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There's a lot of talk from Internet marketing gurus about how to
drive more traffic to your website. Some will suggest you try to
get a higher page rank on Google by optimizing your site for
search engines. Others preach using pay-per-click advertising
like Google AdWords to attract streams of new visitors. But
these strategies are often out of reach for an independent
professional marketing his or her own services. Hiring a
professional for search engine optimization can cost thousands,
and optimizing your own site may be well beyond your technical
ability. Pay-per-click advertising is typically only worthwhile
for those with unique keywords to advertise and a high rate of
conversion from casual visitors to buyers (rare for professional
service sites).
Instead of chasing higher page ranks or paying for clicks,
consider using an entirely different approach to becoming more
visible on the web -- increase your Googleability. What this
awkward term represents is a measure of the number of different
places your name appears on the Internet. The more sites there
are that mention you and your work, the more likely it is that a
prospective client searching for a service like yours will not
only find you, but actually do business with you.When someone
types your specialty into Google or another search engine, an
ideal result would be for the searcher to see your name over and
over again as they begin to surf from site to site. While it
would be great to have your own site appear in the top ten
results, that elusive goal may not be as powerful in the long
run as your widespread presence on other sites aimed at your
target market.
Remember that in professional services marketing, the key is
that prospective clients not just be able to locate you, they
must also know, like and trust you enough to hire you. When
prospects see you mentioned in multiple places on the web, they
begin to think of you as an expert in your field.
Also, there is another aspect of Googleability to consider. It's
a common practice these days when considering the hiring of a
professional to type that person's name into a search engine and
see how many hits you get. If someone does this with your name,
the result you want them to see is a wide variety of links
leading to different sources. All these links serve as virtual
endorsements of you and your work, encouraging prospects to
trust in your abilities.But how do you get all these sites to
mention your name and link to you? The good news is that many of
the more traditional ways of promoting yourself as a
professional dovetail nicely with this new goal, so you can
achieve multiple marketing results with the same strategies.
Here are some approaches you should consider:
1. Publishing articles -- Writing articles in your area of
expertise is a well-established technique for boosting your
visibility and credibility. To increase your Googleability,
what's most important is not how many articles you write, but
how many sites publish them. You can achieve a dramatic increase
in your web presence simply by writing three good articles and
seeking out a dozen different sites that might publish each one.
To begin finding sites that will publish your work, type your
specialty plus "articles" into a search engine, e.g. "financial
planning articles" or "conflict resolution articles." When you
spot a site that features articles from many different authors
and includes a brief bio and link for each one, look for their
article submission guidelines or the editor's contact
information to submit articles of your own.
2. Public speaking -- When you speak for a conference or
association, your name and bio will typically appear on their
website. To get more mileage out of these mentions, be sure you
always include your website URL in the bio you provide, for
example: "To find out more about C.J. Hayden, visit
www.getclientsnow.com."
Since many of these program listings will only appear for a
month or two, offer these groups a free resource for their
members in connection with your talk. They may be happy to post
an article, tip sheet, or special report from you on their
website, giving you a permanent presence there.
3. Serving on boards and committees -- Type any professional
specialty into Google and some of the first listings you see
will typically be professional associations.
By becoming an officer or committee chair of an association,
you'll often receive prominent mention on their site. For
maximum exposure, choose a public contact position like program
chair or membership chair.
4. Participating in discussion lists and forums -- When people
are seeking the answer to specific questions on the web, their
search results will often include discussion lists, message
boards, and blog comments on the topic. By participating in
forums like this, you can position yourself as an expert who has
exactly the right solution for a prospect's problem.
Spend an hour or so typing into Google some typical questions
your ideal client might ask and look for sites where you see
various people posting replies. You'll get the best results
using detailed questions like "can my resume be 3 pages?" or
"how do I motivate my staff?" The forums where you see people
asking many questions you can answer are the ones you should
join. Remember to always include your full name, profession, and
URL in your posts.
The real beauty of this approach to web visibility is that it
can maximize the marketing efforts you may already have on your
agenda instead of adding more tasks to your plate. Instead of
focusing on beating the search engines, you can work on the
bigger picture of gaining more prominence for your work both on
and off the web. And that has to be good for business.
C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients NOW! Thousands of
business owners and salespeople have used her simple sales and
marketing system to double or triple their income. Get a free
copy of "Five Secrets to Finding All the Clients You'll Ever
Need" at
http://www.getclientsnow.com
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