by Scott Howard | Oct 27, 2015 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, ScLoHo's Web World, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Search Engine Optimization. It’s been a “thing” since 1997 according to Wikipedia.
Here’s the basic premise. The Internet has close to 1,000,000,000 websites right now. How in this World Wide Web is anyone going to find yours?
Directories were created and that was okay for awhile then this company called Google came along and developed an easy to use simple way to find stuff online. The modern Search Engine was born and by the end of 1998, techies were praising Google.com:
“PC Magazine” reports that Google “has an uncanny knack for returning extremely relevant results” and recognizes us as the search engine of choice in the Top 100 Web Sites for 1998.
Jump ahead 10 years to 2008 and I’m telling some of my radio clients that they need to blog regularly. At least once a month, but once a week is better. At this time, I’ve plunged myself into the blog world with over 3,000 articles I published on my own blogs that year alone, on a part-time basis.
The blog articles I was writing and sharing were being picked up by Google. Let me explain. If someone was to do a Google search for something I wrote about, I occasionally would appear on the first or second page of Google. Now Google is much more sophisticated these days and there are companies that specialize in optimizing websites for Google which still has over 65% of the search engine use market worldwide. Bing is #2 with around 20% of the market.
When I launched this website four years ago this month, I worked for Cirrus ABS, a website development firm in Fort Wayne and learned a lot of stuff I could be doing S.E.O.-wise for this site, but I didn’t. I was too busy working at my paid job and writing articles on the side to take the time to add those extras to my articles.
Time Travel with me to December 2013, about 23 months ago. That’s when I returned to radio to work at WOWO. I was given permission from management to write about WOWO and radio and advertising and marketing and just about anything I wanted because they trusted me.
As I went about my work at WOWO as an advertising sales person who prefers to offer advertising and marketing consulting 1st before the selling part of my job, I started writing about my experiences with WOWO radio and recently I noticed a trend.
People were paying attention. Mary, whom I’ve known for a few years was recommending articles I wrote to her clients. But this month in particular, I was getting phone calls, text messages and emails to my ScLoHo email account from strangers wanting my help with advertising, marketing and some were specifically wanting to advertise on WOWO. It was time to do some research.
I cleared my cookies and browser history and did a search for WOWO Advertise and was pleasantly surprised.
7 of the Top 10 Google Listings pointed to ScottHoward.me
The first three listings linked to our company website at WOWO.com But the rest all went directly to articles that I wrote over the past 22 months.
I sent a note and screenshot to my friend Kevin Mullett at Cirrus ABS who decided to investigate further wrote back, Maybe even more impressive. “radio advertising fort wayne” “fort wayne radio advertising” “fort wayne radio” incognito. Depends on how people are searching.
This is what I call the power of Accidental SEO. I almost called it lazy SEO but that’s not really what happened because I haven’t been lazy. I write and publish 5 articles each and every week on this website/blog. Many of them, but not all mention WOWO. That’s not being lazy, that’s being diligent.
The reason I called it Accidental SEO is because I didn’t add all the extra tags and metadata that would help Google find me and boost my results. I just wrote a blog and didn’t stop.
Maybe what I have done isn’t duplicate-able by you. Maybe it is. You’ll never know until you start and don’t stop.
If you want to be found online in a more purposeful way, I can help you with that with the services of the Federated Digital Solutions division of company. Contact me and we will see what is the best path for you.
by Scott Howard | Sep 22, 2015 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Media, ScLoHo's Web World
Creating an online personal brand is a mystery to many people. That includes me. Except after 10+ years I have some insight that I can share. 
First off, each of us has a personal brand. A personal brand is simply an identity, not necessarily one that you create for yourself, but what people think of when they think of you.
Take a second and read that again: A personal brand is simply an identity, not necessarily one that you create for yourself, but what people think of when they think of you.
For those of us who are old enough to have had a life before the internet, we had very little control of this. Do something crazy, something stupid, something heroic, and someone labels you with a nickname. That nickname became your personal brand, among those that knew you at the time.
Online you have more control because you get to decide what to share. You can even create a new nickname. That’s how ScLoHo began.
Actually ScLoHo started as an alternative to my given name, Scott Howard when I was setting up an email account on Yahoo! years ago. I started using ScLoHo also when I began blogging and carried it over to all my online accounts.
Enough history, on to what I do now.
5 days a week, I publish an article on my own website which is where you are reading this right now.
I have the wordpress plugin Jetpack that will autopost these daily updates to my Twitter account and to my personal Facebook page. I also have them autoposting to my two Google+ Accounts. This is the primary method I am currently using to share content that I write.
But there is more.
I hand select certain updates from this site to share on LinkedIn.
However, (and this is important): I share more than just my stuff on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
My Facebook account also has stuff from others and personal stuff that is original.
I fill my Twitter feed with all kinds of stuff from others including articles and stories that may be controversial. I am tweeting at least 10 times daily, but I use the buffer app to autotweet most of these Tweets. That way I have a real life that is not tied to the computer or my phone. I subscribe to a few newsletters that send me links to stories that I am often interested it and those are often the links that get buffered.
I avoid political talk on social media. Too much risk of offending others for no good reason. I will not shy away from my Christian beliefs. But I would rather live them then preach them. There is a verse in James that I try and follow regarding this.
I listen, at least I try to.
Responding is critical.
If someone comments on something you have posted, shared or said online, please reply.
Also comment and share with others on their stuff too.
A few more random but important thoughts:
- I still believe in blogging. At one time I was posting over 30 articles a week. Now I do 5. That’s 5 articles every week, 52 weeks a year. Some of the people who read what I post are not in the United States and don’t observe the same holidays we do.
- I do not write articles every day. I write in batches. I schedule in advance. I wrote this article while sitting in a coffee shop on Labor Day weekend a couple weeks ago. I have some articles scheduled months ahead of time. (There will probably be fresh articles appear after I die, which is weird.)
- Share more than once on Twitter. I follow around 1000 people on Twitter and have 3700 following me. I don’t see every tweet because I have a life that doesn’t involve staring at my Twitter feed. Share your content on Twitter at different times on different days to get more exposure to more people. Unless you only have 30 followers.
- Join Groups. Facebook and LinkedIn has groups you can join. Or create your own and invite others to join you. A friend of mine started a Facebook group in Fort Wayne to match employers with career and job seekers. In less than 6 months he has over 6,000 members. And it is helping people get jobs that need work.
- Be yourself but filter yourself too. You should know what this means but let me help. If you would not want your minister, mom or grandpa to see or hear what you share, then think twice before you share.
Even though I was honored this year again with an award for blogging, I didn’t jump online a dozen years ago to become an expert in any of this. Yet there are some who think of me as an expert. (I reply to them that an expert is a former pert). I just started doing this and never stopped. I learned from others and continue to learn. I know there are somethings I could do better but this is just a portion of my life. Have any thoughts or questions? Tell or ask.
by Scott Howard | Jul 31, 2015 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Web World
Last week I saw a new furniture store in Fort Wayne pop up on Twitter. They did about 4 tweets including pictures of some one-of-a-kind pieces that caught my attention. They mentioned their hours in another tweet and invited people to stop in.
One thing was missing however.
Their location was not listed in their twitter profile. No one is going to come to your store if you don’t tell them where you are. I sent them a tweet and they fixed it along with adding a link to their website.
I realize that there are people who are still new to using social media and I see a lot of the same mistakes over and over again. With that introduction, here are 3 Social Media Marketing Musts you need to do right now:
- Fill out your profile completely. Every social media channel gives you opportunities to help others find out more about you. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, all of them offer a combination of important items that your followers want to know so they can check you out. Address, especially if you have a physical location. Website, phone number, email address, fill them all out. Include appropriate pictures too.
- Post updates regularly. Update Facebook every day you are open. Tweet a few times a day. If you are on LinkedIn, share some articles or updates at least once a week.
- Listen and respond. Social media is a two way conversation. When someone comments on something you posted, set up an alert so you can answer and reply back. The worst thing you can do is ignore them. You can create negative perceptions of you and your business by ignoring those who say something to you via Social Media.
Earlier this week I shared this link on How To Create A Social Media Marketing Plan From Scratch which is filled with lots of helpful info and details.
Want help? Ask me.
by Scott Howard | Jul 28, 2015 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Web World
#SMBFW
The title of this article, Online Advertising: Where To Start was inspired by Kevin Mullett. Kevin has been a friend and at one time a co-worker for several years. Last week he told me that the working title for today’s Fort Wayne Social Media and Marketing Breakfast was Online Advertising: Where To Start and he asked if I would sit on the panel. 
I said yes.
(The actual title of the event was changed to: Online Advertising: Let’s Do This!)
I also told him that in preparation, I’d write this article and publish it today.
Some of this I may have the opportunity to bring up in person, but even if I don’t, or you are not at the event, you’ll have my thoughts if you keep reading.
Online Advertising: Where To Start is a subject that a lot of people need guidance on and I have been there myself.
We are going to assume that you have a business. Or you at least have a business in mind. If you want to know the steps to take your idea into a full fledged business, start by reading this.
Now on to the topic at hand. 
In order to do online advertising, you need a website. Not just any website, but a domain that you own. You can host it in the “cloud”, but unless you have access to the primary domain and can control all the content, you probably don’t have your own website. This was something that Kevin Mullet convinced me of nearly 5 years ago.
I had over 12,000 articles published on various blogger sites I set up for free on Google’s platform. I really needed my own site so I would not be subjected to the whims of Google making changes. First I bought domain names but then I jumped in and created this site at ScottHoward.me.
You need your own website with your own domain name.
The following don’t count as your own website with your own domain name:
- A Facebook Page. Even though Facebook is moving towards this business model, this is not a substitute for your own website with your own domain name.
- An Etsy.com site. Not really yours.
- A Tumblr page. Nope. Sorry.
- Just about any social media account is not your own website with your own domain name, so don’t fool yourself or cut corners.
What about a WordPress site? There are differences between a site that is hosted by WordPress.com and a site built with WordPress.org but those differences are changing. Best for you to do your own research at places like here and here.
Okay, so you understand: You need your own website with your own domain name.
Your website needs to be mobile friendly. Right now the best way to do this is to make sure your website is built with a responsive website design. Responsive websites are called that because they adjust they layout of the design of your site to fit the screen you are using to view that site. If you are on your smartphone or tablet, it will render appropriately and look a bit different than if you are viewing the site on your laptop or desktop computer.
Why does mobile friendly matter? Take a look here and you’ll see that mobile has surpassed desktop/laptop as the way adults are accessing the web. And Google will penalize your organic search rankings if you are not mobile friendly.
Why does all of this matter?
You need a place to send people when you advertise online.
Again:
You need a place to send people when you advertise online.
That place should be your website, and only your website.
Nearly everything else should be a tool to drive traffic to your website.
I’m talking about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube… you name it and I’ll tell you it should be a tool to get people to your website.
“But what about my Etsy store?”
You can keep your Etsy store alive but You need your own website with your own domain name and from there you can link and send them to your Etsy store.
Advertising online is the payment of money for advertising that appears online.
And now that we have established a place to send people who see your online ads, lets look at the options.
Search Engine Marketing is the big money maker for Google. Those ads you see at the top and side of a Google search are profitable for both Google and the businesses that use this tactic. Google will sell these to you directly or you can hire professionals and get the benefit of their experience and expertise.
The number of people who click on ads is tiny. But, it can be very profitable. I’ve heard the expression it’s like crack, once an advertiser tries it and the campaign is properly managed, they’ll be hooked because of the results. This is one of the marketing solutions I can offer through my companies digital department.
Display Ads have been around forever it seems. Technology has made it possible for them to become so much more effective than they were originally. There are ways to target the ads precisely to the people who are interested in the product or service and not display them to people who are not your target.
Depending on who you use to run your campaign, a number of tactics can be used to locate the targets you want to invite. Retargeting is the general term that started this. Retargeting began with placing a cookie or pixel on you computer web browser when you visited a website. Then as you visited other websites, ads would follow you around.
Now we can also target you based on what you search for, not just the search engines like Google, but other sites that have search like WebMD or CNN and the like.
A third way to find you is contextually. We know what you are reading and based on the keywords that are in the stories and headlines you are reading online, you can be served online ads.
Now there is a fourth way to find you based on where you are. Geo-Fencing can now be so precise that if you cross a street, and step into a “Geo-Fence” we know. And we can serve ads to you based on where you go and where you have been.
Almost sounds scary, but it’s an excellent tool for advertising online, to reach only the people you want to target. Again this Custom Audience Targeting with Display ads. is another marketing solution I offer through the digital department of my company.
This same technology is also available with video. We call it Video Audience Targeting.
Some of this you can do on your own on sites like Facebook. I used to manage the social media for an internet based retailer and would spend a few thousand dollars a month on Facebook advertising. That company I worked for spend over 1 million annually on all of their online advertising.
Want help? Have questions? Ask me.
Oh, that #SMBFW hashtag at the beginning of this article? That’s the hashtag we use for the Social Media & Marketing Breakfast Fort Wayne. And I put it there so anyone following that hashtag during the event or afterward, would find this article. That’s another way of online marketing that was free.
by Scott Howard | Jul 23, 2015 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, ScLoHo's Web World
Earlier this year, Google warned us that websites that they deemed not-mobile friendly would suffer a decline in their search engine organic results.
Now we have data from Mediapost that shows us why this is important.
The takeaway is simple. People are searching the web from their phones and tablets and if your website is hard to navigate on those devices, your credibility will suffer.
It’s not that hard to bring your website up to todays standards with a responsive web design. And it’s one of the services my company offers at Federated Digital Solutions. Contact me for a quote.
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