Jonathan's Web Marketing Blog

Practicing what I preach, just in case you'd rather read it than watch my video about video's role in Internet marketing, I thought I would write a blog entry about the same topic.

There is currently a big push from several companies for professionals to implement video as a major part (and in terms of money, certainly the biggest part) of their web marketing strategy. You'll hear terms like video search engine optimization and the like. There just really isn't any such thing. It's all web marketing. The bottom line is that if you don't have a website and/or your site isn't showing up on the search engines, then you have bigger fish to fry.

Just adding a video to your site will not get you more business from the web. Here's why:

Take a look at Google's press release about their latest iteration of Google that they're calling, "Universal Search." Universal Search incorporates a variety of media into its evaluation of WHAT TO LIST for ALL searches. This means that when figuring out what to display, it will weigh pages of websites along with videos and images. Google's example: Darth Vader. Do a search for Darth Vader on Google, and you'll see universal search at work. It's not a lot different from what we're used to seeing - that's crucial. Does this look like the web reinvented? No. The thing that people are getting excited about is half-way down the page, a listing from YouTube that features a video about Vader. This isn't earth-shattering. You can get your video listed on YouTube for free. You sign up for an account and upload the video. Google owns YouTube, so they can easily index YouTube's pages. Many people will tell you that getting a listing on these results from YouTube will make you rich.

Here's the problem with relying solely on video.

Let's say that you're interested in LASIK, and that you have the time to watch a video. Here's a video that I picked out from YouTube when I did a search for LASIK. Go ahead and check out the video. This page will stay open. Pause the video and look what you see. Do you see a phone number there? An address? A link to Dr. Maloney's website? None of that. What you do see are links to other people's videos. There's a nice big banner advertisement. There's a link to Dr. Maloney's profile, but click on that. There again, there's no link to his website (although I believe that he could add one if he wanted to). Even if there was a link, you would have had to click three times already, just to get to your home page!?

The focus of this page is to watch more videos. It's not constructed to convert visitors into emails or phone calls. That's because YouTube and Google Video aren't built for marketing. They're built primarily for entertainment. So, is entertaining the masses important to you at this point in time, or do you have higher priorities?

"I already rock on the Internet." - You

If you already have a website and it's showing up well for the major keyword searches in your industry, then by all means, we can help you put a video on your site, but let's not begin backwards. If you jump into video before you're ready, you'll only be disappointed and lose valuable time and money.

I'll leave you with a greeting from another marketing company in the industry. You decide. Is this being portrayed rationally or as the latest and greatest fad or gadget?

Here's my next web marketing video journal entry about what you need to know about video where your web marketing strategy is concerned.

Here are some expectations that you should have when you contact Page 1 Solutions to find out more about our web marketing services:

1. Expect to hear back from us in a timely manner.

We know that your time is a rare commodity, so if you send us an email or call and for some reason have to leave a voicemail, we will always get back to you in a timely fashion.


2. Expect us to listen.

When you go to the doctor (or at least a good doctor), he doesn't just look you over and hand over a bottle of pills and hope that it fixes the problem. Instead, he asks you what the problem is, and examines you before he prescribes any sort of treatment. We do the same thing. We will listen and ask you questions to find out what your web marketing challenges are as well as what you've done already to try to address them. Only when we feel that we have a good handle on what your situation is, will we actually present a solution. IMPORTANT: we may not recommend our services as a solution. If you're looking for something that we don't specialize in, we'll pass you along to a trustworthy provider of that solution.


3. Expect a free consultation and website evaluation.

If you have a website already, we will gladly share our ideas with you about how to improve it, including if there are aspects about it that might make it a troublesome vehicle for SEO. We're happy to share this information with you so that you can get a taste of what your options are.


4. Expect free search engine scan reports.

When we start talking with a potential client, one of the first things that we do is to run a scan report to find out if it even makes sense for us to work together. We target phrases that we know will be valuable search engine real estate. If your site is already there, then you probably don't need our help, at least where search engine optimization is concerned.

Here's an example of what our scan summaries look like. The boxes with ones (1) in them indicate that we found the website on the first page of the search engine. We don't note whether or not your site is on subsequent pages beyond 1 because frankly, the majority of people don't dig that deep, especially if they're serious about hiring a professional like you. These 1's don't signify how many clicks that you get. Only your current web host can provide you with that information at this stage. Once we gain access to those reports or take over the website hosting, we can provide you with traffic information, but at this stage, we're just diagnosing your current search engine positioning status.




5. Expect No-Pressure, consultation throughout our relationship, including the beginning "sales" conversation.

As part of the Page 1 Solutions sales team, I can say with confidence, that we pride ourselves on being the most informative sales people in the industry. We are courteous and honest, and willing to answer all of your questions. We know that we’re not for everyone, and we know that it would be a mistake to coerce someone into working with us if we would be a less than ideal solution to their problems. We know that shopping for web marketing isn't something that you do on a regular basis, so we're glad to equip you to find the company that is best for you.


6. Expect a detailed proposal of a fair and equitable partnership.

When our discussions reach a point where you feel that you need something "on paper" that establishes an outline of our service, we will tailor a simple, but detailed proposal so that you know what you're looking at buying, and what kinds of costs are involved. There won't be any surprises or tricky wording. The proposal will outline a win/win partnership. That's the only way that we do business.


7. Expect a keyword list tailored to your practice.

As mentioned above, search engine optimization is based on keywords. We will send you a list of keywords and ask for your input on which keywords should stay, which keywords should go, and which keywords need to be added. We will only proceed when we're both comfortable with the list.


8. Expect a fair and transparent contract.

Our contracts are simple and easy to understand. We want to make sure that you are comfortable all aspects of the relationship, so we will happily review the contract with you on the phone if you wish.


9. Expect some "getting to know you" homework.

Along with our contract, we send a couple forms that help us to get to know you better. These include a questionnaire that asks about your objectives, your preferences, and other information that is unique to you. We use this questionnaire throughout the process to make sure that we're on-track to creating your website and/or position your website accurately on the search engines.


10. Expect a thorough "project launch" call.

Once we have your paperwork back, office will schedule a project launch call with you. This call will serve many purposes and is highly productive in terms of getting the project up and running. You will need to set aside about an hour of your time, and all persons on your end who will be involved in the project should be involved in this phone conference. You will meet you account manager at this meeting who will oversea all aspects of your account, from one Page 1 department to the next, so that you always have one "go-to" web person. If we're developing new content for the site, one of our writers will be in on the call and will as you several questions to further get to know you and your practice so that the content he/she develops is truly unique and accurate.


11. Expect me to be available for questions or concerns.

I don't just disappear. If you need me and want to bounce some ideas around, please don't hesitate to call.

Keywords are the basic building blocks of any web marketing strategy. They give us a bull's-eye to hit. The question is: what keywords should we target.

Here are some cosmetic dentistry examples according to the Overture Keyword Selector Tool (which polls Yahoo! for the number of searches done in previous months – Google doesn’t offer such a tool, but we can use this as an approximation.):

^ These phrases are worth targeting ^

Here are some related phrases that show no searches according to the Keyword Selector Tool, and hence would be fruitless efforts to target with search engine optimization:

Of course, there are some lesser terms that don’t get as much traffic as the “umbrella” searches like “cosmetic dentist” or even just “dentist”, but depending upon the term, traffic from these searches can be highly valuable. Here are some examples from the Keyword Selector Tool that ARE worth targeting:

Showing up for these is important because, while pound for pound they won’t drive as much traffic as the umbrella terms, they provide more qualified traffic. If you get one good case from “orlando car crash lawyer” or a patient from “orange county breast enhancement”, isn’t it worth targeting these extra terms, especially since it doesn’t cost an extra nickel (at least at Page 1)!?

So, ultimately, the answer to "Which keywords should I target?" depends on your goals tempered with a bit of industry insight and research. Target the no-brainers as well as some of the more niche keyword phrases that make sense.

There has been a lot of talk about the use of video on sites for doctors and lawyers lately, and people have asked me about how they can incorporate video into their web presence. There are a lot of methods for accomplishing this. The bigger question is whether or not you should make it a priority. I'll tackle that in an upcoming post. For now, I just wanted to show you what is possible even without investing tens of thousands of dollars.

Labels: Video Podcasts

Okay, I was noticing that my blog was being consumed by my shutter-bug tendencies, so I created a separate blog for posting photos. So, if you're looking for recent photos from the ASCRS, ASAPS or other meetings, please check out: