Nikki was interviewed by Jay Loftus from The SME Brand Newsletter, You can read the full interview below or click here to see it in its original format
Jay : Nikki you have been working in the SEO industry for 14 years now, thank you for agreeing to share the benefit of your knowledge and experience with the readers of The SME BRAND NEWSletter
Nikki : Thanks for having me – 14 years makes me sound so old :)
Jay : So from your experience, would you encourage SME businesses who may be struggling to move forward to take a step back and consider their brand
image is working as a whole from logo, tag lines, brand communications and
including their online presence?
Nikki : I think that in this day and age any business that DOESN’T consider their online presence as a part of their brand is missing a trick. With more and more SME’s promoting their sites through Social Media and the much touted ‘web 2.0’ you are your brand these days.
Jay : As you are well aware a brand image is not just a pretty picture but needs to work practically for a business, evoking certain brand triggers and helping to motivate the target market to want to buy into the brand experience. Tell us why you think an online presence needs to do more than just look good and reflect the brand image?
Nikki : All style and no substance, I think it’s called :) It’s no good having pretty pictures and a fab website if your presence doesn’t back you up. People want to see that you’re taking part in the web, through articles, blogging, updating your website regularly, and listening to your customers.
Jay : So if a business has invested in getting a great brand image and great web site design, what else can be done to increase brand awareness so far as
internet marketing is concerned?
Nikki : Blogging, article writing, taking part in communities – all of these things help to ‘brand’ a person and business. Whether it’s Facebook, Ecademy, UK Business Labs, Free Index, or any one of the other business forums out there, the more people see what you have to say, the more they get an understanding of you and the more they come to see you as ‘the expert’
Jay : What do you think is the best way to drive traffic to a web site?
Nikki : I don’t think there is a BEST way as such anymore. Search Engine
Optimisation can bring a lot of traffic, but if not done properly, then the traffic won’t be focused. Adwords can bring pretty focused traffic but can become expensive in the wrong hands. Blogging and article writing provide good content and ensure that your name is spread around, as well as getting you good links back to your site. Marketing online is no longer a case of ‘front page of Google is enough’ – it’s more about an all round solution now.
Jay : Considering Search Engine Optimisation, can SEO help every SME
business?
Nikki : It can, but only if it’s done properly. And to do it properly an SME has to know what they want to achieve. It’s no good being front page of Google for a phrase such as ‘widgets from Burnley’ if no one is searching for that term – you need to know what people are looking for and be realistic about what can be achieved. It’s not an overnight thing, it’s not guaranteed and it’s not the be all and end all of Internet Marketing. Lots of web sites do very well without even thinking about Google and SEO.
Jay : There is much hype about rankings on such search engine sites as google, yahoo and MSN. Many SME’s may wonder why they don’t find their web listing at the top of the page, why could that be?
Nikki : Because search engines look at web sites differently to you and I – they look for specific components, on and off the site. If those components aren’t there or aren’t configured correctly they a search engine doesn’t know what to do with the site. Things such as well optimised title tags, a good META description tag, decent anchor text in links to the site – these all matter. It’s no longer a case of ‘build a site and it will appear where I want it’ and hasn’t been for some time.
Jay : Can a business ever be guaranteed high google rankings?
Nikki : No. Google themselves say ‘don’t use anyone who guarantees a number one listing’ – and let’s face it, if Google changed their minds about how
things were ranked tomorrow, SEO’s all over the world would have to play catch up.
Jay : So what can be done to help SME’s enhance their google rankings, what
is involved?
Nikki : It’s a variety of things – good content, frequent updating, good links into the site from different places, using the titles and META tags properly. It’s not rocket science, but neither is it the black art that some people would have you believe.
Jay : Can someone with a flash site still get high google rankings?
Nikki : Not easily, no. Google has made some advances in listing Flash sites, but it’s still not perfect, and my advice would always be to have a non flash version of the site too.
Jay : With all that is involved, is SEO something an SME owner could try and
do themselves or is it advisable to seek the help of an expert?
Nikki : As I’ve said, it’s not rocket science. When I started doing this, Google didn’t exist, SEO wasn’t the big deal it is now and there were no training courses at all. I learned by trial and error – and I made lots of errors in the first couple of years. Luckily I learned from the errors and now I find it a lot easier. I have a process – if I can develop a process and learn how to do this, then I believe that anyone can.
That said, it’s a choice. SEO is time consuming. Learning from your errors makes the process take longer. Making mistakes can be disastrous. If you’re willing to take the time and learn, then go for it. If you want a short cut, then hire an expert. It still won’t be an overnight process, but at least you know they’ve made all their mistakes a long time ago and you’re not part of their learning process.
Jay : Thanks for answering our questions Nikki. You have offered to give us some expert tips to be revealed as a regular feature in future newsletters, what can we expect to learn?
Nikki : We’ll start at the beginning, looking at keyword research, talk about some on and offsite things the SME can probably do themselves, explain why it’s important to blog and write articles, and maybe demystify the mystery that seems to be Web 2.0
Jay : It has been great talking to you and we look forward to hearing from you again soon.
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