The movie was awesome, but this post is about a milestone we reached with our party ideas and party planning website bestypartyever.com.

As of today, 25 days since we launched the ALL new (v3) website, our 300th user just registered. The velocity of user sign-ups is increasing . I think it took over 15 days to get the first 100. While of course we are aiming for 100k users in the next few months, we’ll take the first 300 and be dang happy about it.

Takeaway:

Build it and they will come.. Um, No.

Ponder this: How are people going to find your new website? When they get there, is there enough to keep them around? Will they tell their friends about it? Are you offering the user enough as a trade for their time investment in registering and providing contact/user information? How deep are your pockets for marketing and promotion? Are people talking about your new product or service. Is it buzzworthy?

These are just a few of the many questions you should have answers for when contemplating a new website/community. We addressed many of these prior to launching the website. We already had great search engine rankings (learn about our search engine optimization services) for the v2 site which carried over and are improving. We have worked diligently to give the user some great tools and resources to make it worth their time to register. Sally did some interviews to get the word out, and we have leveraged other social networks (BPE on: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, UstreamTV, Squidoo) to bring people into the fold. And finally we gave users of bestpartyever.com this simple option of inviting their friends.

As an example I spoke with a potential client the other day about building them a new social utility, the $50k estimate for development I gave them did not seem to phase them, but the $50k in marketing/promotional budget I suggested for the first 6 months was met with silence on the other end of the phone. Wake up, this is what it takes folks. While the idea of bootstrapping a company from nothing to Internet stardom is valid, and has been done more than once, in practice the odds are not stacked in your favor.

In the future we are planning more seamless integration into other websites and services to make it even easier for our users to interact and share. Your website is not (and should not be) an island. In todays marketplace: it MUST be connected.

It has been a long few weeks with the launch and the frenetic pace of development. Sally and I are heading to Mexico for a few days, You are invited.

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We are happy to announce the launch of our new website dedicated to all things Search. As our business has grown, our SEO services have become worthy of their own website. We will be redirecting many of the SEO pages on this website over to the new website.

On the new website you will find an in depth 5 part guide on Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing techniques and best practices, as well as a few SEO case studies, and a few myths about SEO and SEM dispelled. Finally our staff will be blogging regulary on the new website regarding SEO topics.

Contact us at anytime regarding SEO services for your business.  Obu web is your partner in Arizona SEO services.

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What you are about to read is true, and that is why it is so disturbing.

First a little background. Search Engine Optimization or (SEO) is a skill that takes time and energy to master. Professional SEO’s invest a great amount of time into learning the craft, and after achieving a bit of ranking success will have a valuable service worth selling to clients.

Unfortunately, just as in web design, everyone including their slow in the head brother thinks they can do SEO and jump on the selling SEO train in hopes of making a quick buck. Below is an email I received this morning.

Gerald Gerbrone Here,

We recently started our blog here http://blog.yourseoconsulting.com and linked to your website hoping you would notice us and maybe link back. To be honest we don’t know what the fuck we are doing and are desperate god help us we arn’t even ranking for anything in msn , yahoo or google and need your help. And link would be of great help thanks again, Gerald.

Sincerely,

Gerald Gerbrone CEO
A-Built Computer Systems and Consulting
14781 Memorial Drive
Office 2464
Houston, TX
77079-5210

If it is not apparent why this is so disturbing, lets look closer.

• This is a wannabe SEO company, charging money for their services. Clearly they do not have the slightest clue as to what is going on.
• This is the kind of thing that gives the whole seo industry a bad rap. (Snake Oil)
• Visit the website: http://blog.yourseoconsulting.com Here is a short list of no’no’s that are probably keeping him from getting the rankings he so desires
  • Site is in Frames
  • Title Tag?
  • What do Digital Camera’s and Dr Suess have to do with SEO (Relevancy)
  • Looks like the posts may be scraped (duplicate content)

So the moral of the story is; buyer beware. Not all SEO is created equal. Ask to see verifiable ranking results, ask to speak to a few of their past clients, and most importantly just trust you gut. You could probably smell this guy coming.

I was going to link to him in this post.. but thought better of it.

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Preface: Increasing exposure of an existing online asset is tough, almost as tough as getting that first market push for a new business underway.

For much of the last 10 years Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was loosely defined as: optimizing your website content (verbiage, Meta data, naming conventions) for maximum keyword relevancy, and the procurement of relevant incoming links.

English: Make sure your website content is relevant to the topic, and get people to link to you. If you packed in enough keywords, and built enough links (quantity) regardless of quality, rankings came easy.

Fast forward to today. SEO is about TRUST, and Trust shall set you free.
It is still very important to optimize your content and ensure that you are utilizing on page factors for building relevancy. But now SEO is really a game of trust. For a website to rank well, it needs to be deemed trustworthy. TrustRank as it is sometimes called is a way of assigning value to a website, the higher the value, the higher it will rank.

“PageRank is to The Bubble Up Theory as TrustRank is the Trickle Down Theory. Google chooses [x] number of sites it trusts as a seed, and let’s the TrustRank flow down through other sites via on page references (links)” says Chris Hooley, a leading name in the SEO field.

Links are the primary method of passing trust, and gaining trusted inbound links is the primary way of building top search engine rankings. Chris makes a further economics analogy:

“Think of links as cash. Link Equity. Now think of them in light of those two ways economists look at the flow of cash. You need to accumulate lots of links to PUSH your market position up, and you need to collect big, fat, trustworthy, important links to PULL your market position up. Links can be viewed as currency, and link marketing is no different than brand marketing. It’s just the way we measure the effectiveness that differs. Gaining market share, or gaining link share.â€?

So according to Chris, building trust is the golden chalice of top search engine rankings. So how does one go about getting these links from trusted sites? Enter stage left: Linkbaiting. Odd word but very important concept. I’ll let link guru Todd Malicoat define it.

“Linkbaiting is all about the bait. In the same way that you can’t catch a giant tuna with a bag of Doritos - you’re not going to get the attention of important bloggers, journalists, or other folks with some garbage content or news.�

What Todd is saying is simple: write/publish something worth linking to. He goes on to describe “Linkbait Hooks� or methods to present information that can be used to attract the attention of a link happy audience.

To summarize then. Today’s SEO game is not about stuffing your website full of keywords. To build solid rankings you need to create content that is worthy of being linked too by other websites that are already deemed to have Trust. They pass this trust on to your website, and little by little your website climbs the charts like the latest Justin Timberlake Album

So how does this all work for the average small business in Middle America in need of website traffic? Stay tuned for Part Deux for the answer.

Author: Joshua Strebel - President Obu Web Technologies a leading web design agency.

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The Shift to Search

Well by now most business owners know that in some form or fashion, the internet plays a role in their success. The internet has become the preferred method of consumers to research prior to making a buying decision. If a general consumer is seeking to purchase a digital camera, there are sites specifically dedicated to rating cameras. But what if the consumer did not know that site existed. They would use a search engine to seek out that information.

They would use Google, Yahoo, or MSN, and simply type in a few words like “digital cameras” or “best digital cameras”. Up would come the list of relevant sites, and away they go viewing the results until finding what they want. You do this yourself. We all do. So much in fact that “Search” is becoming the primary way to navigate the internet. Remembering URL’s is so 90’s, www.domain.com has been replaced with AOL keywords, and 3-4 word descriptors used as search queries.

Pontiac Knows Search

No where is this shift to Search better demonstrated then a recent Pontiac commercial. At the end of the commercial, the announcer does not speak aloud the domain, “pontiac.com“, nor does it appear on the screen. The commercial briefly shows a screenshot of the Google home page with the word “pontiac” in the search bar. A subtle image telling the viewer to simply search for the word, and you will find them. [View commercial] This is a powerful message as more and more internet users have forgotten or never knew that an address bar was the place to type in an exact destination. Essentially (to a growing number of consumers) you do not exist, unless you appear in search results.

Search Engine Optimization

So if consumers are searching for your business type, i.e. “pool remodeling in arizona” rather than your company by name “abcpools.com” it is important that your website appears when searched for. As an example, our prospects have no clue what our name is, yet they know what they want in a web design company. Hence we have tried to assist them in finding us, by optimizing (SEO) our website for top rankings for terms our desired prospects would search for.

This ranking, and many like it, bring a constant flow of warm prospects seeking our services. Many times our prospect has no idea that we exist until they see us listed at the top of a list they requested. Consumers are searching for you, but are you being found?

The investment in SEO is nearly mandatory now, as the niche’s are quickly being filled and the sheer numbers of competition provide a barrier of entry to any site hoping to get lucky. Consider SEO as a integral part of a website plan. No matter how nice it looks and how well in functions, you do not exist unless you appear in search results.

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Everyone who owns a business does what they do for different reasons and motives. You may sell cars, build houses or provide professional services. Whatever you’re doing, there’s this common belief that your business must compete in a pre-defined space and that others in this same space have to be beaten. You’re supposed to out-smart, out-sell, out-position or otherwise destroy others who share your same market.

I beg to differ and will use my own company as an example. We provide professional level web design, development and search engine optimization services and what do you know? There are thousands of other companies claiming to do just the same. Are they my competition? I say “no”. This company has no competition.

This company…

• Is directed by a singular purpose: service. We serve; we don’t sell.
• Focuses on market creation, not market share.
• Never takes no for an answer.
• Considers its greatest investment the minds of the employees.
• Sets and achieves daily goals for success.
• Adapts to be relevant to both client needs and technological advances.
• Operates from a psychology of excellence.

Does this sound like a company that has competitors? These are my statements and thoughts of how I perceive this company. This perception does not allow room for comparison.

Do you think that if you thought of your company this way as well, whether you sell cars or build pools, that in your mind a comparison could ever be made between your company and another? Of course not. I suggest you stop worrying about your “competition� as they only exist in your own mind. There are always going to be people doing the same work as you and even doing it better in some aspect. Only you decide if you are going to fear, envy, or compete against them. Don’t try to be like them; create your own vision and be the one and only company like it.

This company does not have competition and neither does yours. The perceived notion of competition is that you are just like them, or in fact worse - because they are doing it better than you. Are they better than you? Who says: them or you?

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By Joshua Strebel | www.obuweb.com

Search Engine Optimization is really about doing one thing, building relevancy for your website. Sites that have top rankings, are deemed to be the most relevant for that search term. The search engines look a few things when determining relevancy, here is a quick list to get the beginner SEO started.

1. Choose 2 or 3 “keyword phrases” describing your product
or service. Think of a phrase someone would use to search for
a website like yours. “Phoenix Web Design or “Metal Buildings“. Try to strike
a balance between being too broad, or too specific. Too broad and
you will be buried among the competition, Too focused you limit
your audience.

2. Use relevant keyword phrases and use them throughout
your web site Title, Description, Keywords, Links, and Copy. This
is called “Keyword
Density“. Be mindful not to overdo it, write for the human first.

3. Use the H1-H6, P tags to organize content into logical sections. Open a section with a keyword title in a H2 tag, and discuss that topic within a P tag below.

4. Obtain quality inbound links (IBL) with keyword rich anchor
text to your site. Search Engines love links,
your web site is given “points” by the quality of links
to your site. Anchor Text is the linked text that is actually
highlighted. So Professional Web Design is
the Anchor text of a link pointing to http://www.obuweb.com. You
may approach other sites to offer a “link exchange”, or buy links on other sites. Relevancy
counts, so try to avoid Viagra links unless you deal in pharmacy/medical
products. High profile IBL’s also greatly enhance your
search engine positioning. A link from Amazon.com to your
site is tops, while a link from joestrouthaus.com is not
given as much wieght.

5. Participate in online forums, or discussion boards, and BLOG. This will help you
get your name/website out there, say something useful and add to the community. By participating on a positive level you will build incoming links and audience.

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We have crafted a nice recipe for success for the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce.

The short article in a recipe format describes the basic how-to for optimiing your website for better rankings on the internet. You may read it here.

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