Today I attended the “How to drive traffic to your website, and what to do when it gets there!” seminar at Wright State University and sponsored by the SBA and the Ohio Small Business Development Centers.
From the Dayton Daily News article, it is a “3-hour workshop presented commercially nationwide for $295” – which it turns out- isn’t true. “Dr. Jerry” said that that seminar was an all day seminar- but that he was going to speak faster for us so we would get the same info- just in a shorter period of time. If I made this claim, the Dayton Ad Club and the Better Business Bureau would be all over me.
There were almost 50 people in the room, and I did everything I could do not to say anything to correct some of the patently incorrect information that was given. My favorites were his explanations of how search works- mostly based on scores of keywords- which might have been fine 4 years ago- but is no where close to how page rank is established now. He claimed that links in weren’t important for building incoming traffic (my stats would say differently).
A woman asked about new entries to the web; “Do you get a better position when new” was totally wrong. He claimed that Google actually won’t index a new site for several days- and there is a “Sandbox effect” where a page will rise in rank over time. Google knows the web is changing daily- and that most of the time people are looking for the most recent information available. A perfect example of current topics rising to the top of search was within days of launch of the new Apple iPod nano, a kid blogged about how his broke- and Apple wouldn’t fix it. Not only was his site instantly a huge hit, it attracted so many other stories that a class action lawsuit was filed soon after and Apple changed its repair policy.
The list of things we cover in blogosopher would exceed the 21 page handout he provided- but, to briefly cover the most important things he didn’t talk about: Blogs, RSS, CSS, how to build online relationships, Open Source solutions, Static vs Active vs Live sites, web standards, accessibility standards, alt tags, how search is changing site design, mass e-mail management, how URL’s are largely irrelevant (his suggestion was to buy every URL variation, and extension including misspellings because they are cheap), how the web will change the way we do business even more so in the future. (more…)

How to Build a High-Traffic Web Site (or Blog)

The reason you have a site is to get your message to other people – preferably customers. The blogosopher seminar is all about getting traffic to your site- using the easiest possible way (a WordPress blog) – and working your web stats to make sure you have content that works.

Steve Pavlina has a very well written set of suggestions on how to build your content- and make no mistake- content is king. Useful, helpful, informative content can do a lot to drive traffic to your site- and while he has general tips- here are a few important ones that I think will help:

Think about the questions you get every day from your customers- and write the answers on your blog. If you are the expert in your field, you got that way by answering questions- so do that on your site. In today’s seminar I had two physicians- both of them looking for ways to build their practices. Every day the local paper has at least one health related story- and if it fits your specialty- someone will be reading it- and looking for answers on the web. Write your opinion on the story- and make sure you mention the name of the local paper- and the writer of the story in your post. This will help you localize your blog- and capitalize on the visibility of another media outlet- same goes for segments on local TV news- if it relates to your practice- write about it as soon as possible.

Another client in the seminar was a sign company. They often deal with start-up businesses that need a sign. A good way to have customers find you would be to write about your experiences with local building codes and permits and how to cut through the red tape- people will find you. Another subject would be all the permits you need to open a new business in your jurisdiction- to help the new businessperson find the answers they are looking for- and establish a relationship with your sign company.

It’s this kind of content that can help you get in front of your customers before the competition does.

Leave It Behind > Brian Bailey: Building a Better Blog

As I keep telling students in my Blogosopher seminar- the answers are out there- you just have to look for them.

Here are easy ways to get more hits for your blog- and how to build posts- and a great tip about clicking on your links after you make them (so the linked site can see your hits in their stats).

There are some really good blogs on how to blog- I’m working on making this site one of them. While I only offer the seminar in Dayton right now- I hope to soon take it out as a road show- to other locations. I’d especially like to start making presentations to Ad Clubs around the country.