google

If you want a high level, whistle stop tour of how Google works, check this video out from Google’s very own Matt Cutts.

If you want to start getting your head around search engine optimisation, you’ll find this really quite useful.

Soon you will be able to share things on Google with their new +1 innovation – Google’s equivalent of a ‘Like’. Not only will you be able to +1 search results, but Google are encouraging its use on websites too.

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I love entertaining TV advertising. This one by Nike is a classic example of big brand advertising at its best – funny, carrying a message, memorable and so much more. But as a small business can you use brand advertising as a marketing tool?

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Search engines are probably the biggest development in the world of marketing since the first TV ads hit our screens decades ago. As marketing tools, SEO and PPC are effective not because of the technology but because they use simple marketing concepts that are just as true offline as they are online.

So what offline ideas can we (re)learn from SEO? Here are a few to start with …

1. Give them what they’re looking for – Broadly speaking SEO is about attracting the people who are already looking for what you have to offer. Google rewards the businesses that use the right terms in their web sites by sending them visitors – precisely because they’re most likely the sites the searcher was looking for in the first place. You type in your need, Google serves up the best matches for a solution.

Offline, the same is true. If I am a business owner looking for an accountant, there’s no shortage of options. But, if I’m given the choice between a generalist firm or one that specialises in working with companies from my industry, I’ll likely choose the latter. The best match (ideally) wins. The lesson – be specific, address your customer needs, and find a niche where there’s less competition.

2. Know what they want - Good SEO depends on knowing what people are searching for – the terms they use. Online that means doing research on popular keywords – offline that means understanding your customer and how they go about solving their needs.

If you find out what your potential customers are looking for – and how they are looking for it (think who is their ‘offline Google’?)– putting two and two together becomes pretty easy.

3. Build Links – From Google’s perspective, the fact that one website links to another is at some level an endorsement of that second website. Moreover, if that endorsement comes from a reliable source (i.e. a well-ranked website itself) then it carries that much more weight.

Going offline the same applies in two key ways. Firstly, a third party endorsement is always stronger than your own paid efforts. Case studies, testimonials, word-of-mouth – they all use or reflect this fact.

Secondly, by building lots of links with other relevant businesses you improve your own profile and ‘ranking’. Links into your business can come from past customers, referrers and marketing partners. In other words, one of the key focuses of your marketing efforts should be creating links from, and relationships with, reliable, trusted sources.

A good marketing strategy will include both online and offline elements. The good news is that what you learn from one almost always applies to the other as well.

What other offline marketing ideas could be inspired by SEO or other online efforts?

Mark Nagurski is a Director of The Really Practical Marketing Company, who provide marketing advice and resources to small business owners, freelancers and startups. You can read his daily marketing ideas blog at www.reallypractical.com

Just came across this video on YouTube where Reachd.com interviews Matt Cutts from Google.

There’s some really interesting stuff about WordPress, SEO, sitemaps and what small businesses can achieve for free with things like Google Maps or Google Webmaster Central. For estate agents / realtors you might like to hear about Google Base.

A great piece of advice is that if you’re adding video or audio to your site, for extra SEO cred, make sure you add a transcript! Anyway, watch the video, take some notes and enjoy.

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I‘m not often one to sing Google’s praises, but credit where credit’s due in my opinion and they do seem to be smartening up their act with the AdWords support programme. Perhaps this is in response to Microsoft adCentre’s excellent telephone support line.

Well anyway, just a short post to say well done Google. The recent problems I’ve been experiencing with My Client Centre and Analytics are being handled by a very polite and responsive lady by the name of Niamh (pronounced Neve for those non-Gaelic readers). I will let you all know how quickly the problem is resolved, but for now I’m happy in the assurances that Niamh is on the case.

Today Google announced it’s acquisition of internet video company YouTube for a massive $1.65 billion US dollars. By the time you read this, it will no longer be headline news, or possibly even news at all. But the implications or opportunities this has for your business and online marketing may yet be obvious.

What it may well mean is that your Google marketing campaigns can be stretched to include video, alongside the text and picture adverts currently available. This might help you to achieve higher click through and conversion rates depending on your ability to produce effective video ads.

But thinking further a field, how long until the internet becomes more like your TV, with content being delivered in video rather than text? You might find it hard to believe but some commentators are already predicting the death of text on the internet. Surely not you say, however if Google, the undisputed king of the internet, is thinking in this direction then maybe you should also.

I’m not saying you need to move to video tomorrow, definitely not. There’s still a need for text in your online marketing, but can you make a move to video before your competitors? Can you achieve that first mover advantage that the established bloggers and others are enjoying right now?

Now that’s a thought.