Archive for April, 2009

We have posted previously on Google and its algorithm at Small Business Internet Marketing. Google makes the following statement about its search engine:

Traditional search engines rely heavily on how often a word appears on a web page. We use more than 200 signals, including our patented PageRank^TM algorithm, to examine the entire link structure of the web and determine which pages are most important. We then conduct hypertext-matching analysis to determine which pages are relevant to the specific search being conducted. By combining overall importance and query-specific relevance, we’re able to put the most relevant and reliable results first.

So we need to spend some time to understand what the PageRank algorithm is. Fortunately, as Google notes, it is patented and we know what is in the patented algorithm. As an interesting aside, the “Page” refers to Google co-founder Larry Page and not a web page.

Google provides a very good description of PageRank, as you would expect as it is one of their key sales points:

PageRank Technology: PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results.

PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value.

For the mathematically minded, the original algorithm is:

Continue Reading – How Google’s PageRank fits in

Hi, Marshall and Gary here,

At Small Business Internet Marketing, when working with clients in developing their internet marketing strategies, we are required to explore both “On-page and “Off-page” search engine optimisation factors. The search engines look at these two areas when calculating how to rank your site’s individual web pages.

On-page search engine optimisation factors can best be described as the content contained on your pages that is relevant to a particular search query. The great thing about on-page SEO is that you have total control over it…. you can simply edit your page content to improve it.

Off-page SEO is not as easy to manipulate. Your web page rankings are not only determined by the page content but also by its popularity. Your page popularity is calculated by the number of other sites linking to your pages, the linking text used and also the importance and rank of those linking pages. Links from pages with a high page rank or authority sites such as .edu and .gov sites can weigh in heavily.

Today we are going to take a closer look at “On-page” search engine optimisation factors; you are unlikely to get back links and score well with off-page factors if your on-page content is not up to the mark in the first place. We’ve included our top 7 on-page SEO factors for small business.

Continue Reading – 7 Critical Onpage SEO Factors

Hi, Marshall and Gary here,

We were asked the other day about copywriting for a product that the company’s sales team was having difficulty selling. The sales team where being confronted with a host of objections and finding it difficult to even get to first base let alone get an appointment, present the product, submit a proposal and ultimately close the deal. This applied to both existing and potential new customers. The concern was – if the sales team couldn’t sell the product, what chance does the website have.

Here in lies a great example of how offline sales strategies can be applied directly to online selling.

When it all boils down – there are only 4 objections.

1. No time
2. No money (budget)
3. No interest
4. No need

It is critical that you are able to handle these initial objections upfront as they are the ones that pop up first and are not usually the real objections anyway. Quite often these objections are simply the reflex action of the prospect trying to avoid having to handle your call, being interrupted and subjected to the salesman’s monologue.

Continue Reading – Handling objections in your online sales copy