Small business websites not only needs to be SEO “Search Engine Optimized” , but it also needs to be SEO “Social Energy Optimized“ to be market effective. They need to utilize social networks and an effective social marketing strategy to generate traffic. Which leads me to the question. Is your small business website socially unacceptable?
So many static web 1.0 websites simply act as internet yellow page ad for their small business. They have a homepage, about us page, contact us page and then a few pages dealing with the products and or services that they market. The site sits there lonely, waiting to be found or stumbled upon by a search, but in many cases is listed on page 14 with little hope of ever being found on a consistent or meaningful basis.
When I discuss with small business owners about their website, SEO and social marketing, I always ask:
- What they are looking to accomplish from their web presence? (leads, sales, share information, etc)
- Review their current site with them and have them explain it to me as they see it. What do they like and what do they not like?
- When was it last updated?
- What are they currently doing to achieve question #1
The number one answer to question #4 is that the designer used meta tags in the html so that they were search engine optimized, but it is not working and they feel that they wasted a lot of money. It is frustrating for them, because is some cases they spent $10,000 on a website three or four years ago, and have not touched it since.
I tell them that if they want a web presence that will create traffic, be found by the search engines then they are going to have to make their site socially acceptable and active, not static.
What Does Socially Acceptable Mean for Your Small Business?
To be competitive in this ever evolving internet driven world you need to effectively turn as much of your site traffic into connections and customers. To accomplish this you need to be able to interact with your site visitor, capture their contact information and begin to communicate with them in an effort to make them a connection and customer.
Just setting up a static advertisement site about your company, with a few meta keywords attached to the code will not generate traffic. Search engines like Google, focus less attention in their complicated algorithms on meta tags and now put authority on the actual keywords found in your content by their spiders, how often your content is updated, the link energy you have with other sites and the traffic your site is generating when it is found in a search.
The Five Fundamentals of a Socially Acceptable Site!
There are five fundamentals that every small business must follow in order to develop a socially acceptable site and full take advantage of not only how search engines find and rank sites but also open your site up to social marketing and social network integration. It does not have to take hours or work each week or thousands of dollars. What it takes is a goal for your site, an effective plan and consistency. The Five Fundamentals are:
- Content based blog or static site/blog combination as your core site
- A plan to update core site with keyword rich content on a regular basis that target your core prospect/customer
- The ability to capture the contact information (registration form) of your visitor to identify and establish a dialogue.
- An active presence and linkage on at least three social networking sites that can help you drive traffic to your core site
- System to communicate and interact with your connections once captured. (email, newsletter, etc)
How You Can Become Socially Acceptable
To learn more about how you can make your small business internet Socially Acceptable and expand your web presence, I have created a video you can watch…. Watch Video
I have also created a comprehensive online course and social marketing resource program that will establish an effective Social Marketing Presence for you or your small business:
Social Marketing Essentials
Establishing An Effective Social Presence For You and Your Business
To get more great ideas and information about the course (just click above on title).
You can always visit the Bssential Small Business Solutions website at http://www.bssentials.com or follow us on Twitter @SmBizSolutions
As always, I encourage your feedback and ideas….
Bill Sifflard - With over thirty years experience as an entrepreneur, an executive, an author and as a business consultant, Bill Sifflard has a long history of experience bringing innovation, efficiency and success to large and small businesses adapting to evolving markets.
As a premiere Sales and Marketing Innovator, Bill is changing how business integrates traditional marketing strategy with the power and potential of the internet utilizing his "Velocity for Success" matrix.
To learn more about Bill and Bssential Small Business Solutions you can visit http://www.bssentials.com and register for his Free eNewsletter or follow all of his blog posts by clicking on the RSS feed button above. 
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