Counterpoint Matters - Latest Comments

Re: Socialnomics – Video showing Social Media Statistics

Jo Dodds — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:13:36 -0000

Thanks Mandy. It really is an awesome video, isn't it!

Re: Socialnomics – Video showing Social Media Statistics

Mandy — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:26:21 -0000

What an awesome video. Wow, it looks like someone took a lot of time and effort into developing that. I'm definitely going to post it on my new business marketing blog with a link back to your site. Thanks so much!

Re: Socialnomics – Video showing Social Media Statistics

Medway — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:15:51 -0000

Thanks for the post, amazing stats, even for someone who 'believes' they are aware of the cureent marketing trends. Awesome!

Re: 18 Reasons to Tweet about Your Business

EngageForSuccess — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:02:52 -0000

You're absolutely right, Steve! And a good spot for me. My Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn buttons have disappeared from my sidebar and I hadn't noticed. I think I must have deleted them the other day somehow when I was moving stuff around and I hadn't noticed until I saw this! So, thanks for the heads up and I will sort it tomorrow. And my Twitter ID is http://www.twitter.com/jododds

Re: 18 Reasons to Tweet about Your Business

steve — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:07:00 -0000

Ironic - why is there no follow me on Twitter link on here?

Re: Using Facebook to promote your local business

Nathaniel Deal — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:33:03 -0000

Yes, a networking tool.

Re: Using Facebook to promote your local business

Jo Dodds — Tue, 04 May 2010 12:23:19 -0000

I agree Nathanial although I would perhaps change the word 'social' to
'networking'. I think social implies that there can be no mention of
business, and plays into the 'why do I want to hear what someone had for
breakfast? I don't get social media' brigade!

Re: Using Facebook to promote your local business

Nathaniel Deal — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:16:57 -0000

Using Facebook to promote your business is very important because of the mass amount of people you can connect with. But it should be used as a social tool and not a hub for advertisements.

Re: Local Online Marketing: is your website optimized for your keywords?

Steve Griggs — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:23:30 -0000

I have spoken to some who have done no research into our business or website before phoning us, and who try to sell us optimization that we don't even need.
On talking to some they were also going to optimize our keywords in our metatags which would have little effect anyway. It became apparent that they were complete amateurs-one of the worst even intimated that he worked for Google.
Lots of cowboys in the SEO market.
One even tried to sell us SEO for our website for repairing dishwashers nationally, I was quite patient in explaining that we are a small local business in East Kent and don't even repair dishwashers.

Re: 18 Reasons to Tweet about Your Business

Steve Griggs — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:01:38 -0000

You could also announce reaching, or exceeding a sales target

Re: Local Online Marketing: is your website optimized for your keywords?

website seo optimization — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:42:55 -0000

ok i read this site and here are more seo good think.

Re: Using Facebook to promote your local business

Jo Dodds — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:44:48 -0000

Hi Simon

Thanks for your kind words; glad to help. Love the Fan Page!

Re: Using Facebook to promote your local business

Simon — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:24:19 -0000

Great post jo - in particular the FB changing url of fan page when group hits over 25 fans - i have just done it with mine http://www.singlehotandload... - dont forget to become a fan from the bottom of the homepage.

Thanks again :-)

Re: Most web designers know very little about online marketing

Jo Dodds — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:19:43 -0000

I'll go for the retiring super rich option, Andy, if that's alright!!

I think education is so important because for real quality standards to
come in I think business owners need some understanding of what makes
something good or bad quality. As I've already said, they're too quick
to blame the internet for their website not working rather realising
that it's perhaps the website SEO, lack of a call to action and poor off
page marketing that's causing the problem...and in lots of cases it's in
the interests of the web designer to allow them to carry on thinking
that!

It's interesting to predict the future and looking back on how much has
changed in the last twenty years I think you might be right Andy - life
in local online marketing will be very different!

Thanks for joining in the discussion.

Re: Most web designers know very little about online marketing

Jo Dodds — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:44:57 -0000

Hi Aaron

Thanks for contributing to this post; it is much appreciated especially when it adds something to the debate.

I agree it's not a fair comparison if that is made clear to small business owners looking to buy a website but as I said in the post, there are many owners who think that the internet doesn't work for their particular business when actually it is their website that isn't working and not all web designers make that distinction as it isn't always in their own best interests.

My comment about asking for a CMS - whilst being about making sure that the website can be updated regularly - was also about enabling small business owners to create that new content without being restricted by their budget. I know small business owners who want to add just one page to their website but don't because they have been quoted £200!

I completely agree with your last comment about business owners wanting the earth but not wanting to pay enough for it but if some of these web designers actually engaged the business owners and educated them in what is important, they may realise that they don't need the earth anyway - just a reasonably nice looking site that works for them and gets them business!

Re: Most web designers know very little about online marketing

Andy Harris — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:19:42 -0000

I suspect that in a few years we'll be able to look back at these times in which local businesses (generally) have little idea of SEO & Website strength ... and laugh. Many of us who work in this sector will have evolved into other types of work (or retired super rich of course!) and being good at online marketing will become about as normal as it is to be able to use Word or Excel. Of course, there will still be those few who don't evolve, as there are those who still won't use a computer for much nowadays.

I agree with Jo in that many small businesses are sending money down the drain (for now) purely because they don't know any better. You'd think that organisations such as banks, accountants etc., who are in regular contact with their business clients, would provide recommendations, ask for feedback on quality of services provided, and remove those who don't perform. You'd think that it would be in the interests for banks 'as a whole' to have some sort of 'quality scoring system' to allow any suppliers of services to get onto their lists (whether that be for website development, SEO, PR, or whatever) and then keep a close eye on what their business customers feed back about those suppliers. After all, if a bank lends a customer money to fund marketing expansion, and that all goes horribly wrong because of a poor supplier, then that's going to have a detrimental impact on the success of the bank's customer, which surely would be a good thing to avoid.

I think we will gradually (over many years) evolve to a system whereby 'quality standards' come into play (e.g. for web work) but until that day, all of us who actually care about how successfull businesses are, should be reaching out as much as possible to educate about the pitfalls that should be avoided when considering buying in web services.

Like you Jo, I detest those in this industry that provide a poor service and although word about "the bad ones" gets around, the more awareness out there, the better.

Re: Most web designers know very little about online marketing

aaronsavage — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:22:24 -0000

To be honest it isn't a fair comparison, because web design and digital marketing isn't the same thing at all, but I am surprised that you haven’t mentioned that there is a huge difference between SEO effectiveness on page and off page, with what happens off page enormously more important than what happens on page.

I completely take your point that local search listings are a lot easier to achieve high placement on (especially once you move out of city centre areas) but that is partly due to the reduced competition and partly due to the fact that most local business doesn't know how to approach SEO. If the need isn’t understood then the benefits and value are not appreciated.

Which brings me back to the original point. It is important to have an overall Digital Marketing Strategy of which user experience on the site should be a key element but when it comes to web design, the question isn't will it be SEO friendly, the question is whether it is built to usability and accessibility standards. Coincidentally these standards are SEO friendly. Similarly it shouldn't be a case of asking for a CMS (ten points to every local business client who actually understands what that means) but understanding that search engines like sites that grow and which are updated regularly.

Having started as a Web Designer some fifteen years ago now and began my digital marketing ten years ago, I do feel for clients who do not ask the right questions due to lack of knowledge but also feel for small scale web designers who are asked to supply the absolute earth for the equivalent of an evening shift working in a pub. I can imagine that the temptation is there to simply deliver what you have been asked for and are being under paid to deliver.

Re: Most web designers know very little about online marketing

Jo Dodds — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:08:34 -0000

Exactly, Lee, but I fear that many small businesses are sending money
down the drain. It's my mission to stop it!!

I love the design of your website but as you say if you hadn't got the
'behind the scenes' set up right it wouldn't be working for you, as it
clearly is.

Re: Most web designers know very little about online marketing

Lee Freeman — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:03:02 -0000

Really interesting read Jo!

I spent a long time looking for the right webdesigners for my new local online directory website www.KentBusinessDirectory.c....

I was really surprised that i knew more about online marketing than half of the so called specialists that i approached!

Although the design of the site needs to be interesting and maybe even memorable...if the sites set up in such a way that even Google cant find it - then its money down the drain!

Lee

Re: Local Online Marketing: is your website optimized for your keywords?

Jo Dodds — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:26:40 -0000

Again, a great contribution - thanks Andy. More SEO posts to follow!

Re: Local Online Marketing: is your website optimized for your keywords?

custwin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:58:56 -0000

Totally agree with Rob Here. The amount of times I've heard "we get discounts from Google", "we're in with Google - they're our mates", and other such comments, it beggars belief. And of course, there are those sharks who pretend they ARE Google.

Education is the answer here, which is why this post is so useful. People in business need to be educated that there is a certain process to go through when wanting to get SEO services and that process has to start with personal recommendations - the more we drip feed that message into the minds of people, the fewer casualties there will be.

I recently took on a client that had searched for SEO services online, went with a company that was highly prominent in Google, and still got their fingers burnt to the tune of £thousands so even those SEO people who get themselves up high in Google don't necessarily deliver the goods, which is why recommendations are so important. A few weeks later, they're now back on track - that client came through personal recommendation but it was still challenging to gain the client because they still had burnt fingers and distrusted the sector. Unfortunately, the amateurs in this game are tarnishing the reputation of everyone and it's getting to the point where estate agents appear to be more trustworthy!

Getting people we know signed up to blog postings and encouraging them to read them, will gradually help businesses to make the right decisions and over time, hammer those nails in the coffins of those less desirable people in our industry.

Re: Local Online Marketing: is your website optimized for your keywords?

Jo Dodds — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:07:39 -0000

Thanks Rob. You've added some really useful comments especially about using referrals to find SEO services - much more reliable!

Re: Local Online Marketing: is your website optimized for your keywords?

Rob Wilson (R-Plus) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:40:58 -0000

The cold calling and automated emailing of my clients from SEO (search engine optimisation) companies seems to be growing. It is all too easy for small businesses to be sucked in to various plans and promotion schemes. Sorting out who is the real thing is not easy.

If you are looking for SEO services I would go for personal referral from someone who has got results from the services of company rather than accepting cold calls or unsolicited emails.

Some of the scams I have come across from clients asking advice have included - Companies using temporary google paid advertising to show how good they are at SEO, companies whose main SEO effort on your site is to promote their business or other clients of theirs. Beware and take advice or as you point out Jo you can do some much yourself with a little knowledge and realistic expectations.

Re: Local Online Marketing – promote your URL any which way you can

Jo Dodds — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:09:06 -0000

Definitely and that is why local businesses need to promote their url offline as well as online.

Re: Local Online Marketing – promote your URL any which way you can

jeffpaultv — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:20:17 -0000

Home based business and internet promoted by Jeff Paul marketing are running the grass-root level micro economics. Some times I feel it’s a blessing.