PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC. ~ CHAT TRANSCRIPT ~ Patron Saint Productions, Inc. Online Publicity Chat Series Topic: Session #2: Web Site Registration and Search Engine Optimization Guests: Steve O'Keefe, author of Complete Guide to Internet Publicity Date: September 17, 2002 Welcome to the Online Publicity Chat Series. Today's topic is web site registration and search engine optimization. We have no moderator today, so please wait for me to type NEXT before asking your question. Thanks! I'm going to start with some general comments as people are filtering in. Then I'll take questions in a few moments. Today, I installed some new resources at the web site which will help with registration campaigns. In the TEMPLATES section here, you will find three Registration documents you are free to download and use. The first is the Registration Form, a WORD document used to gather the information needed to register a web site in directories and catalogs. The second is the Registration Report, used to track your registration requests. The third is the Registration Site List. It opens in your web browser, and contains a list of top catalogs and directories with links to their search pages, and links to their submission pages. I don't guarantee the "freshness" of these links, but later in today's program, I'll give you another site that does a good job. Okay, let me open up the floor and take some questions, then I'll hit the theory in the lulls. NEXT ! Go ahead, Valda. Will you be talking about meta tagging also? Yes, we'll talk about META tags. Any questions? If not, I'll continue. yes, is there another method of using this chat (IRC?) -- the Java client isn't working very well for me Robin, as far as I know, this chat only works through JAVA. I apologize for the inferior facilities. I will just warn you that I'll be logging in and out a lot then I've tried to find a better home for this series, but no one has better chat facilities for less than thousands of dollars. ! Shirley, go ahead. Can a company register their business these days and have good optimization with paying search engines? Hope that sounds right. Shirley, you can't even register in the important directories without paying today. Yahoo charges $299, I believe. Others charge less -- and that doesn't even pay for position. In some ways, it's a blessing in disguise, because at least you're guaranteed prompt addition to the directory. But your site will be included in search engines, such as Google, even if you do nothing. Thank you, Steve. Is this where I ask a question? Yes, Jim, go ahead and ask. I have a kind of peculiar question. I love peculiar questions! Thing is, I'm working to bring a variety of condom widths into the market place. That's a broad subject, Jim. What can we help you with? As it turns out, the broadness of condoms is essentially 'one size fits all' . Yes, Jim. And your question is??? While I'm waiting, let me talk about some top traffic builders. Number One in my book is stationery. That's right, plain old stationery. Having your URL on letterhead, business cards, invoices, mailing labels, etc., makes it easy for existing customers to find you. 80% of all business comes from existing accounts. That's where your efforts should start. Steve, don't forget stickers! With your URL of course OK, they are a perishable commodity and to buy them at a good price you have to buy over a million of them at a time. Jim, I sense you're getting closer to a question here. Number Two in my book is domain name guessing: That is, if your domain name is the same as your business name, people will find you by trying that first. That doesn't mean the names have to be identical, but close is good. There are precious few outfits (other than, for example, planned parenthood) who will buy more than a few hundred at a time. Closer, Jim, closer. Number Three in my book is Advertising and Promotion. That is, ads, flyers, brochures, print ads, billboards, bus signs, etc -- paying to get your URL out there. I've got three more on my list, and I'll come back to them after Jim's question. So how might one get the word out that here is a more comfortable and easy to use product? Jim, do you mean you are targeting only people who will purchase a million or more condoms? Talk about "Sexy Beast"! OK. Advertise. Among the problems with this is that the FDA considers advertising part of the packaging and they control packaging. If you are trying to get the word out about the benefits of different size condoms there are many techniques you can use. We'll talk about a syndication campaign in this class in two weeks that would work. Obviously, celebrity endorsements could do wonders for you. But there's not much you can do with Site Registration and Search Engine Optimization. Howard Stern might be a good one. Jim, find an excellent copywriter. They can make you think that your dishwasher doesn't leave spots Dr. Ruth says that if you think you need a wider condom, you should see a sex therapist (or, go to a shrink, in other words). Jim, if you understand the benefits of your product well, and the target market, you're then looking for something that unites the two. A campaign that says, "One size may fit all, but not YOU" -- or something like that. If you have a question, just ask. In the meantime, I'll continue. Number Four on my list of traffic builders is Media Coverage: getting publicity *without* paying for it, on TV, radio, in print, and online. Number Five on my list is Links from other sites. Jim, someone like Eddie Murphy might be good, too. In the movie, Nutty Professor, I believe he changes sizes many times. You'd like a campaign that resonates with that whole concept of changing size. I'm thinking Magic Johnson, Whoopie Goldberg, Elizabeth Taylor. I'll be talking about Linkage Campaigns next week, but it's important to know that good linkage is essential to search engine position. And Dead Last on my list of traffic builders is Search Engines and Directories. Being in them is important, but ranking in them has almost no bearing on the amount of business done by 99% of all sites. please elaborate on your last statement Shelly, let me elaborate this way: People come to me and say, "I want more traffic at my web site." And I reply, "Put pictures of naked people on the site." That is the number one proven way to increase web site traffic. Why? But for a variety of reasons, people don't want pictures of naked people on their business sites. That's because it's not traffic they're after, but a *certain kind* of traffic... Ahhh, now we have narrowed the criteria. We want prospects, customers, sales... these are very different things than *traffic*, and the way we get prospects, customers, and sales, is by and large not about search engine position or directory registration. So to reiterate, I think it's important to be *in* these directories and catalogs, but most of the marketing effort and money should not be spent trying to ramp up your rank but instead providing something at your site truly valuable to the target audience. The third of condom users who have trouble putting the darned thing on. Jim, you've got some good research. You need to tell people about it. Obviously, there is humor in the sale of your product. If you approach it right, that humor will be welcome at sites that appeal to your target audience sounds like pictures of naked people would actually work as a business choice for Jim! :-) Yes, actually, the Naked People approach might be just what Jim's marketing program needs. How does the info in a registration report aid you in tracking results? Shirley, The Registration Report is a list of places where you requested being added to the directory and their URLs. You can then go back in two weeks, check for your link, and then make an inquiry if it's not there. You can track these inquiries using the report. It's just a tracking mechanism, but it can be used for marketing, too. Show it to your trade accounts and say, "Look, we're making a major effort to boost traffic." Oh, thank you for clearing that up. An important point I'm trying to make is that you can't fashion even a Registration Campaign without a clear picture of the target audience and the results you want. There are many specialized directories out there that people ignore in a lust for Google ranking. If you are in PR, there are about 10 directories that serve people looking for PR experts. In book publishing, there are about 50 directories of publishers you should be in. It's not that hard to find them, but it takes patience and persistence. Some are worth paying to get into. And you should go prepared: that is, you should complete a Registration Form and have your information exactly the way sites want it, before you go out willy nilly trying to find directories and making up site descriptions on the fly. That's why there is a Registration Form Template here at the web site for people to use. Why isn't media coverage higher on your list? Valda, media coverage isn't higher on my list first of all because the most important customer is the one you already have. Too many people focus web site content on prospects, when they should be serving the needs of existing customers, such as checking status of shipments, or inventory, or placing purchase orders, or customer service inquiries. And most customers will get your URL from printed materials (such as an invoice) or by guessing your domain name. Let me talk a little more about the Registration Form. It forces you to develop site descriptions in three different lengths: short, shorter, and shortest! And keyword lists in different lengths. And then to think about how you want your site categorized for topical directories such as Yahoo. Using a good registration form and site list, you should be able to knock off a registration campaign in two half-days of work. And then you only need to refresh it once a year. Steve, how do you know when a directory is worth paying for? Rachel, I think there are some directories you just need to be in, such as Yahoo. And then, it might be worth paying to be in a specialized directory, if they aren't charging much. You can also ask people who've obviously paid to be in the directory if they think it was worthwhile. Some folks will tell you, especially if they aren't direct competitors. For 25 bucks, it might be worth taking a risk and watching what traffic results. For 2500, you'd want to think long and hard about it. And that brings me to another point. I get more traffic off one link on an America Online forum than from all the directories and search engines combined. Links off compatible forums are great traffic generators and the traffic is more pre- screened to be interested in what you have to offer, as opposed to someone who found you on a search string at Google. We will talk more about linkage next week. HERE is the URL for a site that has a great Registration List for doing a campaign: http://www.wordsinarow.com/wheretogo.html It's free of charge, although I get 15% ;-> Just kidding. Okay, enough for the humor segment of the chat. Maybe we should stick to condoms? Can you talk some about optimization? Is it all about key words, or are there other tricks? Rachel, Keywords are -- well -- KEY to search engine optimization. Here is what search engines are looking for when ranking your site: 1. The META tags -- the invisible code on your site that speaks to search engines. 2. Site content (does it match the META tags). 3. Linkage (how many people link to your site). 4. Popularity Among Searchers (clickthroughs from search engines). 5. Absence of Trickery (don't try any stupid SEO tricks). That's the big list. Let's talk about them. The META tags should be loaded with keywords for your site, sometimes with a lot of repetition. If you want to see what I mean, use "View Source" on my homepage and see what's in the META tags. Also, you want phrases people would logically use when searching for sites such as yours. So the point is not to accurately *describe* your site but to accurately guess the kinds of words people would use when looking for your site. In my tags, I have "online publicity, internet publicity, book publicity".... Can you tell that I'm trying to reach people looking for "publicity"? The content on your site must match the words. You can't have a porn site and have religious keywords and fool a search engine. For example, two years ago, doing work for a client, I wanted to see who had the highest rankings for the words "job search." Eight of the top ten sites were porn sites. Today, 20 of the top 20 are job search sites. So the search engines have gotten smarter. And if you try any really elaborate tricks to fool them, they will retaliate by unlisting your site completely. One special tip is to not have key words embedded in graphics. If your site has "resources" but the word "resources" is a graphical button, search engines won't "see" it. Is net advertising part of the advertising the FDA has jurisdiction over? I'm not sure about the FDA, Jim, but I know the FTC has jurisdiction. I'm guessing that all federal agencies claim jurisdiction over US company activities online. I'd be careful about telling anyone that your condoms will make them smarter. Turns out that the international law just changed re: condom widths, so they are legal in all widths now; this wasn't true a few months ago. Another good sales point, Jim. How about this slogan, "these condoms were so good, they were illegal to use until last year." Steve, when you say to not put keywords with images, are you advocating not using ALT tags? Robin, excellent question. Yes, you can use ALT tags -- which are like keywords that accompany graphics. But if you have a graphic-intense site, you should review it to make sure that important keywords and phrases are repeated fairly often in the text of the page. For example, you can use a text "positioning line" that appears on every page of your site: "serving the life insurance needs of Canadians for the last 50 years" which gets your keywords and the target market out there on every page. So if I'm not mistaken, your just saying to make sure that the ALT tags don't become the most prevalent? No, Robin, I'm saying that you need more than just ALT tags. You need the keywords to appear as text on the page -- not just in the ALT tags -- and you need to be sure that most of your keywords don't appear only in graphics. got it I'm going to wrap it up here in a minute. This has been great fun, folks. A more manageable crowd this week. Any last questions? Know anything about product liability? Slippage insurance might be tough to find. bye. and thanks. Join us next week, same time, same place, when our topic will be Linkage Campaigns. Oh, and I have a book that explains all this stuff in painful detail. There's a new excerpt from it installed at the site here. Just go into the resources section of the site. Thanks Steve, I'm glad you're having the chats again, they are a great help! Thanks, Rachel, I'm trying. Have a great week, folks. And if you don't mind, send me some e-mail with *honest* comments about this format. Is it worth it? I like the format. It's fine with me = and perfect timing. Thanks, Steve Bye everyone! __________________________________________________ ABOUT THE GUEST STEVE O'KEEFE wrote the book on Internet publicity Ð- literally. He is the author of the first book ever written about online publicity, the best-selling "Publicity on the Internet" (Wiley, 1997), an award-winning guide considered the Bible of the industry. That obsolete classic was replaced by Steve's newest book, "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity" (Wiley, 2002) -- his long-awaited magnum opus based on over 1000 campaigns. Steve pioneered many online marketing techniques which are now considered standard practice, including: * Web Site Registration Campaigns * Web Site Linkage Campaigns * E-Mail News Releases * Chat Tours STEVE O'KEEFE's writing has appeared in over 100 publications including The Wall Street Journal, Harper's, Internet World, PR News, Outside, Small Press, Salon, Curio, NetWorth, and HotWired. He is a member of the adjunct faculty at Tulane University where he teaches online publicity and public relations. Steve is Executive Director of Patron Saint Productions, Inc., a publishing consultancy specializing in online marketing strategy, campaigns, and training . __________________________________________________ ABOUT THE BOOK Complete Guide to Internet Publicity: Creating and Launching Successful Online Campaigns by Steve O'Keefe Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2002, ISBN 0-471-10580-5, 436 pages, softcover, $34.95) Available in most bookstores online and off. "Nobody knows more about making a splash on the Internet than Steve O'Keefe. And no book reveals better how to do it than this one." -- Fraser P. Seitel, Author of "The Principles of Public Relations" "Steve O'Keefe's book is, by far, the most comprehensive Internet publicity book available. It's a tool that any business owner or publicist needs to read to conduct an effective online PR campaign." -- Lorilyn Bailey, CEO, NewsBuzz.com "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity" is the bedrock reference book for designing and implementing online publicity campaigns. The book takes a "how-to" approach, with detailed instructions for planning the campaigns, creating the materials needed, launching the campaigns, dealing with any problems, and measuring the results. The instructions are highlighted with anecdotes culled from hundreds of campaigns conducted by the author and other Internet publicity professionals. Chapters include: 1. The Power of Internet Publicity 2. E-Mail News Releases 3. Online News Rooms 4. Discussion Group Postings 5. Newsletters and Direct Marketing 6. Chat Tours 7. Online Seminars and Workshops 8. Web Site Registration and Linkage 9. Contests and Other Fancy Promotions 10. Syndicating Your Promotions 11. Building an Online Publicity Operation "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity" is a goldmine for those people responsible for online publicity operations, whether as managers, professionals, instructors or students, including such professions as marketing, advertising, web site design & construction, e-commerce, direct marketing, and customer service. The book and companion web site both include templates for all the campaign materials described, and time-saving resources to help locate target audiences online. This book is essential to anyone charged with promoting a product, service, company, person, or web site. Order your copy today. Please join Steve O'Keefe for a free, open chat program about online publicity techniques. Chats are held every Tuesday afternoon from 4-5 p.m. Eastern Time at the Patron Saints Productions web site, http://www.patronsaintpr.com. __________________________________________________ Copyright ©2002 by Patron Saint Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please request permission before duplicating or distributing this document. For reprint permission, send mailto:permissions@patronsaintpr.com. Thank you. Chat Transcript Page 11 of 12 Copyright © 2002 ~ PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC. ~ All Rights Reserved 741 Saint Philip St. #241 ~ New Orleans, LA 70116 U.S.A. ~ http://www.patronsaintpr.com Voice: (504) 586-9517 ~ mailto:info@patronsaintpr.com ~ Fax: (504) 586-9518 Copyright © 2002 ~ PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC. ~ All Rights Reserved 741 Saint Philip St. #241 ~ New Orleans, LA 70116 U.S.A. ~ http://www.patronsaintpr.com Voice: (504) 586-9517 ~ mailto:info@patronsaintpr.com ~ Fax: (504) 586-9518