Internet Doctor

Are people unfollowing you on Twitter.  Have you ever felt like you are saying things that just are not solid.  Here is a simple solution, a gentle reminder, some coating relief for those moments when you just struggle to have something of substance to say.

Twitter, is part social, part business, part nonsense.  However, the interesting thing is you can choose which way you want to use it.  What’s great is that you can change the way you use it from day to day, hour to hour etc.   The first step is to use it.  The second step is not only to write something, it also means talking to other people about what they write.  If you think for a moment that you are the guru where everyone will just come to read your “tweets” you are sadly mistaken.  Unless you really are a guru, it is going to take effort on your part to read what others “tweet” and “tweet” back in the form  of a “reply”.  Yes sir, yes ma’am Twitter is a “two-way tweet”, if you cannot accept that, then the truth is you really do have “tweeterhhea”.

Diagnosis: Your email drip campaigns are not effective.

Symptoms: The recipients of your drip email campaigns delete them, or – worse – they ask to be removed from the campaign, causing you a loss of direct contact with your potential clients. You fear you may be losing your potential clients to the competition.

Analysis

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

When drip campaigns first came out, I, like everyone else, could see their potential value. If you provide good information, what could be the harm? As a matter of fact, I endorsed the idea.

But now, my initial excitement has dulled a bit, and I am not so sure. “Why is that?” you ask eagerly. Well, I’ll tell you.

One reason is that drip campaigns take up space. I have enough email as it is, and this is just one more thing to clutter up my In Box. So when I see these campaign emails come across my platform, I cannot hit the delete key fast enough.

Second, the information that I receive is, for the most part, uninspired, obvious, and generally less than useful.

Finally – and, I think, most important – I started to feel depersonalized. I was just another address on some auto-generated list. Simply put, drip campaigns went from something good, to something bad, and now I am real ugly about it.

Whose fault is it?

I admit that this is partially my fault. I signed up for these automated emails. I knew they were coming. But after a while I found myself deleting them without reading them, and, inevitably, I asked to be taken off mailing lists.

However, I must also blame the purveyor of these email drips. I had an expectation that the information they were sending me would actually make a difference in my business life. Unfortunately, I was being fed unoriginal ideas that provided me with no innovative insights that I could apply to my life or to my business.

The Problem with Technology

Technology is a great thing. I love it. I love the gadgets, the information, all of it. However, as we more and more frequently use technology as a means of communication, we begin to dehumanize people. One of the reasons we use email is because it allows us to avoid talking to others. Let’s face it: If I can send an email to you without you responding right away, I don’t have to immediately engage with you, which saves me time. It’s easy. It’s convenient.

However, while convenient, communicating by email is not personal. What we have created with a drip campaign is a program that sends a previously-written program to a person on the assumption that that recipient has the same agenda, the same type of mental programming. When it comes to staying in touch with your existing customers or potential clients, they don’t want some cute little email telling them you still haven’t forgotten about them. They want to feel important to you. They want to know that they are different than any other potential customer you have. That their needs are unique, and that they are unique.

The Narcissist in All of Us

I know that you have read or heard marketing gurus drill over and over that you need to understand your target market. However, I will take this one step further: you need to understand your target market without losing sight of the individual.

Humans are social beings. That is a fact. We like being with other people. We are designed to not be alone, and actually function better when we are supported by others. If you are one of those people who insist that you are better off alone, I will tell you to your face that you are in denial and you need psychological help. Please find a qualified therapist.

But despite the fact that we are social beings, we are also, for the most part, narcissistic. Each person believes he or she is special. We like it when someone recognizes us amongst others for our individuality. While on one level we don’t want to be embarrassed, we do want to others to notice that we are different.

The narcissist in each of us often drives us to success. Narcissism compels us to find ways for others to seek us out for recognition. The narcissist in each of us doesn’t want to be “just another one of the group”. We are innately intolerant of being lumped into the crowd, of being just like everyone else. We are better than that. We deserve better than that. The narcissist wants to be the best person in the group. Don’t make us feel we are just one of many cattle that you herd to the eating trough.

How did this happen?

Do you want the honest answer or do you want the politically correct answer? If you have read any of my writings in the past you know what you are going to get: honesty. So here it is.

Technology has made us lazy professionals. L-A-Z-Y. Think about it. When we didn’t have all this technology at our fingertips, our business was conducted face to face. We took time out of our lives to make sure that each customer felt that he or she was the focus of our intention and the most important person in the room. Enter technology. We hide behind our monitors. We screen our email, talk to who we want, when we want. At the same time, we still want to communicate with others.

True, the consumer has a narcissistic desire to be in control, but they don’t want to be alone. Technology theoretically gives us the ability to stay in touch with people without bothering them. The problem is that now we have crossed a line. It is much easier for us to set up an automated program that sends information to lots of people at once rather than taking the time to send a personalized email, or letter by mail, or to make a phone call. We just send out some pitiful piece of tripe that the originator has probably never fully read himself. By sending out mass emails, you are basically telling your customers “I am not going to take the time to communicate to all of you, so here is the same piece of information I send everyone else. P.S. I care about you!” Do you really expect anyone to believe that? Do you really think that we – as your customers – believe that you care about us? Hell, no! Furthermore, you can take your pre-written, simultaneously sent, skanky email, and shove it up your processor! “Please Remove.” Delete email. The only thing you have accomplished is to tell your clients that they are not important enough to get your personal attention, and that you are too lazy to pick up the phone and let them know you care.

The Prescriptions

Be part of the solution, not part of the problem: Make sure your current and potential clients have their own places at the head of the table. Find out what your clients really want, and give it to them. This may mean eliminating your email drip campaigns altogether, or you may have to come up with a customized, more personalized solution.

Do not buy an auto drip campaign: If you feel you must have an email drip campaign, then please write it yourself. Don’t outsource the writing of your campaign. If you didn’t write it, it won’t reflect your voice, and more than likely it won’t get you results.

Be more personal and less technological: We are talking about people here. We are not talking about communicating with a machine. Find out what’s important to your customers. Find out what’s going on with them. Find out what makes them tick. Then enter into their world. You will find that you have a returning customer for life. What’s more, you may even make another friend.

People are emotional, so emote: I think the reason women are the best small business owners and dominate the real estate world is because they don’t mind emoting with their clients. They don’t mind listening to them. They want to understand, they better demonstrate that they want to help, and ultimately women are better at convincing clients that they really care. Now, I know there are exceptions. I just wish there were more men who demonstrated these skills.

Take the time: There is no such thing as “making time”. You have to take the time. If these people are really important to you, than “take” the time to make them feel important.

To the Health of your Business!

Ciao!

Dr. Jay

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Conventional – 1: formed by agreement or compact 2 a: according with, sanctioned by, or based on convention b: lacking originality or individuality : trite c (1): ordinary, commonplace – Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

As you can tell from my last BLOG, I am far from conventional. However, the point of my last article is this, challenge the conventional, make people think, question the gurus. I am not an anarchist, but I don’t want to be like everyone else. One of the most disappointing things to me is that people have a hard time not being conventional. There is some part of us that just wants to “fit in”. However, it’s hard to advance when you look like and like everyone else. There is no defining characteristics, no character, we are just the same. I guess that’s why when it comes to marketing, I want to be different, I want to be unique, I want to challenge my clients and readers, I want to be unconventional.

The Conventional tries to quell the Creative

When we or our marketing becomes conventional it becomes more difficult for us to be more creative, to think outside the box. Very few if any inventions were constructed out of conventional thinking. As a matter of fact most inventors were seen as lunatics, mentally unstable, and in some early historical cases they were forced to recant their thinking and placed under house arrest (see Galileo). Sadly today, with exception of house arrest we commonly feel forced to keep our thoughts to ourselves, and remain conventional.

Conventional Marketing Limits Creative Marketing

Marketing is a funny animal. It’s conventional to rely on what other people say, especially those who are espoused as professionals in the field. I think it is unfortunate that so many marketing professionals say and recommend you do the same things. I call it conventional marketing. Let’s face it, it is easier to put everyone in the same box, then it is to customize and be different. Honestly, it’s also far less expensive. However, as professionals in our own field we are different, we have different strengths, weaknesses, business models, etc. It does not serve in your best business interest to always remain conventional.

Unconventional Marketing is Risky

Whenever you move outside of convention you are always at risk. It can fail. However, all marketing can fail, so I am not convinced of how big of a risk it can be if your current conventional marketing is not working. Let’s be honest, who ever would have thought that 15 years ago that placing an ad on a medium where by people connect with a modem through a computer would have any value. Now try going to a website without an advertisement.

Unconventional Marketing Requires Unconventional Thinking

Most everyone wants to be liked and accepted. The easiest way to do that is agree with everyone around you. However, if your marketing is going to be unconventional you are going to make some people very unhappy. You have to decide for yourself if you can handle that. If you cannot handle negative criticism, you may not want to become unconventional. However, if you can handle the criticism than let me give you some points to consider on your way to unconventional thinking when it comes to marketing.

1. Accept nothing as an absolute
2. Challenge everything that is assumed to be a fact on the basis of group consensus
3. Be outlandish in your thinking
4. Consider every idea as a possibility
5. There is no box

WARNING: You will tick people off!!!!!

Oh yeah, when you start doing this, being challenging to the group conventions of marketing, you really will piss people off, especially the “marketing professional”. On a personal note, I found that when I challenge conventional marketing concepts, people don’t argue about my thinking they make a personal attack on me. You know what that tells me, they do not have the intellectual competence to argue intelligibly. So it follows if you cannot argue intelligibly how good of a marketing person can you be? However, when you find those who do have the intelligence to argue intelligibly, it forces you to think, and think differently. I have also found the latter group of marketing professionals to be outstanding, and bleeding edge.

Does Unconventional Marketing and Thinking mean you are never wrong?

The idea here is that thinking outside of the box and challenging conventional marketing is never wrong. However, the results of your unconventional marketing techniques may not result in the desired results you had hoped for. In those cases you’re wrong. Then again, what’s wrong with being wrong, outside of the fact that we don’t like to be wrong. Wow! Is that existential? While I do not like being wrong, when I am wrong, I have learned from it, and found another way. Sometimes I take a step backward, but only to take 3 steps forward later.

…and in the end

Try, challenge, and don’t fear others or failure.

Ciao for now,

Dr. Jay

The hottest marketing term being thrown around today is “target marketing”. People are making tons of money on this term. It is so ill defined, that no one can tell you exactly what it is. How big or how small it is. What the defining parameters are, how to measure it, or how to actually observe it. As business owners please don’t fall into the trap of marketing professionals who tell you, “You are not targeting your market”. Hell they can’t even operationally define it. What’s more, let them try to measure it. Other than that, just ignore me, and spend your money any way you want without measurable results.

What is Target Marketing?

There are many definitions, and I don’t have enough room to put them down here.  Technically speaking, target marketing has been closely aligned with terms “niche” marketing, and “market segmentation”. Which are very nice sounding terms however, they lack good scientific vigor with regard to a definition. Honestly, if you jump on the web for a definition for target marketing you will find that the term is so grossly defined that you could drive a battle ship through the holes in the definition.

How is it measured?

It’s impossible, because there is not an operational definition for it. Good luck with spending those marketing dollars.

Can a Target Market be too small?

Well supposedly it can be. However, it really is based more in how much money you are making. If you are only selling to 10 people but they are paying you a million dollars a year, and you are happy with that, then I guess it’s not too small. There are companies that make fabulous money selling personalized private jets to very few people.

Can a Target Market be too large?

Well supposedly it can be. Ha! Don’t you love it, it’s the same answer as above. The definitions of “target marketing” do not define the parameters. However, I read an article where a company target marketed an entire country. Although think about toilet paper companies? Who is their target market? Better yet who is NOT the target market? If I find out who those people are, I will not be shaking hands with them. I guess it’s anybody that doesn’t produce human internal waste. Hmmm. I guess if they don’t produce human waste, I suppose they are dead. So I guess toilet paper companies don’t target dead people.

Is there any value to target marketing?

Well let me save you several hundred dollars on this one. Here are some things you already know but will be told to you in different way.

1. Only try to sell your goods or services to people who can afford them.
2. Only try to sell goods or services you actually have an expertise at selling.
3. Only sell your goods or services in geographical area you actually serve.
4. Only try to sell your goods or services to people who actually want or need them.

Are you target marketing on the web?

Well I have a question is your web marketing working? If you respond yes to this question, by definition you are evidently “target marketing”. If you say no, then evidently you are not. Can you see how much B.S. this is? I discussed this with my good friend and colleague Brad Carroll, author and CEO of Dakno Marketing, Inc. We batted target marketing around on IM for a good 30 minutes, when I brought up the definition of “target marketing” of as “if your marketing is working you are target marketing, if it isn’t your not target marketing”. He gave me a “smiley”  and simply said, “yeah”.

What came first the Success or the Target Marketing?

Talk to the Chicken or the Egg.

What is the answer?

First of all, I don’t claim to have all the answers. I do know that I have been quite successful with clients businesses on the web, and I don’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about target marketing. Although Brad says I am, I just don’t know it. I am not sure he knows for sure, because we can’t even define the darn thing clear enough to know if you are doing it or not. However, I do know a few things that I have found to be very effective through trial and error.

1. Don’t be something online that you are not in person.
2. Don’t work with people that you don’t like working with and make sure there is not something on your website that is attracting them.
3. Figure out who you want to work with, understand them as completely as you can psychologically and focus your content to that group.
4. Don’t be afraid to try something way outside of the box.
5. Know how people behave on the web (My next post will focus on this topic)

If you can do these 5 things don’t worry about nebulous terms like “target marketing”.

Ciao for now.

Dr. Jay

I pretty much say what is ever on my mind. That’s nothing unusual, but today, quite frankly I am hoping that some of you will pay attention. I have had enough of the ignorance that I see everyday on websites and people who have no business discussing how consumers use the web. So I am going to try again, to get people to understand some of the missing links in Web Marketing.

1. Having your website found is not enough; the idea is to get people to use your website.

   Pay Per Click may increase your activity, but that doesn’t mean that anybody will actually use your website. Your goal is to get people to use your website not to have them just find it. I am so tired of the ignorance of people who insist that if you pay to be number one in the search engines people will do business with you. The facts are this, paying to be number one doesn’t mean anything, if you don’t have information people want. You are lying to yourself if you believe it’s true. You should know your statistics inside and out, and check them regularly. You need to be able to interpret those stats, or hire someone that can. You need to probably have someone who has insight not into your web design, but the information your website has. You need to be working towards the goal that you know what your intended consumer wants and get them the information quickly and in a way that is easy to find and understand.

2. Looks aren’t everything.
   

   People please I am begging you, don’t spend most of your time on your website look and spend more of your time on information. The search engines don’t care if you have flash, cute pictures, etc. The search engines care if you have the information people are looking for when they type in a request. Give them that information. Ugly websites can do great business because the focus on the right things. Besides the search engines don’t care what your website looks like, they are only interested if you give the people what they want. If you have a ton of graphics, flash, and other cute widgets moving around, consumers find it distracting and will click off your page because they get irritated by the distraction.

3. Don’t assume you know your consumer.
   

   This is the biggest mistake business people make. They think they know their consumer best. Quite honestly you don’t, because you are standing in the middle of the forest looking at the trees, you really can’t see it clearly. You really need someone to walk you through the painstaking task of really figuring out who your consumer is, what it is they are really looking for, and what they really want and need.

4. Privacy is a bigger issue today than ever before, always thinks about it.
   

   In today’s world identity theft happens according to one report every 30 seconds. Although you would never steal someone’s identity, make sure your website doesn’t require name sign-ups for information that is otherwise free, and when people do give you their personal information, make sure that you ensure that their privacy is important to you as it is to them.

5. Develop Web Relationship.
   

   I think I may be one of a handful of people who even talk about developing relationships with people through your website. The idea is to let your website do your talking for you. When you meet a person face to face you engage them, you speak their language, and you build a relationship. All of those things must come through on your website. There is a reason why places like myspace.com, facebook.com, and other community sites are so popular, because on some level they develop relationships. Whether you like it or not, it is your future.

6. Address the fears associated with your business or service.
   

   People don’t understand why I say this, but it is so powerful. Whenever people hire a business or a service there are potential negatives and fears that are associated with completing the process. You need to address these fears, there is nothing more powerful than to acknowledge the fears of someone, and then empower them to overcome them. This is what removes the fear, removes the shame from the fear, and the guilt of the person not knowing how to deal with them.

That’s another prescription for your internet health.

Dr. Jay

DrJay@internetdr.com

Well here we are in the midst of craziness. The Real Estate Market is in the tank for now. The mortgage industry is in trouble and tightening up. The stock market makes no sense. Elections are coming closer and as of yet there doesn’t seem to be a candidate that anyone can put their full confidence in. With all that said however, you still have a business that you are trying to run and still be successful. So now everybody and their uncle are coming out with things to spend money on that “guarantee to make you money”. I have even recently read some real estate marketing people espousing that the internet is “dead”, and it’s time to “get back to basics”. Well, here’s my answer to that. First, the internet is NOT dead, and it’s not going to die, and if you don’t have a website that hasn’t or isn’t producing income or is at very least gaining potential clients for the future, you are way behind. Furthermore, if your website is not customized to reach specified target markets you are “dead in the water”. Secondly, I hope you don’t have to “get back to the basics”, because you should be doing the basic things on a regular basis. Think about this, a star athlete doesn’t “get back to the basics” because they do the basics everyday as part of their daily routines. I hope you are a star.

Alright then so with all this doom and gloom that we all are facing, where do we go from here? Well quite honestly that is up to you. So rather than giving you marketing tips that may or may not work it’s time for me to put on my psychology hat and start with some mental health that hopefully you can integrate into your business, your team, and for yourself that can make a difference.

1. Realize the Only Thing YOU can CHOOSE to Control Immediately is your Attitude
   

   It really does take a realization that “attitude” is the one thing you have power over to control. I recall in one of my group counseling courses of an example that goes something like this: If you kick me in the shin, I actually have many different ways I can react to that. It is all within my power. I can get mad at you and hit you back, I can fall down and cry, I can remain silent, I could even laugh at you. It really is up to me to decide how I am going to react to whatever you choose to do to me. We are in no different of a situation. YOU CAN CHOOSE how you are going to react to the world around you. You don’t have to like it, but you can still CHOSE to control your attitude on a moment by moment basis.

2. Honesty is Still the Best Policy
   

   I notice in down markets that people panic. They start doing things they never dreamed they would do. They become afraid of losing clients so rather than telling them the truth, they inflate the possibility. I am all for thinking and believing positively, but at the same time one must be realistic. I can believe all I want that I will win The Masters Golf Tournament, but truthfully it will never happen. Be honest with yourself and with your clients you will save your reputation, save your integrity, and you will build an instant reputation of being the one thing people can trust in a non-trusting environment.

3. Aim to Serve Not to Please
   

   There is really a difference here. Don’t try to please people, you will never please everyone and in most cases “people pleasing” is phony. However, if you aim to serve your current and past clients they will respect you for it. Pleasing people implies that you give people something that they want so that they don’t bother you any more or you can stay on their good side. When you truly serve people it is because you go much deeper and care about their well being. You are truly interested in what people really need and you provide it to them. The idea here is to go beyond the ordinary. In fact, when it comes to service most people are ordinary, your goal for you and your business is to become extra-ordinary. I have yet to hear anyone complain that they received too much service.

4. While You have Time Re-evaluate What You Are and What You Want to Become
   

   Now is the time to take a closer look at yourself and your business. I know you have a good idea of what you think you are, but maybe it’s time for you to have honest people (preferably not your friends, they have a tendency to lie to you) tell you how they see your business. Tell them to be brutally honest. What are those things you really want to become, write them down and start today to change them.

5. Identify Your Passions, and Your Dreads, and put some Fun Back into Your Business
   

   I know this sounds a bit weird, but what are you passionate about? I am not talking about your kids or your family. I am talking about what do you love to do, and adapt that to your business. At the same time identify what you “dread” about this business and eliminate it. You will never do it anyway.

   Let me give you an example:

   I have a friend and client that is a real estate agent in Las Vegas. She has really been struggling to enjoy the business, as you can well imagine things are a bit tough. She is doing a great job of maintaining a positive outlook; however, she isn’t enjoying the business. Furthermore, we thought she would start doing an expired program; however, she couldn’t get started. Why? She “dreaded” talking to people on the phone. Not that she wasn’t good with people on the telephone, she just dreaded the idea of talking to people who have homes that expired. Hence, she never got off the ground with it. We needed to do two things. 1. Improve her business, and 2. Get her back to a place where she enjoyed the real estate business. Rather than trying to convince her of doing it, like most people would try to do, I asked her what she was really passionate about doing, not related to real estate. This of course caught her off guard, but she told me cooking, entertaining, and being creative. Hmm. Quite a dilemma isn’t it? She wants to grow her business, yet she can’t bring herself to do the expired listings program (which may help her business) because she dreads it. Understand that “dread” is different than “I don’t like it”. When you “don’t like” to do something you can overcome it because you know you might not like it but you can force yourself through it, because it might be good for you (I like to think of it as eating my vegetables). However, when you “dread” something you will not do it, as a matter of fact you will even make “passive aggressive” actions to not do it. When it comes to something you “dread” you may even become depressed just thinking about it. Okay so what did we do? I mean it’s not like she can open of a real estate agent restaurant in her home (although it is kind of a neat idea). We had to break it down into smaller elements and really get at the heart of the matter. I asked her, “What was it about cooking and entertaining that she really enjoyed”? She told me that some of things she enjoyed about cooking and entertaining was that preparing the food was relaxing, there was a creative element to it, and that she enjoyed the immediate feedback people would give her when they tasted her cooking. Ah ha! We now had a plan of action. What we decided to do is work with her web designer and create a few pages on her site dedicated to frustrated sellers, with the idea of getting expired listing appointments through her website. She is writing the content aimed at expired sellers who can’t sell and giving them a place to “vent”. No promises that she will be the one to sell their house, just a place where they can come and vent about their frustrations, fill out a form if they want to try something different, or ask for more information. In the mean time she is creating a unique marketing piece that is not a square or rectangle, that will be sent out encouraging them to come to that particular area of the website. What are the results? Well the numbers aren’t in yet, but she is so very excited about her business again, and she is creating and looking for immediate feedback from people who have had bad experiences, so that maybe she can help provide a good experience. She is really cooking and entertaining in a creative way in her business. She is back to having fun in her business, and when you enjoy what you are doing, that radiates to others you come in contact with.

   I hope you will do the same.

   Always trying to find a prescription for you w-health,

   Dr. Jay

My friend and colleague Brad Carroll, CEO of Dakno an Internet Marketing Group, www.dakno.com turned me on to something that was just so phenomenal that I had to write about it immediately. So often we talk about “leads”. I have even made the mistake at times of using this term. First, I want to apologize for the usage of this term. From here on out, I will make a conscious effort to forsake this term, because these are people looking for information. When I reduce them to a lead, I have done nothing more than make them a number, or put them into a category. The truth is these are people who want some information, maybe it is not specific to what you were hoping for, but have you ever thought that these people are asking for information from you because they find you trustworthy, you have relevant information on your website, or possibly they may have nowhere else to turn. Even if this is not the type of individual you were hoping to speak to, the fact that they contacted you, puts the ball in your court, and you have a responsibility to contact them, even if it is with a recommendation to someone else. To ignore these people is the worst thing you could do for your future business. These are people, these are people with questions, these are people with needs and wants, and they are looking for someone to help them. Are you that person? Watch this video compliments of www.1000wattblog.com I think you will see what I mean.

I am not a lead

Another Prescription for your Internet w-Health.

Dr. Jay

I am sitting on a plane off to visit my son in Portland, Oregon. I happened to be dwelling over a couple of articles in the Wall Street Journal that I saved, and thinking about a couple of videos and BLOG’s from Matt Cutts Google Engineer. I was thinking about this, because I am regularly asked, as are many people in the internet industry how do I get to the top of the search engines without spending a ton of money on pay-per-click (PPC)?

In one of the articles I read in the Wall Street Journal, a company owner was upset that he could lose his Google Search Engine Ranking by changing web name from .net to .com. Another company noted that they would sometimes disappear from the top search engine rankings for weeks at a time. Then I read an interesting quote, “We have to keep improving our algorithms and giving the best search results,” says Google software engineer Matt Cutts. “We can’t promise that if you’re No. 1 today, you’ll be No. 1 tomorrow.” Now that is what I call power. I can hear the old recycled line that originated in the Humphrey Bogart movie, “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”. You know the line…”Badges, we don’t need no stinkin’ badges”. However, I respect Google’s policy. It keeps the playing field level regardless of business size and money. Everyone is equal, probably one of the few sources of equality in business today.

Living with an Internationally Ranked Real Estate Agent who does 65% of her business from the web, I can relate to the frustration. Because of her web prominence she receives tons of phone calls and emails per day from vendors who claim they can make her number 1 on Google by some gimmick or program. Read again Carefully what Matt Cutts just said, “We can’t promise that if you’re No. 1 today, you’ll be No. 1 tomorrow.” Now if Google can’t promise you this, what would make anyone out there believe someone has a secret to Google. Answer: Don’t Believe It!!!

Okay then, so what does make Google tick? What is it going to take to make your website move up the Google Search ladder? Truthfully speaking we don’t have the exact answer to that, but good ol’ Matt has given some clues what not to do, and some simple advice to anyone that will definitely make an improvement. Just go to Matt Cutts BLOG and read through some of his BLOGs. Great information if you are willing to listen, believe and sort out what he is really saying.

Gimmicks and Gadgets do not equate to Google searches.

There are a huge number of companies out there that offer “gimmicks” or “gadgets” that claim to bolster your organic search engine placement. One of the biggest “gimmicks” is Link Exchange. There is no documented, empirical, reliable, valid, clearly demonstrative evidence that link exchange helps your website. I know what you are saying, “but, everyone does it, everyone says it works”. What evidence do you have? Demonstrate to me in an empirical process that link exchange is effective. If it isn’t true, then why would Matt Cutts, Google Engineer say it isn’t effective. You know what the biggest problem is, is that there are people who are trying to come up with a “gimmick” to “trick” the search engines. Do you know why? One, because people are willing to pay for quick fixes without work to generate leads from their website. Two, because “gimmick” and “gadget” companies make tons of money from unsuspecting businesses that believe them, without asking the right question, “show me the empirical evidence”. Think about something for a minute. Do you believe for one second that Google is not going to figure out that the reason you are trying to exchange links is to move up on the search engines regardless of what your website is really about.

Follow this simple example: you are in the business of Real Estate in your local area, so you put up a very nice site with useful information, but are not linking with anyone. Now take website 2 no useful content but has a few key words strung around the site, but has a huge reciprocal link exchange network. You know I am linking to everybody and everybody is linking to me. Do you really believe that Google wants to make web ranking that overly simplified, and useless. Not hardly. I got into an argument with a company trying to sell Link Exchange as a strategy. Then I referred him to the following little video from Matt Cutts Matt Cutts Interview note the second half of the video on reciprocal linking and how Google has warned that you can get penalized. In Matt Cutts BLOG entitled Text Links and Page Rank, he states the following, “Don’t participate in link schemes designed to increase your site’s ranking or PageRank.” Those people can probably guess that Google does consider buying text links for PageRank purposes to be outside our quality guidelines.” There it is in Black and White. Stop it. There are other “gimmicks” and “gadgets” here are my personal “rules of thumb”.

1. If someone claims to put you at the top of the search engines it’s not true. If you missed it re read the first part of this BLOG.

2. If someone claims that by purchasing a “gimmick” or “gadget” that will move you up in the search engines, do some searching, if you don’t know where to search, ask someone who is not involved with the company or sells a similar product, and get some unbiased professional opinions and data. Brad Carroll, at Dakno Marketing is a great resource or people like myself who are unpaid unbiased representatives of what is good about the web and consumer behavior.

3. Always ask the question, “what value does this ‘gimmick’ or ‘gadget’ really provide for my consumer? If you can’t come up with a clear value for your consumer, it’s probably not a good value for yourself.

What does Google want?

Okay so the big question. What does Google want from your website? Well if you are looking for an exact answer to their formulas and algorithms, I don’t have an answer. However, I do have a strategy that comes from Google themselves. Are you ready? Do what they do. No, really think about what Google does. Why do people use search engines? Answer: to find useful relevant information that equates with what their searching for. What does Google try to provide. It tries to provide for their users the most useful information it can based on what searcher is looking for. If Google can not provide the kind of search that is useful and relevant to the user, what do you think would happen? The users would go somewhere else to do their search. How long do you think they can stay in business. Not long. So how do you apply this to your website. Well let’s pull the Google play book, and see why they went from a little known search engine company to the giant they are today.

1. Be Relevant to the people who are looking for your product or service. What information on your website is really relevant to what people are looking for. If you have people searching for widgets, and you sell widgets, it’s not enough to tell people you sell them, it may be more important that you can answer the questions about widgets that widget buyers are asking.

2. Know who is searching for you. Google constantly is trying to understand the people who use their service. Why? Because they know that the better they understand their users, and try to give them what they want, the more likely they are to come back. Do some research, who are the people coming to your website, what are they like, what do they want? Do you even know?

3. Make it easy to use. Is there really anything simpler then typing what you want to look for in a bar click “go” and you get the results you are looking for. Here is a clue for your website, make your site not only easy to use, but just as easy to find the information they are looking for.

4. Make your website anonymous and free to the user. What does it cost to search in Google? Nothing. What information do you have to give in order to do a search on Google? None. Why? Does this work, because people trust Google without Google saying “Trust Me”. They don’t have to, they exemplify it. In your website, give the useful relevant information away, and don’t make people sign up for it in order to get it, because quite truthfully, they will go somewhere else to get it for free.

5. Look to add new information regularly. Google is constantly on the search to add new relevant information. Don’t let your website be static. Your business doesn’t stay the same, things change so does the information. Update it. Keep people aware. Sounds like a BLOG opportunity maybe.

6. Surprise your customer. You know what I think Google does so well? Just when you think that there is nothing more that a search engine can do, Google adds searching by maps, images, creating API’s, email, etc., and even within those things little surprises to make your life just a little easier. Take the hint create surprises on your website that will make your website better for your client. Google is NOT static. Your website shouldn’t be either.

I can go on, and maybe in a future BLOG I will, for now, I will leave you with this. Stop buying the gadget, or gimmick for the sole purpose of trying to trick the search engine and just run the Google play book. It’s a winner. Google has demonstrated it over and over again.

I guess at this point it would be wise for me to address who I am and give you a brief biographical history of some qualifications.  First of all my name is Jay Izso.  I am a graduate of Doane College, with a B.A. in Psychology where I orginally started as a computer science major.  I completed my Masters Degree and completed my course work for my Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Washington State University.  In 1996 I joined my wife’s real estate team which consisted of her and 2 part time assistants.  I helped create her first website that year which cost $150.  Since then her website has undergone many changes as the internet has grown.  She consistently sells between 300 and 400 homes per year with 9 buyer’s agents and 7 assitants.  Sixty-five percent of all her business comes from her web presence.   Yes I said 65%.

In 1997 I met Michael Russer a.k.a. Mr. Internet for the first time.  After following him for years he offered me the chance to address “The Psychology of the Internet”. Which includes but is not limited to discussing consumer online behavior, SEO, and other issues that affect business relationships on the internet.  I occasionally speak with Michael at conferences addressing consumer trends of the online consumer, and how they interact with your website and the search engines.

Currently, I have clients from different industries who hire me to evaluate their websites for consumer relations and increasing their online presence.  I also evaluate how these business work with their online leads and increase conversion rates.  I consider myself a resource service that is between you and your web designer.  I find that web designers are very good at web design, but they generally do not understand online consumer behavior, or what makes a consumer really engage with a website.  I take a three dimensional interactive approach to the web.  Those dimensions are your target market, your business model, and the search engines.

I am an avid student of online consumer behavior.  While I realize there are many books on the subject I am one who wants to see the empirical research the confirms the anecdotal evidence.  I except nothing as proven only demonstrated.  If you have an interest in my service please feel free to contact me at Dr. Jay

Many of you may not know this, but I have my own Brokerage.  I have noticed recently that many Agents in our area have been sending their new listings by email.  I am probably averaging about 50 per day.  Any guesses what happens to those emails?  Have you ever went to you Outlook, right clicked on the email that was sent, then clicked on “Junk Email” and then click on “Add Sender to Blocked Sender List”.  Yes, that is correct they have become SPAM.   I know to those of you who are real estate agents it seems like a good idea at the time to email your listings to other agents, and I am sure this is part of your marketing program, however, it has the potential to kill your business in the future. 

Your new email listing advertisements are interfering with my business!    I have access to the MLS, if I want to see the new listings of the day, I will pull down the hot sheets, or it will come up when my client has that specific need.  Those ads are an email clog.  You have become like every other advertising email in the inbox.  SPAM-DELETE.  Now what happens in the future when you want to conduct a transaction with the agent, and you decide to use email?  That’s right automatically you go to SPAM – DELETE.  If someone uses a server with SPAM detection, guess what? That’s right SPAM – DELETE.  How good is your marketing now?  Awful.  If you are reading this and you are a potential seller, you need to know the facts.  If your agent says to you, we get a great benefit by promoting your home to other agents via email, it’s not true.

 The more I speak with agents across the country, the more agents tell me that they have set up rules that automatically delete these emails.  When you are a productive agent trying to provide a great service to their clients, other agent advertising emails just clog up the system.  Good bye home advertisement, good bye good intentions, good bye other agent.

I can hear someone ask me, why not just delete the email, or “opt out”.  Simple, I don’t just delete it, because I will have to delete another one in the future.  I don’t “opt out” because SPAMMING wants you to acknowledge that you even exist.  I won’t give SPAMMERS the satisfaction that I am out there.

If you are an agent using this medium to market your homes, pay very close attention to what I am about to say.  “You are not doing your client, your brokerage, you, and your business any favors”.  If anything you maybe on a block list, which may keep you from doing legitimate business in your future.

For example: You send out your listing advertisement via email to an Agent, let’s call her Sally.  Sally blocks you on her senders list.  Weeks later you have a deal that you want to do with Sally.  You decide to get some information from her by sending her an email.  Sally doesn’t respond.  You think to yourself, “that Sally, she doesn’t think I am important enough to respond to”.  So you call Sally on the phone.  You are already a bit testy, and you say, “I sent you an email asking some questions”.  Sally says, “I never received an email from you”.  You go back to your email and say, “I have a copy right here”.   Then Sally says, “did you ever send me an email with a listing advertisement”?  You say, “yes”.  Sally says, “well then that explains it, you have become SPAM and been DELETED”. 

So who’s fault is it.  Not Sally’s, she doesn’t need hundreds of emails a week from agents sending advertisements.  She has more important emails to look at than those.  Furthermore, Sally is not the only one.  The only thing you have done is shrunk your list of people who may look at it.  Your seller has nothing, and you have even less.  Not good marketing.  Not good business.  Not a wise use of the internet and it’s tools.

In summary, don’t use your email for advertising, use your email for business.  When you get into the email advertising game you become no different than advertisements for male enhancement products, crazy gimmicks, and porn.  Those are groups I just don’t want to be associated with as a professional.

 Ciao for now,

 Dr. Jay