Social media optimization is the art of using social web sites to promote your business or organization. If you do it right, you can attract thousands of visitors to your web site, to say nothing of the number of links. This article will explain SMO and offer some tips.

Social media optimization, sometimes called “social media marketing,” was first discussed online on August 10, 2006, by Rohit Bhargava, vice president of Interactive Marketing for Ogilvy Public Relations. He posted five rules of social media optimization; his original blog post has expanded to encompass 17 rules. Read the rest of this entry »

Ask a random person on the street in Boise what’s SEO stand for and chances are good Search Engine Optimization will not be at the top of the list.  In fact, if you ask people in Boise what Search Engine Optimization means to them, you’ll get a variety of responses.

Boise is a unique market in that businesses are not as technically savvy as say on the east coast or Silicon Valley. Due to Boise being primarily an agricultural state and the mass employers being government related Boise certainly does have some challenges when it comes to being a technology leader. However that isn’t to say that there aren’t some technologically savvy businesses within Boise as there are many. Although specific names will not be mentioned the participants at Tech Boise include many of these forward thinkers within the Boise region. The problem that we see is that companies coming from outside areas, namely Utah have many dominant Search Engine Optimization firms. Search Engine Optimization also referred to as SEO is a series of processes taken to build up positioning within a search engine.

The gap that we see with traditional businesses here in Boise is that the education within the tech space is limited and that the term SEO or Search Engine Optimization is nonexistent. In fact we have two interns that are at the top of their classes with Boise State University, and both business major who have prior to working for us never heard the term SEO. While Pay-per click advertising is known and taught, the idea that natural positioning within the search engines through Search Engine Optimization was a foreign concept. Our goal is to change that so when outside companies come into the Boise area to preach Search Engine Optimization services, Boise residents know that companies here in Boise exist that can perform their SEO services.

In helping to bridge this gap we are going to be partnering with several of our clients and other technologically proficient companies here in Boise to hold educational seminars. The basis of these seminars will be to bring business owners up-to speed on what resources are available to them. As we have built up our business here in Boise we have seen that despite having a tight knit community, we lack the education sharing that needs to take place. Search Engine Optimization is just one example of concepts not grasped by many; others include social media optimization (Web 2.0) outside of the top three including Digg, StumbleUpon, Twitter and many others. Stay tuned as we post these seminars on our website and on the social networks to bring Boise an unparalleled educational series.

A website is arguably the most important aspect of your marketing collateral in today’s environment. Most consumers in Boise and beyond start with an online search for a product or service. Once they locate a website consumers judge whether or not to buy based on its appearance. Web developers typically build websites with the idea that the website should be ‘aesthetically pleasing’ with little regard to how they will be found in the first place. The problem with these websites are that they have great visual appeal (i.e. flash) but that search engines can not read the code and understand why or how it is relevant to what you are selling. The end result, your website isn’t listed within the top results of a search query.

As a Boise based company we look at website design from the business operational point of view. A website should be aesthetically pleasing however the first step is that it should be readable within the search engines. With that in mind we build our website to have a framework that comes search engine readable from day one. That means when you add onto your website everything become targeted to a specific topic and does not just reference the home page keywords and description. Our view on website design is that your website is a business and should be run like one. If your website isn’t obtaining you customers than your website is a cost not an investment. Our model is website design with a purpose, if you don’t have conversion goals on your website are you getting the most out of your business?

In Boise you can find a number of website design companies. From simple website design with static HTML pages to full enterprise level and custom content management systems. In Boise you can find them all, but only a handful can provide truly valuable business insight as well as website design services.

In this blog post I want to take a moment to help my readers understand the difference between strategic website design and website design that simply is beautiful design.

Begin With a Goal

Whether you are a retailer or sell business-to-business in Boise, the best website begins with a solid foundation of what precisely you expect it to do for you. As a retailer it may mean an online transaction, but isn’t a visit to your physical store just as nice? As long as the cash register rings it’s all the same – right?

So let’s thin about that conversion path: Home Page > Category Page > Product Page > Shopping Cart .. ?? Store Directions.

This is a fine result provided you built it into your plan. All to often a visit to a Boise store cannot be attributed to a specific event. The merchant is completely unaware as to how their customer found them unless it is overtly stated that the sale began online. Since this is the case it is good to start with a goal and attempt to account for happy accidents in the process.

Next up: Search Engine Optimization

If you build it, they will come. This may be the case in baseball, but definitely is NOT the case on the Internet. Draft a marketing plan that includes your website and design it to allow search engines to crawl it with ease. There are many talented website design firms in Boise, but when selecting a website design company make sure you think about how you expect your website to “get found” before they begin coding.

On this site there are several articles on search engine optimization, so you should be able to get a pretty good idea of what a good website design company in Boise should do to make you successful. If you are still lost or confused, simply drop s a line for a no obligation consultation.

Lastly: Have Your Website Design Fit Your Audience.

A customer in Boise is different than a customer in Iceland. I think we can agree. So designing your website for a Boise, 35 – 50 year old mother can be challenge. Make sure you have the right people in the website design team. Do they think like your target audience? Can they write for the audience? Do they represent the demographic you are seeking to attract? These are important questions to think through – before you start!

Conclusion

Certainly we do website design; we hope to earn your business. But most of all we hope you will take our advice and think about how you approach your website design project before you select just any website design company in Boise or beyond. The engagement can be positive or a complete waste of money. We’d rather see you get what you pay for and have an excellent experience that turns searchers into visitors and visitors into buyers. This is what we do every day for our clients – we hope to do it for your company as well.

In today’s global market companies and individuals alike must adapt quickly to changing environmental needs. One of the fastest growing segments in this realm is the use of online properties to market your company and gain customers. Unfortunately, with the growth of this industry too many individuals and companies now claim to effectively market online. From the traditional ad agencies to the graphic designers and even the web developers it seems everyone now plays in this space. So how do you distinguish who can effectively deliver from those who only partially understand the online portal? The simple answer, look for a certification; this is the quickest and easiest way to see if the company in question is serious about their online marketing. Read the rest of this entry »