Archive for the 'Blog Consulting' Category

Success online is not a a game of chance

BlogKing March 12th, 2008

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Given that the cost per acquisition (CPA) through organic search is a fraction of most other media, Jeff Quipp had this observation.

For Clients:
If Sales/ROI = Increased Qualified Referrals + Improved Rankings
then:
Authority = Increased Qualified Referrals + Improved Rankings
then it stands to reason that:
Sales/ROI = Authority building = industry knowledge + authority building knowledge

Its really difficult (though not impossible) to have real success without the presence of both elements (industry knowledge and authority building knowledge). Accordingly, it requires a very close relationship between SEO and client, and IT WILL require client involvement. The more client willingness to participate as needed, the better.


Creative Commons License photo credit: jaycoxfilm

So, if you find yourself as a client at Stage 1 or 2 and wishing you could secure more low CPA business, consider stepping up your level of activitiy in the SEO process. In the end, content is key, and only you have the necessary knowledge. It does require your involvement though!

I always stress to clients that the more involved they get in the process, the better the results they will see. They always seem willing at the initial sales meetings, but their enthusiasm quickly fades once the project starts. Success takes persistent effort. It is not a lottery game.

Blog Philadelphia is happening next week

BlogKing July 5th, 2007

This looks to be a fun and informative event, an two day unconference on blogging and social media. And it is free. See you there.

Dilbert’s blog nightmare

BlogKing April 30th, 2007

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Fallacy #1: I can get all the SEO benefits from a blog without doing any work (creating content on a consistent basis). A hired blogger could be a solution but who know the business better than the principal. The “ghost” blogger would still need to be briefed weekly on what the executive is thinking and the best approach to engage the target market.

There still is no free lunch. Darn.

Blog, an emotional description

BlogKing January 4th, 2007

Neville Hobson clarifies an often poorly defined term: blog.

Answering the question invariably includes a description of the attributes a website must have in order for it to be a blog:

  1. Reverse chronologically-ordered content, written by the author
  2. Author’s personality/passion shining through in the posts
  3. Commenting - the means for visitors to comment on the blog itself
  4. Trackbacks (links to and from other blog posts)
  5. Content distribution by RSS

But is commenting THE essential attribute.

I’ve always maintained that a blog without the ability for visitors to leave comments isn’t really a blog, given that a blog is all about openness of unfiltered expression and conversation. It takes more than one to have a conversation.

I’ve been thinking about this after reading Dave Winer’s post yesterday in which he defines the one true characteristic of a blog:

The unedited voice of a person.

That’s all. Nothing else is a requirement.

That’s a pretty good definition. If you think about it, the attributes I mentioned above are the technical description of a website that’s a blog (and see Dave Winer’s 2003 definition). What Dave is talking about is the emotional description.

I very much like this emotional description. But what about commenting?

Well, I’d look at it this way - comments are to conversations as blogs are to individual and unfiltered expression.

In other words, to have a conversation, you must have either comments on your blog itself or a related device that connects people’s expressions, those unfiltered/unedited voices. Trackbacks, for instance, which link and connect content on the web.

But to be a blog, a website doesn’t require on-site comments, just the unedited voice of the blogger.

I’d accept that view.

I contend that the value of a blog for service professionals is the articulation of one’s passion and expertise. Having others add their two cents is good but lack of comments does not diminish the value of a blog to both the writer and reader.

The writer in the act of writing clarifies his thoughts and hones the message. The reader is educated and hopefully builds a greater sense of appreciation for the writer.

What’s not to like about that?