Jonathan's Web Marketing Blog

The other night as I was leaving the grocery store on my way home, I passed by a woman who was just standing in the middle of entry way. I looked to see what she was doing and she was just standing there reading a book of some sort. I caught a glimpse and it looked like it was a how-to book about how to shop at a grocery store. I saw a diagram with a shopping cart and step-by-step instructions with arrows pointing into the cart. I thought that was really bizarre, but I suppose she might have had some special needs or perhaps it was a book on how to shop while you're on a diet (Step 1: Put the carrots in the cart. Step 2: Put the candy bars back on the shelf).

Anyway, it got me thinking about my previous post below. I frequently hear from doctors and lawyers that the problem they encounter while looking for a new website or while trying to find a web marketing company that can actually deliver results is that they just don't know how to shop for website marketing services. "I don't know what questions to ask," they sometimes say.

I completely understand, and that's why I try to equip them as best I can.

The first step is often the most challenging: What do I need? What should my goals even be? This is the most difficult step because the answer depends on your situation. Probably the most unbiased way to determine this is to ask colleagues who are in non-competing areas, but who are also in similar situations, what they're doing that's working. Then you can begin your search for a provider and have some background info on what to expect. If you hear a recommendation that is vastly different than what your colleague had to say, then press the vendor for their reasoning and why it's different. At that point, if they seem to be back-peddling, or can't offer a common-sense explanation, then you probably want to move along to another vendor.

After that, refer to my previous post about Google's continued domination and some tips on how to shop for web marketing. Ultimately, you have to feel comfortable with the person who you're speaking with as much or more than you are with the technology that they're selling and be sure that you have a plan for what to do if things don't work out as planned (I.E. don't sign up for a new website where the vendor actually retains ownership because if things go sour, you're back to square one).

At Page 1, we're glad to approach each prospective client as a consultant more than a sales person. We know that we're not for everyone.

We have a "cheat sheet" available free of charge and commitment to help you in your search for the web marketing company that is right for you. It's simply called, "Questions to Ask When Shopping for a Web Marketing Company." Contact me today and I'll email a copy to you.

Google has been in the lead of the race for search dominance for some time and the disparity between the top 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN respectively) has continued to widen, but recent comScore numbers have shown a comparatively large jump in Google usage. Google now gets 58.5% of all the searches done on the web. That's a gain of 1.5% from September to October. Both Yahoo and MSN actually lost a small amount of usage in the month of October.

What does this mean for you? Obviously, Google needs to be a priority in your web marketing, but it also means that you have to be smart about how you go about marketing for Google listings.

Inefficient web marketing strategies can waste valuable time and money. Of course, the frustration that I hear all the time is something along the lines of, "I'm a little busy practicing law. How am I supposed to know who can actually do what they're saying they can do!? Everyone says they can get me to the first page."

I completely understand. The truth is, getting to the 1st-page of Google and the other search engines is not a simple process. Even with pay-per-click, you can easily over-pay or miss out on important opportunities.

Some simple tips:

1. You get what you pay for. A statement that tends to be true, but how do you avoid spending a lot on something that doesn't work? Proceed to tip #2.
2. Ask for references. Reputable web marketing firms will have happy, long-standing clients. If they can't provide you with the contact info of at least 2 or 3 clients, you should look elsewhere.
3. Do they offer a guarantee? Ask them to take on some risk. You shouldn't be on the hook for 100% of the risk in the campaign. Both parties should have skin in the game.

Your success on Google leaves too much at stake to risk not getting this right the first go-round. You need a web marketing partner that you can count on.

Bill and I are at the New Orleans AAO 2007 meeting. Here are a few photos of the meeting and of New Orleans. It has been a productive meeting. Bill spoke at VISX University. We've seen a couple of our current clients and met a few ophthalmologists that have websites that need some search engine marketing help. We're excited to get started on those projects!