Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
My Reputation: What to do with a Bad Review!
Okay, you went and Googled your name or small business and somewhere along the line something bad comes up, staring at you in white and blue. If you are in business, you are bound to come across an irate customer at one time or another. Your best bet is try and resolve the issue before it gets to a bad review.
But if the horse has already left the barn, here is a list of steps that can help you out.
If the name you Googled does not have much traffic, there are a couple of things you can do for free to push the information down off the first page.
Before you even start, do not respond to the review! Responding to the complaints, particularly on certain complaint-driven websites, will simply serve to enhance the longevity of the complaint and increase rankings with every new entry, driving the issue even further up on the SERPS (Search Engine Result Pages).
Another word of advice, if you notice a bad comment or review, then get an email from a reputation management firm offering to get it taken down, Do not respond! To be dead honest with you, there are companies who make a lot of money performing what essentially amounts to extortion. Steer clear of these people (I use the term loosely) at all cost.
First step: Social Accounts
Start several social accounts with the name in question. This includes Facebook, Google+, Reddit, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIN, etc.
Start being active with these accounts and adding friends as quickly as possible. Engage your audience with posts in these accounts. Post pictures with the name in question in your title and alt. tags
Second Step: Webpage
Grab a URL with the name in question, and build a web page for it. Connect a blog so you can blog from the page. Make sure you get the plug-in that allows your readers to easily share the blog. Write something interesting that relates to your audience. Make sure you list the name in question in your title tags and labels.
Third Step: Reviews
Talk to your loyal customers or friends and have them post factual information through such review services as Yelp, CitySearch, etc. Make sure they list the name in question in the headline of the review. Offer free products or services in return for the favorable review.
Fourth Step: Bloggers
If you have any customers or friends that have a blog, ask them to give you a mention. Request they put the name in question in the title tag. Have them write good stuff about the name in question. Offer free products or services for the mention.
If you have problems of a more serious nature, you may want to hire a professional. There are several involved strategies that can significantly improve your profile on the web. At www.redtruckseo.com, we will provide a free, confidential estimate and work with you in an honest and compassionate manner.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Viral Marketing: Dirty Secrets Revealed!
Viral Marketing: Dirty Secrets
Revealed!
As a
business owner, you have no doubt wanted to sell more. You do that by getting in front of more
people. Then something like www.onedollarshaveclub.com comes out with the guy walking through a warehouse
and boom, the guy is a millionaire.
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
There is
actually a method to the madness, or genius, depending on how you want to look
at it.
All successful viral marketing
campaigns have a formula. I guess its
kind of like what science is based on, this reaction gets this result. Here are the dirty secrets of viral
marketing.
The formula
all starts with an idea.
1.
Know what you target market is
interested in. If you are selling chewing tobacco,
your target market probably likes auto racing and baseball. I’m from Ohio, how can you
not like auto racing and baseball? Guide an idea through a commonality that
exists within your target market.
2.
Give away free stuff. The word “free” attracts everybody’s attention. If you stand with brown bags of crap and put
up a sign that says “free crap”, I bet people stop. On your website, this can be an e-book, a
tool, a video… everybody has a bag of crap they can give away free.
3.
Make it easy to pass on.
Like a cold, make it easy to share.
Put the link to your bag of crap at the bottom of all messages, posts,
blogs, etc. Make it easy to forward or
copy and paste. Functionality is a key
component in facilitating peer to peer transactions.
4.
Remember people’s primary motivations
for wanting to share something. We all want to be
thought we are cool, loved, respected, funny, sexy, smart, or even good in
bed. Tailor your content to align with
motivations to share.
5.
Use the resources of others.
This point reminds me of the book on Musashi. The king was trying to defend his castle and
ran out of arrows. He quickly made a
bunch of straw men dressed as soldiers and lowered them down on ropes. The enemy, thinking they were getting
attacked, quickly starting shooting the soldiers. The king then drew them back up and used the
arrows. Think news release services,
social pages, blogs, guest blogs, etc.
In closing, I truly appreciate your time in reading this
blog. If you need online digital marketing
services for your business, give us a call at www.redtruckseo.com
Chris Seminatore
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