), your page may not have enough keyword density. SEO Tools sums it up perfectly on their site, "Keyword density needs to be balanced correctly (too low and you will not get the optimum benefit, too high and your page might get flagged for 'keyword-spamming'). "
• Double Trust - Search on Google and Yahoo! at the same time. For searchers it means finding something faster. For you it means saving time tracking down your Google and Yahoo! rank. They provide a nifty table format explanation to get you started.

What are your favorite tools. Add them in the comment section.

Last minute addition - Going through my favorite blogs and found a post in the SEW blog about Myriad search. Shows Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask Jeeves search results all in one place. Shows the copy and search result position. Quite useful.

09/26/05 - I recommend checking out Aaron Wall of SEO Book.com - he has his own list of SEO and PPC tools, free and paid.

10/04/05 - I forgot one of the oldest and most hotly debated tools out there - Alexa Related Links and Traffic Rankings. Enter in your URL address and you can obtain traffic reach, rank, and page views. Do the same to compare your site to your competitors.

Katrina Orphaned Pets - Rescue Trip

Thanks to everyone who made Our Pal's Place Katrina Rescue Trip a reality. The website posts make you feel like you are there with them. Read more...

Blog Tip - Know What You're Doing First

Update 10/19/05: Toby was one of two bloggers given an interview by Ed Garsten, Editorial Director of Chrysler Group Media Blog - TheFirehouse.biz. Make sure to read the post about her interview, it certainly clears up why Chrysler did what it did and shows they did know what they were doing.

My blogging mentor, Toby Bloomberg taught me a little something this afternoon. She was telling me about her Chrysler's Firehouse Blog IS For Media Only post and how much buzz it has generated.

Apparently, Chrysler has created a password protected blog for verified media only. If you read comments on the post in her blog as well as on the Business Blogging site, you learn quickly that in the blogging world, this is a big no-no. Not to mention the conspiracy theorists really start coming out of the woodwork.

This to me was contrary to what I was taught... Blog applications are extensive and sometimes companies use password protected blogs to gather input from customers or share information with a very targeted group of people. Well, goes to show I don't know everything about blogs (yet) and neither does Chrysler. According to Toby, the problem with Chrysler's Firehouse Blog is they password protected a public site - something everyone can see. They should have created an access only blog.

The moral of this story? Don't enter the blogosphere lightly - blogs are supposed to enhance your brand, not tarnish it. Speak with a blog consultant first - someone like Toby.

Katrina Orphaned Pets

Reading through Bloglines everyday, there is always at least one call for help. So I'm hoping this call to help Katrina Orphaned Dogs and other Pets does not get lost in the shuffle. I'll try to be brief and to the point.

Gigi is a good friend of mine who started Our Pals Place (OPP) Atlanta Pet Adoption Facility a couple years ago. Their primary focus is to rescue adoptable dogs who have "run out of time" at the shelters.

As of late, she is focused on rescuing abandoned pets out of Louisiana. Several of the stray dogs from the gulf will make their way up the coast to the DCSPCA - my mom's animal shelter.

In order to do this, they need a lot of help. Please see their list below and contact them directly if you feel you can support them in their efforts.

Donations:

• Do you have a RV, camper, large van, etc.? 
• Do you have a flat-bed trailer? 
• Do you have a large dog crate you would like to donate to the rescue efforts? 
• What about monetary donations?  Money that is donated and marked for the Katrina rescue effort will be used to pay for our gas to/from Louisiana, purchase essential items such as bottled water and, mostly, care for the Katrina-orphaned dogs that we bring back to OPP.  (See "Orphaned Dogs" section below)  Please go to our website www.ourpalsplace.org to donate via PayPal.

Volunteers:
We are looking for additional volunteers to go with us.  If you or someone you know would like to spend 4-5 days helping with the animal rescue efforts, please contact us immediately. (See "Contact Info" section below)  We have been told to expect hard conditions, long hours and heat.

Orphaned Dogs:
As of tonight, we understand there are 200+ animals that are ready to leave the devastated area. We are looking for foster homes!  If you would like to foster a Katrina-orphaned dog, please contact Cindy Stone, Director of Operations (See "Contact Info" section below).

Our biggest concern, however, is getting animals back to Atlanta safely.  Our OPP van is great for around town but would be risky to take on a long trip.  This is why we need to find a RV, camper or large van to safely transport us, provide sleeping arrangements as we help with the rescue efforts, and provide the rescued animals a safe, cool means of transportation back to Atlanta.

Guarantee:
Any vehicle that is donated for our use will be cared for as our own and will be fully cleaned prior to being returned.  Any animals transported in the vehicle will be crated. 

If you are familiar with our operations, you already know that any money donated and marked for a specific cause or dog is used solely for that purpose.  OPP is proud of its financial honesty and integrity.  Contact our Director of Finance, Jeff McCrory with any questions regarding monetary donations.  jeff.mccrory@ourpalsplace.org or 678-860-8372

Contact Info:
Please contact Russ or Gigi immediately if you can help with any of the above items. Again, we hope to leave by Thursday or Friday.  If you cannot reach us, Cindy Stone, Director of Operations for OPP will also be helping with coordination and communication.
Gigi:  gigi.graves@ourpalsplace.org
Russ: russell.boles@ourpalsplace.org
Cindy: cindy.stone@ourpalsplace.org

Search Engine Optimization Tips

I just returned from beautiful Destin, Florida,  feeling relaxed and ready to blog again. Has it really been a week? Time flies!

In my Success Made Easy - Five Simple Steps newsletter article I talk about knowing who you are and what you are good at. To do what you love and make money, many times you have to take risks and go out on your own.

I did it and now many friends and family members are venturing out as well. Of course, #2 in my newsletter article says know who you are not. They are not marketers. So, who do they call? You guessed it.

And what is the most commonly asked question? "How do I set up my website so it is found by the search engines?" A twenty minute conversation ensues where I am rambling on and on while the person on the other line is writing furiously.

I am certainly not an expert, but I do know the basics. So, instead of making you write furiously, I thought I would capture my basic recommendations in this post...

1. Pick your theme song
Or, in this case, your theme keyword phrase. The best way to figure this out is to use WordTracker. Plug in every keyword and keyword phrase you can think of. WordTracker will feed you the terms people actually use, the number of searches, and the number of websites competing for these searches.

Pick a keyword phrase you will use to optimize your entire site - and then pick several you will use to optimize specific content pages.

2. Measure twice, cut once
Many companies - big brand names and small start ups - create the website first and then go back and optimize it. Many times these same companies are forced to spend even more money to redevelop their site because it was not built correctly the first time. Do your keyword research upfront, ensure your web development partner understands SEO basics, and then develop the site.

Include your keywords in the title tag, meta tags, and H1 tags. As you write your content add your keyword phrase 3-4 times. Include keyword phrase text links throughout your site pointing to other content rich pages. And, most importantly, include a link from your homepage to a site map or store directory page with every single page in your site linked by keyword rich text links. Much like the Caro Consulting site map.

3. Enter the popularity contest
All search engines feel a quality website, with quality content are linked to by many other quality websites. The most linked to or "most popular" website is given the highest rank and in most cases, listed on the first page of the search results for that relevant keyword or keyword phrase.

With good content, this happens over time. To speed things up, you can do the following:

• Contact similar websites, tell them about your great content, and ask if they would mind linking to a particular page in your website using a keyword rich text link.
• Create a blog. You will notice in my blog, every once in a while I link back to specific pages on my website. Blogs are also a great way to create valuable content, reinforce your brand, and get to know your customers and prospects on a more personal level.
• Comment on relevant blog posts. Do not promote yourself or your solution, you will be flamed. Provide valuable insight and then let your signature do the linking for you.
• Write keyword rich press releases with interesting information and post them on PRWeb. This provides more valuable content for your website, links back to your site, and ideally garners some media pick up.

As you can tell, this takes a lot of time and effort. Going back to recommendation #2, know who you are not, if you are not the type of person who wants to dig in and get this done, hire someone to do this for you. There are search engine optimization companies for every budget.

Have more questions? Give me a call, I'd be happy to ramble on and on!

Interesting Acquisitions

Just catching up on my reading this evening and noticed a couple interesting acquisitions...

Epsilon to Snap Up Bigfoot Interactive - The deal, worth $120 million, merges a database marketing giant with one of the best-known names in e-mail.

LinkShare to be Acquired by Japanese Portal - Rakuten will pay $425 million in cash for the affiliate marketing player.

Hurricane Katrina

All I can say is the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is surreal. It is a movie played out in real life - something no one could ever imagine would happen.

A friend's parents have lost their home. Another friend is working on rebuilding the communication infrastructure, but has to drive with people who own guns so he is protected. My mother, the director of the Dutchess County SPCA in Poughkeepsie, NY is even feeling the effects - making as much room as she can for lost and abandoned animals.

And yet there is hope. The Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association board met last night to discuss how we can support the recovery efforts. During this discussion I learned of one member who is supporting a lonely woman evacuated to a hotel in north metro Atlanta. Another is taking in three abandoned dogs. Another volunteers at a local Red Cross and is looking to bring a family into his home. Wade over at ThinkMonster is working diligently with CNN to complete Katrina Survivor Search, a tool for searching for lost people.

The outpouring of support and caring is inspirational. There is so much devastation, it cannot end when the media decides to stop covering it. All the organizations will require support for many, many months to come. We cannot just give once, we need to give and give again. At our meeting we unanimously decided to change AiMA Idols from a networking event to a fund raiser. Yes, it is at the end of the month. Yes, many of us will have already given plenty of money and support. It's not enough. We need to continue giving.

Stay tuned for more information. As we work out the details, I'll be sure to spread the word.