Recently someone studying spirituality and money emailed me that she had found us through Google and was so moved by what she found here that she bought our Heart of Money home study course.
There are many nice and wonderful things to say here, including how humbled I am when this kind of connection happens. But we’re talking about search engines, Google, and your business, so let’s focus there.
It’s a wonderful thing, eh? Someone you’ve never met, who you’ve never reached out to or put much effort into finding, finds you through their own efforts using a search engine. Voilá! You have a new client.
The magic that makes this happen more often and more dependably comes with something called “Search Engine Optimization” or “SEO” for short. You, or someone you hire, takes the time and energy to optimize the language and coding on your website so you pop up in other people’s search results. They click through, fall in love, and become your client without any other effort on your part. Pretty nifty.
When you have a new business, or an older business that until recently has done well with word-of-mouth and referrals newly visible on the web, the lure of SEO can be strong, appear so magical.
You don’t have to get in anyone’s face.
You don’t have to do awkward networking meetings.
You don’t have to be perfect.
It’s all done through a machine-like intermediary.
Although it may sound good, I have to admit, I don’t recommend folks spend much money on SEO early in their business.
(Short break while all the SEO experts whip me with wet spaghetti strands.)
Am I Trashing SEO?
No. I’m not. I’m just saying it has a time and a place. Putting a lot of effort and money into SEO early on in your micro-business is not necessarily the best option.
I tend to work at the opposite end of the spectrum. People have been telling me for years to get on the SEO bandwagon, and I’ve “been meaning” to get to it for that long. I do know folks who have invested in SEO and seen results. It can work like the dickens.
It can also cost like the dickens.
I guess I haven’t really pursued it because we’re overwhelmed, waiting for the Tooth Fairy to do our SEO for us, doing pretty well with what we’re doing. And what has been working so well, Mr. Heart of Business, you ask?
The Generosity of Happy Customers and Colleagues
When someone comes through a Google search, all she has to make a decision about your offers is her trust in Google providing a relevant link and the strength of your written words. Sometimes that can work magic, if the moment is right for her.
But when someone comes as a referral, it carries so much more weight. Having someone she trusts lead her to your website can allow her to look beyond the occasional weak or unclear spot in your writing. Someone who loves her telling her to go to the site and sign up for the newsletter” may just cause her to follow that advice, without looking around too much.
This gives you some room to focus your attention on making sure your website is warm, welcoming, and clear. You can write with the idea that many of the people will come to you because someone told them directly, or because they clicked through on a link from someone they like, respect, or otherwise trust.
Which Is Easier For You?
If a good friend of mine showed up with someone I should meet, I’d have a much easier time speaking to them both than if a stranger showed alone on my doorstep. I can do both, but the first situation seems a little more natural, doesn’t it?
I’m more relaxed, and so are my visitors. It makes for a much pleasanter conversation.
Which Is Exactly What Happens For Us
When someone joins our email list, we ask them to give us one additional piece of information beyond their name and email. We ask them: “How did you hear about us?” By and large, people tell us.
Here are how ten randomly picked subscribers found us recently:
How: [name] (Meaning they wrote in someone’s name, but we don’t want to publish that name without permission.)
How: Friend referred me
How: a colleague
How: Biznik (A business networking site we participate on.)
How: My partner
How: My friend [name] is using your workbook and shared the link via Google Wave
How: I received the link from a friend who bought your book
How: I don’t remember! Sorry!
How: [link to a blog post] (There was an actual link. Strangely, the link didn’t mention us at all, but we were on that person’s list of blogs they read, aka the blogroll on the sidebar.)
How: Through Havi’s web site (www.thefluentself.com)
Ten subscribers on this particular day and not a single one came through a search engine. Of course, if we had great SEO, maybe we would’ve had 15 or 20 subscribers, or even more. And that’s why we should do SEO. (Okay! Okay! We’ll do SEO! In 2010…)
But it’s also why it’s not strictly necessary. If we never did SEO, we would do just fine. And you’ll be just fine, too.
What to Do Instead of SEO
As I mentioned above, instead of SEO, focus on making your website warm, welcoming and clear. And the way to do that is to focus on how you’re using your words, both in what you’re saying and how you’re saying it.
Make the conversation with your web visitor comfortable. To do that, you can adopt a few methods that good conversationalists use. And by “good” I mean people enjoy speaking with them.
• They listen.
• They ask questions.
• When they do tell stories, they make sure they are relevant to who is there.
• They notice people’s moods and respond to them.
Entire forests have been felled (oh, the trees!) to print all that’s been written about healthy communication. But let me hit some key points.
Keys to Organic Referrals
- Listen to your clients.
When your clients and customers tell you about their pain or struggle, listen. Notice the language they use. Do they say, “I need to transform this block in my relationship?” Or do they say, “I just wish we could put this constant, gut-wrenching arguing behind us?”
Often our clients say things, offer insight into how they perceive their situations, that have a lot of vitality and oomph to them, things that hit you in the kishkes. Our challenge as business owners is to use what they say in our marketing copy without taking all the oomph out.
Make note of the phrases they use that just pow, hit you in the oompher. Then use that language exactly, or nearly exactly, on your website.
- Talk about yourself. But not too much.
If you feel the desire to describe yourself and what you do, think twice. Ask, “Do I just need to write, or would someone visiting the website sincerely want to know this about me, or what I do, right now?”
You may notice that you can get away with saying a lot less than you think you need to. I learned this recently when my nine year-old niece asked a question about God and the devil. I had to bite my tongue to keep from going off on a long esoteric explanation. Instead just answer the question she asked.
Nine year-olds, as well as potential clients, get bored easily when there’s a lot of information that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with what they are asking. Sure, you may see the relevance. But if they don’t, or if it takes more than a few moments to make that relevance clear, they’ll get bored and wander off to go play archeological dig in the backyard with the kids from next door.
- Answer a lot of client questions. A lot of them.
Our website is full of answers to little questions our clients ask. Not questions about us, but questions about the problems we help to solve. When a client likes an answer, they sometimes send people they know who are asking the same question.
And don’t just answer the question, be a little daring. Have strong opinions like, new businesses shouldn’t spend money on SEO. Show your personality by writing sentences with phrases like “hit you in the oompher.” Make your writing more than helpful, make it memorable and personal.
The Funny Thing That Happens
As you do these three things–using your client’s expressions of the problems you help them with, talking about yourself and your services only as they relate to what people want to know, and answering lots of questions–not only do you get referrals, but you also get Google juice in the form of organic Search Engine Optimization.
That’s right. Unadulterated content has its own kind of clout with search engines. Organic Google juice squeezes out of all the authentic, client-centered, heart-centered website copy you write helping you rise up higher on search results.
Here’s how some other subscribers found us:
How: googling
How: search engine
How: searching for “mastermind”
How: search for “money and heart”
How: internet search about money and spirituality
How: I searched for home page solutions
How: Through Internet
If you are new or struggling as a self-employed person or have a super-small business, please don’t spend gobs of money you don’t have on SEO. By writing to and about the folks you’re helping, you’ll get some of that good stuff anyway.
When you have more clients and are making more money, you can procrastinate hiring an SEO person like we have. Except don’t do the procrastination part.
p.s. Free call today: You’ve Got One Year, Go!
It’s no secret that the early-bird deadline for Opening the Moneyflow year-long course is coming up. Over half the spots are definitely taken, and we have a whole group of eager-beavers with their applications in that we’re still working through. If everyone who applied ends up joining, 45 out of 60 seats will be gone.
But “everybody else is doing it” is not a good reason to jump in. That’s why I’m doing a no-cost call on “You’ve Got One Year: Go!” I intend to outline why we’ve put together our year-long program as we have.
Yes, it’s to help you consider taking the year-long course. But it’s also to help you think through how to structure this next year so your business has a good chance of moving toward momentum, even if you don’t spend the year with us.
The no-cost teleclass is going to be mostly content, with a small chunk of time devoted to pitching the program. If you think you can gain some benefit from listening, please feel free to register for the call even if you have zero intention of joining us for the year.
Check out the details and sign up.
And while you’re at it, check out the Opening the Moneyflow program itself, if you’re so inclined.
16 Responses
As usual, this is fabulous advice. I agree about SEO. It can work and has it’s place. But there’s something wonderful about clients finding us through friends/referrals who bring with them the comfort of that established trust.
It’s so true, Michelle. There is some speculation that social media sites are replacing a certain amount of search engine traffic- where folks will go to Twitter to ask certain questions rather than Google, and see what their networks tell them.
Hmm. ::roots around for some spaghetti noodles::
I’m not an “SEO expert” but I have done quite well with SEO optimization on some of my sites. The basic, lazy, set-it-and-forget it kind.
While I wouldn’t advocate spending “a ton” of money on SEO, I would *definitely* recommend doing a basic SEO treatment of your site when you first start, if you want to get traffic through search engines. In fact, when you start is the best time to do it.
The reason is this: search engines place a lot of weight on longevity. The longer the site has been around, the better it will rank usually.
And SEO can very much be “set and forget” marketing. So there is a lot of reason to spend a few hundred on it at the beginning, just for some basic SEO. And to spend some time educating yourself on the basics of link building and putting keywords in incoming links, so you can add to your SEO efforts over time on your own.
If you do this groundwork at the beginning, once your site has been around for a few years you can have a spot in the rankings that’s pretty unshakeable and you don’t have to do much to maintain it. That’s been my experience anyway.
It also depends on your target market, they may be the kind of foks (like me), who nearly always do a seach if I’m looking for something. I am always searching online for service providers and finding a web presence is often lacking. You may not know who is not finding you because you aren’t optimized. And it will only increase over time as more of the world gets on the web.
My background is in web design and hosting, and I get about half of my referrals to my web hosting business through search engines. I also have a website with AdSense that makes over $1000/month just through search engine traffic–because I optimized well and early on in the life of the website. Over 10 years, I have done minimal tweaking to the SEO and my terms still work great.
When I was doing design, I had a lot of clients who I just did the minimum of optimization for, and going from no optimization to some netted them dramatically more business.
The basics of SEO are not hard to learn, and if you are paying “a ton” of money you are probably getting ripped off anyway, to be honest. Basic SEO is not rocket science, and the difference between completly not-optimized and basically-optimized can be HUGE in terms of results. After that, there is definitely a law of diminishing returns at play.
So no, don’t spend a ton of money. But some, for sure. For your long term strategy. IMHO.
The biggest thing I recommend is localizing it. Here’s an example. If you type in “voice lessons portland oregon” into Google, one of my old clients comes in at #3 or 4. Just because I added “portland oregon” to the title tag on her homepage when I made the site, several years ago. I don’t think anyone has touched the SEO since. If the title was “voice lessons”, it’s going to be very hard to compete against an entire world teaching voice, plus, you only want local people anyway. So if you are looking for a local audience, like massage therapists etc, SEO optimization where you focus on *your city + what you do* in can make a big difference.
SEO is only expensive because people don’t know what it is and it’s all mysterious so they figure it has to cost a lot. The actual work is more tedious than rocket science, and it has a lot to do with choosing the right keywords–where there is not too much competition, but enough people search on it that you can get traffic.
If you are shopping for SEO, look for someone who will do the following:
1. Figure out the best keywords for you based on what you are doing and the competitive landscape
2. Optimize your title and H1 tags, and the links inside you site to target those keywords
3. Give you some basic education on how to get incoming links and what to ask for as far as wording
Don’t pay for an SEO person to be “on retainer” – it’s really not necessary if you are a microbusiness. And if they want to do a lot of “reports” and “scanning of your site” and sending you “ranking updates”, try to skip that. It’s kind of just busywork so they can make a living and most are computer generated and you can do the same thing yourself or use some of the free tools out there. If you can just pay for 3-4 hours of a real person brainstorming and analyzing the right keywords for you, tweaking your site and teaching you some basics, that will be money much better spent.
Now I will say I’ve never tried to optimize my blogs, I tend to market them differently, more through social media and interpersonal connections like you are saying Mark. So of course it always depends on who your target is, and where they are looking for you.
.-= Emma McCreary
I hear ya, Emma- good points, absolutely. There is a certain minimal amount of SEO that a webdesigner should be able to build into the design of the site that will help.
I’m kinda hoping that when you pick a webdesigner that some or all of that will just be included in the design package, or is a minimal add-on..
I was thinking of big guns SEO efforts, where there is maintenance and work involved. I’ve been quoted prices as high as $5000 to do serious SEO work, and I’d hate to think of a small microbusiness spending that kind of money.
Thanks for adding in this particular point- it’s important.
Bang on bro!
Especially early on focus s/b on RELATIONSHIP not technology.
And, I too need to SEO!
Maybe we could do it together somehow ?
Cheers, Lyle
.-= Lyle T. Lachmuth – The Unsticking Coach
Right on, Lyle. And I appreciate the spirit of collaboration. Although I have to admit having trouble imagining how to collaborate on SEO- it seems pretty individual to each site, based on keywords, target market, and such.
I’ve said this before but I think this really depends on the business you are in. For a biz like yours (or mine), SEO is probably less important. Most of the search engine traffic I get comes from people searching for my name.
But if you are running a B&B, invest in SEO. Even folks like my dad who don’t even own a computer will use the computer in the public library to search for a B&B in a place they want to visit.
Which basically means that there isn’t one rule that works for everyone. You need to think about what kind of business you are running, what kind of people you want to attract, and how those particular people are most likely to find you.
Which is just another twist on what you are saying.
BTW, if you are busy, doing SEO is probably not a priority for 2010.
.-= JoVE
It’s so true, JoVE. It does depend on the business.
You’re already doing the most important part of SEO, which is offering great content that’s very searchable. Lots of good keywords related to what your audience wants. Answers to questions. Links to resources.
You’re a SEO Ninja and you just didn’t know it.
.-= Dick Carlson
That’s how ninjas work, sneaky sneaky.
I actually have sent several people (including the one about google wave!) to you, Havi, and Hiro, that had never even thought of searching for relevant information that you all have, keywords, etc. The organic referrals really do have a lot of power; but SEO can be a boost.
I love the concept of not being obsessed with SEO. A lot of my friends who are in the crafting businesses seem to worry overly much about it and think that’s the only reason they aren’t getting sales/visits, etc. Since it is a small part of a greater whole, it’s refreshing to see someone encouraging the REST of the picture.
Thank you!
Yah! I’ve always said that marketing is really about supporting word-of-mouth. And building relationships is exactly that. SEO can be a boost, and we need to stop ignoring it ourselves at whatever would be a good idea for us to do, but building relationships is where it’s at.
You are so welcome- thanks for coming by. And thanks for all of those referrals!
Too many people put power into Google’s hands. It’s better to have many funnels of way people come to your site. I do SEO, but very minimally. I’m really trying to build friendships so people link back to me and of course me to them.
It’s nice to get a Google spike, but we can’t depend on it. One day Google will change the algorithm and leave me out in the cold. I plan on having plenty of friend’s to keep me afloat.
Very well thought out article.
.-= Karl Staib – Work Happy Now
Yah, Karl! No way I’m putting that much power into Google’s hands. If Google put us out in the cold, the vast majority of our traffic would still keep coming. It’s such a relief to not have eggs all in one basket.
About half or more of my income comes through Google in one way or another – maybe more. Not through spikes, but through solid, steady traffic, for over 10 years.
I think of it as a partnership. Sure, they could change their algorithm. But ultimately their goal is to get rid of spammers, not good sites. They need to list good sites at the top, otherwise their product (search) would be worthless to their customers. So it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. Google needs us as much as we need them.
So as long as you have a good site and are using solid SEO methods that build up over time and no funny stuff, Google is on your side.
.-= Emma McCreary
For me, it depends on the competitiveness of your industry, and how much effort your willing to spend on it. Even though I love SEO, if you are a start-up in the car insurance industry I would suggest staying clear of SEO., purely because you would be better investing your money elsewhere.