The music’s not too shabby either thanks to Right Here, Right Now by FatBoy Slim, enjoy…

Every 2 years seomoz.org get together with some of the most reveered SEO experts in the world and spill the beans on what does and doesn’t matter when you’re trying for high rankings at the search engines.

This year their 2009 SEO Survey is concentrating on Google and it makes some fascinating reading to get into the minds of these uber SEO experts, even if it’s just to check you’re still on track and not wasting valuable time, money and resources on the zillion things which just flst out don’t work.

This is the kind of information you’d normally pay big bucks for and knocks the socks off most seo courses.

For me though – The 5 absolute top must haves to high rankings are to do with two things only:

• Quality of incoming links and
• Keywords in the page titles

These are both things we can all set about rectifying today, no-matter what stage you’re at.

I urge you to visit today: Search Engine Ranking Factors 2009

Whenever Google do a little ‘Dance’ it’s always been a sweaty palms time for most SEO’s, but this time big ’G'  has decided to let us all test things out and give feedback before all goes live over the next few months.

I can now breathe again as the majority of rankings have stayed pretty much the same, bar a few tweeks here and there.

The reason for the post was to let other UK citizens check out their rankings with this nifty little comparison tool which needs no technical knowledge at all.

The nice guys at Lil’engine have made a simple Google comparison tool available for you to see your new results against current listings in Google. Here’s how to make it work for you:

Goto: http://www.goobinghoo.com/

• Choose your keyword
• Check the Google Caffein checkbox
• Uncheck Bing and Yahoo
• Choose your country
• Choose Horizontal Results
• Click Search

Your UK results should look like this:

As you can see I searched on the term SEO and the results are completely different for the first page of Google, there’s going to be a few really panicked UK SEO companies out there at this stage, frantically trying to reverse engineer what’s about to happen.

The other things to notice are the number and speed of the results returned. As you can see with Google as is there are 196,000,000 results for the term SEO but in the new Caffeine version this jumps to 247,000,000. 

This tells me it’s going to be even more important in the future to have an SEO specialist on hand to help you maintain positions as the competition has grown massively with the number of indexed pages.

The reason I wanted to talk about this was to show other local businesses it’s not the quantity of visitors your website receives but the quality. I mean, how many people do you think he needs every month for his website to give him a return of at least 5oo%?

500…750…1,000…2,500?

I’ll cut to the chase, he gets about 150 visits each month from the search engines, but because Chris’s website has been made to be ’search engine friendly’, it ranks highly on Google for very targeted keywords and phrases, allowing him to convert 95% of these visitor contacts into new customers.

If you’re wasting hundreds of pounds a month on local ads, flyers and other promotions and they aren’t working, why not take another look at your website.  Wouldn’t it be better to start receiving a constant stream of high quality customers free from the search engines like Google every single day?

Here’s what chris had to say (and he gives some keywords away by accident):

If an oven cleaning company which services Ipswich can make a great profit from their website, then I’m sure your business could. Want to dominate your market?

Find out about our Ipswich SEO services

I didn’t realise just what a competitive, and dare I say, cut-throat business it is and the speed at which deals are done is pretty amazing.  Therefore, it was essential to build a site which was easy and simple to update but gave the answers to potential client questions quicky and with the minimun of fuss.

It was decided the best solution would be to use Wordpress as a content management system because of the many automated viral marketing attributes, quick non-technical learning curve, and Google’s obvious love for this system for search engine optimisation purposes.

Is it working?

Although the old website was in Google’s index, the only phrases DAP was ranking for were ones relating to their name, things like ‘dapuk’, ‘dap felixstowe’, ‘dapuk forwarding’ – and as you know, the whole purpose of search engine optimisation is to rank for words and phrases relating to your business to attract customers which don’t already know you.

Ian, the MD, made his first post on July 27th and in 10 days Google was ranking the website number 4 for the phrase ‘freight forwarder of the year’. This has already produced visitors to the site and now it’s just a matter of time before DAP start ranking for the more search for keywords relating to the freight forwarding industry. Click on the images below to enlarge.

It gets even better when you realise there’s no software to install, no site designing involved – In fact all you have to do is upload a video you made, even one from your web cam, sit back and let the technology take care of everything for you.

As you can see from the screenshot, there’s even a demo of this technology working on your site.  Just add your web address in the box at the bottom of the screen and a simulation will take place immediately.

• Directly engage your web site visitors with a Bubble Guru message and improve web based communications.
• Increase conversions and sales
• Ensure your message is both seen and heard
• Direct visitors to take action
• Increase the time visitors spend on your site

via Bubble Guru.

I found this article by Jacob Nielsen, written way back in 2007, but they’re all still highly relevant today and each can help achieve a high return on investment (ROI) for you

Summary:

Several usability findings lead directly to higher sales and increased customer loyalty. These design tactics should be your first priority when updating your website.

via 10 High-Profit Redesign Priorities (Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox).

Best of all it’s completely free…

Submission to Local Search at both Google and Yahoo are free, and may bring you more business than you expect.

Here are the URLs for the signup forms below, but before you get started you should have the following information ready at hand:

1. The first thing they will ask for is the physical location of your business

If your business is in your home, that is no problem, just use your home address. You shouldn’t, however, use a post office box, as Google doesn’t accept them.

2. The telephone number(s) of your business

If you use your home phone number for your business, be sure you have an appropriate answering machine message, and that your phone is answered in a professional manner.
It is best to get a separate telephone number for your business, even if it and your budget are very small. If you have a fax number, have that ready also.

3. A business email address

Use an email account at your business domain. If you don’t have a website for your business, buy a domain for your site from a registrar such as 1and1.co.uk who give website space with a domain purchase, or at least put up a “one page business card” website on the free space Yahoo offers to local listers. In any event, don’t use a “freebie” email service such as Hotmail or Yahoo for your business. This is considered very unprofessional.

4. Your business website address

Get a site if you honestly mean to have an internet business. Yes, a website is not strictly required in order to earn online, but to anyone with online business experience you will appear as a rank amateur without one.

5. A description of the services or products you sell

This should be a short 1 to 3 sentence summary such as:

“Your Business Name provides widgets to all widget users, with special emphasis on blue widgets for widgeteers. We also offer widget payment plans.”

Don’t make it a blatant advertisement, just an explanation of services. A little tip: In the example above I used the keywords “estate agents in ipswich” in the title.

6. Categories your business falls under

You’ll be able to choose up to 5 categories for your listing.

7. What types of payment can you accept?

Cash, credit card types, etcetera

8. Contact Name

Likely yours.

Google users will need to setup an Account. Fear not…if you have Gmail, Google Sitemaps or any other Google service requiring an email address you are already registered.

When you have your information ready, go to the Google Local Business centre.

Sign into your Google account and follow the onscreen instructions. Once you have finished, Google will telephone or send you a postcard (your choice) with a confirmation number. When you receive the pin number in the mail or by phone, you will then need to go back to your account and enter that pin number before your entry can be activated.

After that, just wait for the phone calls from new customers.

Yahoo Local Business

For Yahoo, the information is slightly easier as they use Infoserve to supply their local listings, so all you need to do is visit:

Sign up at Yahoo here: http://yahoo.infoservegroup.com/business-owner-form.html

Get going and boost your business into areas you might not have thought of trying.

Lowest Price

If you’ve got the corner marketed on budget prices, flaunt it. Tesco has made this USP famous lately, but it’s not new to them. In fact, selling for cheaper has been around as long as capitalism itself. Personally, I’m not crazy about price wars, because someone can always come along and sell for cheaper. Then it’s time for a new strategy…

Superior Quality

If it outperforms your competitor’s product or is made with higher quality materials, it’s a good bet that you could use this fact to your advantage. For example, compare Ben & Jerry’s to their competitor’s. From the packaging to the wholesome superior ingredients, the quality is evident. It may cost a little more than their competitor’s ice cream, but for their market, it sells.

Superior Service

If you offer superior service over your competitor’s, people will buy from you instead. This is especially true with certain markets that are all about service: long-distance, Internet service providers, satellite television, etc.

Exclusive Rights

My favorite! If you can legitimately claim that your product is protected by a patent or copyright, licensing agreement, etc., then you have a winner for exclusive rights. If you have a patent, even the Queen must buy it from you.

Ok, what if your product or service is no different than your competitor’s? I would disagree, because there are always differences. The trick is to turn them into a positive advantage for you. You want to put your “best foot forward.” So what can we do in this scenario?

One way is to present something that your company has devised internally that no other company does. Look, there’s a reason why computer store “A” offers to beat their competitor’s price for the same product by X%. If you look closely, the two packages are never exactly the same.

Company “B” offers a free scanner, while company “A” offers a free printer. Or some other difference. They are comparing apples to oranges. So unless you find a company with the exact same package (you won’t…they’ve seen to that), you won’t be able to cash in.

But what if you truly have the same product for sale as the guy up the road?

Unless your prospect knows the inner workings of both your and your competitor’s product, including the manufacturing process, customer service, and everything in-between, then you have a little potential creative licensing here. But you must be truthful.

For example, if I tell my readers that my product is bathed in steam to ensure purity and cleanliness (like the cans and bottles in most beer manufacturing processes), it doesn’t matter that Joe’s Beer up the road does the same thing. That fact that Joe doesn’t advertise this fact makes it a USP in your prospect’s eyes.

Want some more USP examples?

• We are the only car repair shop that will buy your car if you are not 100 percent satisfied with our work.
• Delivered in 30 minutes or it’s on us!
• No other furniture company will pay for your shipping.
• Our recipe is so secret, only three people in the world know it!

As with most ways to boost copy response, research is the key with your USP. Sometimes your USP is obvious, for example if you have a patent. Other times you must do a little legwork to discover it (or shape it to your target market).

Here’s where a little persistence and in-person selling really pays off. Let me give you an example to illustrate what I mean:

Suppose your company sells beanbag chairs for kids. So you, being the wise marketer that you are, decide to sell these beanbags in person to prospects before writing your copy. After completing twenty different pitches for your product, you discover that 75 percent of those you visited asked if the chair would eventually leak.

Since the chairs are for kids, it’s only logical that parents would be concerned about their youngster jumping on it, rolling on it, and doing all things possible to break the seam and “spill the beans.”

So when you write your copy, you make sure you address that issue: “You can rest assure that our super-strong beanbag chairs are triple-stitched for guaranteed leak-proof performance. No other company will make this guarantee about their beanbag chairs!”

Now, get to work and start creating your, soon-to-be, world famous USP.

In fact, the “too good to be true” mentality will virtually guarantee a lost sale…even if it is all true.

So what can you do to increase the perception of believability? Because after all, it’s the perception you need to address up front. But of course you also must make sure your copy is accurate and truthful.

Here are some tried and tested methods that will help

If you’re dealing with existing customers who already know you deliver as promised, emphasize that trust. Don’t leave it up to them to figure it out. Make them stop, cock their heads, and say, “Oh, yeah. The XYZ Company has never done me wrong before. I can trust them.”

Include testimonials of satisfied customers. Be sure to put full names and locations, where possible. Remember, “A.S.” is a lot less believable than “Andy Sherman, Manchester.” If you can also include a picture of the customer and/or a professional title, that’s even better.

It doesn’t matter that your testimonials aren’t from somebody famous or that your prospect doesn’t know these people personally. If you have enough compelling testimonials, and they’re believable, you’re much better off than not including them at all.

Pepper your copy with facts and research findings to support your claims. Be sure to credit all sources, even if the fact is common knowledge, because a neutral source goes a long way towards credibility.

For a direct mail letter or certain space ads where the copy is in the form of a letter from a specific individual, including a picture of that person helps. But unlike “traditional” estate agent letters and other similar ads, I’d put the picture at the end near your signature, or midway through the copy, rather than at the top where it will detract from your headline.

And…if your sales letter is from a specific individual, be sure to include his credentials to establish him as an expert in his field (relating to your product or service, of course).

If applicable, cite any awards or third-party reviews the product or service has received.

If you’ve sold a lot of products, tell them. It’s the old “10 million people can’t be wrong” adage (they can be, but your prospect will likely take your side on the matter).

Include a GREAT return policy and stand by it! This is just good business policy. Many times, offering a double refund guarantee for certain products will result in higher profits. Yes, you’ll dish out more refunds, but if you sell three times as many products as before, and only have to refund twice as much as before, it may be worth it, depending on your offer and return on investment.

Crunch the numbers and see what makes sense. More importantly, test! Make them think, “Wow, they wouldn’t be so generous with returns if they didn’t stand behind their product!”

If you can swing it, adding a celebrity endorsement will always help to establish credibility. Heck, if ‘good old honest Winston Churchill recommended your product and backs up your claims, it must be true! Ok, you get the idea, though.

When it makes sense, use 3rd party testimonials. What are 3rd party testimonials? These are testimonials which are more industry specific rather than your product specific, for example:

“Spyware, without question, is on an exponential rise over the last six months.”
Alfred Boingserver, Senior Director of Engineering, Serious Security Response (maker of big name security software)

“Simply clicking on a banner ad can install spyware.”
Martin Cheeseman, Chief Technology Officer, PC Free From Virus

Do you see what I did?

I took quotes from experts in their respective fields and turned them to my side. But…be sure to get their consent or permission from the copyright holder if there’s ever any question about copyrighted materials as your source.

Note that I also pushed an emotional hot button: fear.

It’s been proven that people will generally do more to avoid pain than to obtain pleasure. So why not use that tidbit of info to your advantage?

Reveal a flaw about your product. This helps alleviate the “too good to be true” syndrome. You reveal a flaw that isn’t really a flaw. Or reveal a flaw that is minor, just to show that you’re being “up front” about your product’s shortcomings.

Example:

“You’re probably thinking right now that this tennis racket is a miracle worker—and it is. But I must tell you that it has one little…shortcoming.

My racket takes about 2 weeks to get used to. In fact, when you first start using it, your game will actually get worse. But if you can just ride it out, you’ll see a tremendous improvement in your volleys, net play, serves, …”

-And so on.

There’s a tendency to think, with all of the ads we’re bombarded with today every advertiser is always putting his best foot forward, so to speak. And I think that line of reasoning is accurate, to a point.

But isn’t it refreshing when someone stands out from the crowd and is honest? In other words, your reader will start to subconsciously believe that you are revealing all of the flaws, even though your best foot still stands forward.

Use “lift notes.” These are a brief note or letter from a person of authority. Not necessary a celebrity, although that can add credibility, too. A person of authority is someone well recognized in their field (which is related to your product) that they are qualified to talk about.

Lift notes may be distributed as inserts, a separate page altogether, or even as part of the copy itself. As always, test!

If you are limiting the offer with a deadline “order by” date, be sure the deadline is real and does not change. Deadline dates that change every day are sure to reduce credibility.

The prospect will suspect, “if his deadline date keeps changing, he’s not telling the truth about it…I wonder what else he’s not telling the truth about.”

Avoid baseless “hype.” Enough said.