So you go out and hire a great company or individual to design your website, you tell them that search engine rankings are very important and they build you a great-looking website filled with the content that proves your expertise.

You’re thinking, “Wow, I’ve really outdone myself this time!  We have a beautiful website, it does a great job explaining why we are the best in our industry, now we just sit back and wait for the traffic to start coming.”

So you wait.  And wait.  Every morning with your cup of coffee at your side, you open Google and type in your keywords.  Your company is not there.

“Where are we?  We did what we were supposed to do!”

And then the worst thought enters your mind.  “Oh no.  I convinced our company to spend this money on a great new website, and we didn’t accomplish our most important goal.  We are not showing up on Google anywhere!  Guess I had better get my resume ready.”

It turns out that what you’ve done is the perfect first step.  But building a new website with great content alone will not generate search engine results and bring you new traffic.  You need an ongoing and focused effort that helps improve your search engine rankings.  And your new website will be the hub.

So What Drives SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

Ok, this list is basic.  We are not going into the finer details and best practices for somebody who has a career in SEO.  We simply want to help people who are not familiar understand the components that drive a successful SEO program.

#1 – CODE

The person who programmed your site has to follow best practices and integrate specific components within the code of your website.  Don’t assume that all web developers know how to do this.  Be specific about asking this question during the interviewing process to ensure you are hiring somebody who writes compliant code.  Ask them to list out the specific things they do to ensure the site is properly coded.  Make sure they say they specifically implement:

• Robots.txt file – This tells search engines which pages of your site should be crawled and indexed
• Page titles and meta descriptions written following current best practices and that they adhere to the appropriate character length – these items tell search engines what each page is about
• Open Graph – this means your site will be easy to share on social media sites
• Friendly URLs – this means that the specific website addresses for each page of your site are easy to read and don’t contain a bunch of characters and letters mixed together

Good: http://www.houstondynamic.com/rotating-pump-repair-centrifugal-pump-repair.html

Bad: http://www.houstondynamic.com/service?=cat11

#2 – CONTENT

Not only does the content you write for your site need to accurately reflect the products and services you offer, it has to be well-organized and updated on a frequent basis.  One way to do this after the site launches is via a blog or news page.  Make sure that you have a keyword strategy in place, and create an editorial calendar that dictates what and when you will post to your blog.

There is a lot going on in your company between trade shows, community/volunteer activities by your employees, completed projects, awards, product launches, new service offerings and thoughts on industry trends that you can write about on a weekly basis.  This fresh content will be crawled and indexed by Google, Bing and Yahoo and over time will help you rank for your target keywords.

#3 – LINKS

The final component is the one most frequently overlooked.  You have to build your company a high quality link profile.  This means you want to identify high quality websites in your industry who would be willing to list your company and a link to your website.  These sites could be business partners, industry associations, industry blogs/forums/news sites, industry directories, and also your company profile pages on major social media sites.

Assign Dedicated SEO Resources

As you can tell from reading through the list of components, having success in search engine optimization requires a diverse set of skills.  Some managerial, some technical, some creative, some writing and also analytical.  To be effective requires knowledge of your industry and also knowledge and experience of SEO best practices.  Think about the talent you have within your company, and think about things that you would have to source outside of your company.

Assign somebody in your company as the “owner” of the search engine optimization effort.  Make them the point person who pulls together both the internal and external resources and is accountable for their activities and results.

Aside from being very touched and inspired by Terry’s passion and willingness to sacrifice in order to help children with cancer; I was also struck by the similarities between the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope and an ongoing Inbound Marketing and SEO Program.

Some background for those who don’t know Terry Fox

Terry Fox CC OD, (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometers (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world’s largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$500 million has been raised in his name.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Strange comparison?  Yes.  But still similar?  Yes.

How they are NOT Alike

Before I outline the details that tie back to my blog title (How an SEO Program is like the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope), I’d like to point out that I don’t think they’re the same.

Terry Fox had a single mission: To raise money that would help find a cure for cancer, and ultimately save people’s lives.

What an admirable mission.

Companies have a single mission: To generate revenue.

Still admirable, especially when those companies have good values, want their employees to thrive and believe in delivering value for their customers.  But most companies are not usually in business to save lives.

Sadly, Terry Fox paid the ultimate price and lost his life to cancer before he could complete his run.  But as mentioned above, since 1980

And Here’s how they are Alike

Both have constraints.  Terry had to run on only one leg, he had almost no budget, and he had almost no support when he was starting off.  This is often the case for sales and marketing managers within companies who are spearheading an SEO initiative.  Nobody wants to help for fear of failure, management does not want to commit a large budget and you may be working with a website that makes you feel like you are running with one leg.

Both include an educational journey down a long and windy road.  Many times you do not know exactly what blog article or piece of content will really resonate with a prospect.  As you try different things in your content plan, you may be surprised to find out what actually strikes the chord and generates leads.

Both require a long-term focus and commitment.  Remember, it’s a marathon, not a race!  If you stay focused on your message and committed to your goals, you can begin to build some results.  When Terry Fox was running in Newfoundland, nobody knew who he was.  But after doing enough TV interviews, public speaking events and having enough people seeing him run on the side of the highway, he eventually built a following and a reputation.  His focus on the goal, commitment to his message and daily run of 20-30 miles never wavered.  Even through injuries, fatigue and a relapse.  By the time he arrived in Ontario, he had thousands of people following him and coming to hear him speak.

Both require a team.  While Terry may not have had a lot of support when he was starting off, he did have his best friend and brother who drove the van following him every day.  They prepared his meals, made sure he stayed hydrated and safe.  They were also joined by a spokesperson from the Canadian Cancer Society who ended up traveling with them for several weeks.  This gentleman helped coordinate fundraising efforts, arranged speaking engagements and provided administrative support for Terry’s mission.  An SEO program also requires a team of specialists who ensure your business has a plan for success.

Did you know that 100 million Internet users watch video every day?

In 2010, an Implix email marketing survey found that including a video in an introductory email increased the click-through rate by 96%. That’s nearly twice as many people clicking through to your website when you include a video in your marketing emails.

75% percent of executives told Forbes that they watch work-related videos on business websites at least once a week. The results breakdown:

• 50% watch business-related videos on YouTube
• 65% visit the marketer’s website after viewing a video

Bottom line: Using video marketing as part of your overall marketing communications plan will help you reach a large audience, and improve your ability to attract visitors to your website.

When launching a new service area, product or offering to the market, a video can help you efficiently educate viewers about the value you provide and what you want to accomplish.

In the case of our client Soldiers For Faith, they wanted to explain to young men that while pop culture media like music, movies and TV shows try to show them that the only way to happiness is through buying expensive clothes, cars and getting lots of women; that they will only find true happiness by building a strong relationship with God.

• 56% of companies say they don’t have enough time or resources to create content
• 53% of companies say they struggle to create truly engaging content

These two statistics exemplify a company’s need to outsource content generation to a 3rd party resource.  Facing these two huge challenges, how can a company effectively generate interesting content?

Before we jump to the “how”, it’s important to understand “why” Content Marketing is important:

Content marketing is a strategy used for a few different purposes:

1. Lead generation – Simplified explanation: When people search for information on Google, and you have content on your website that matches up with their search, you get more traffic to your website.
2. Thought leadership and market education – If you provide rotating equipment services and you blog about the importance of maintaining your centrifugal pump, then you will be positioned as a company who is educating their customers.
3. Brand awareness – Similar to reason #2, if your brand is writing about relevant industry topics, then potential customers will become aware our your brand and the services you provide/products you sell.

We’ve got great writers in our company.  So why should we outsource our content marketing responsibilities?

Now I’ll tie back to the stats that jumped out to me in the survey:

56% of companies don’t have enough time or resources to create content

53% of companies struggle to create truly engaging content

What good are great in-house writers when they don’t have the time to dedicate to writing great content?

Content marketing agencies, like Marketing Refresh, exist to fill in this gap.  Content marketers will dedicate themselves to learning their client’s industry (if they don’t already), learning your customer buying cycle, researching the keywords customers use to find your products and services and will put together a content strategy that leverages those learnings.

Content marketers know how to draw the information they need to write interesting and engaging content from a company’s internal experts.  Almost every client we have ever encountered has the knowledge.  It’s just a matter of working out the most effective process to cultivate that knowledge in order to turn it into a blog post, video, presentation or case study.

To view the complete IDS Enterprise survey results, view the SlideShare below:

Strategic Marketing

Brand

What is it?
• The promise made AND kept (with your audience).

Why is it important to develop?
• Your brand defines your personality, describes what you stand for and should clearly communicate what makes you unique and better than your competitors.

Best practices
• Has to be honest, straightforward and reliable.
• Must be anchored in reality, yet also inspire and reach your audience on an emotional level (THINK PASSION).

Content Strategy

What is it?
• Establishes what you will communicate about your brand.
• It’s what you will talk about – and when combined with your brand – how you will talk about it.

Why is it important to develop?
Your content strategy will guide all communications:
• Website
• Social media profiles (blog, Facebook, Twitter, video, photos)
• Public Relations (Interviews, announcements, community involvement)
• Conversations you have with people in the industry

Best practices
• Adherence to the strategy is imperative – don’t deviate! If you’re considering communicating something, participating in a particular event or even offering an opinion, be sure to reflect on your brand and content strategy. Does it match up with what has been defined and established?
• Every interaction with your company/brand should be guided by the content strategy.

Your BRAND drives your CONTENT STRATEGY which guides your COMMUNICATIONS

Marketing Communications

Website

What is it?
• A website is today’s primary marketing communications tool.
• Enables the communication of your brand and content strategy.

Why is it important to develop?
• You control the story, the visuals and all communications, so the story is told how you want it told.
Without it, you will not be real.
• When done poorly, you will make a bad impression and do your brand a complete injustice.

Best practices
• Does it meet my audience’s needs?
• Is my website guided by my brand and content strategy?

Social Media (Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Video/Flickr)

What is it?
• Marketing channel for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques.
• Social media uses web-based technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogues.
Don’t get lost!!! It’s just another way to communicate with your audience. And it’s great because it offers two-way communications.

Why is it important to develop?
• Helps your audience feel a direct connection and a “behind-the-scenes” feeling

Best practices
• Be natural, but adhere to your brand and content strategy.
• Don’t ever forget that this is NOT a casual conversation with a friend. You may have connections with friends, but when you are representing your professional brand you can’t ever let your guard down.
• Stick to the old rule, “If you say it or put it in writing, make sure you would feel comfortable with it being listed on the front page of the newspaper the next morning.”

Public Relations (Interviews, Announcements, Events, Community Involvement)

What is it?
• Management of your company image with the media and community/charitable organizations.
• Public relations and social media have significant overlap, and share numerous qualities.

Why is it important to develop?
• Support from local and national media, as well as your community is key to success. If these people aren’t in your corner, you will have an uphill battle.

Best practices
• Identify the key contacts in your industry, and have a plan for how you will build relationships with these players. This is where social media can really help.
• Get training. Even the top CEOs, sports figures and stars go through regular media training.
• See social media best practices above.

What are some other best practices you follow? What works for you?

Overall, it sounds like good news for local businesses, as the main takeaway is that local search optimization practices are melding with regular search practices.  Soon we won’t need to distinguish.

SEOmoz – SEO Software

Either way, this guide will help.  Not every social media site is included, but the most popular destinations are here.

(By the way, a CMO is the Chief Marketing Officer.  If you are a small business owner, this guide works for you too).

PDF version of the Social Media Guide

SEOMoz Overall Ranking Algorithm

Thanks to SEO Copywriter Melanie Seibert for providing this information during the SEO Track of the Interactive Strategies Conference 2010.

Join us on September 2 for a luncheon panel discussion on Universal/Accessible Design:

In the not-so-distant future, the competitive edge will belong to companies that understand the power of accessibility and who design their websites for universal access. When it comes to accessibility and universal design, the question we should be asking today isn’t “Why?” but rather “Why not?”

Learn more and register

Of course there is more to consider: who will write the blog, manage the blog on an ongoing basis, design and build the blog, drive traffic to the blog, etc.  All great strategic questions that should be reviewed and discussed prior to diving in.

[Visit Social Media B2B Website's 10 Business Blogging Best Practices for some additional great thoughts.]

What are some other things you are either considering or considered prior to starting your blog?

Image Source: State of Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Report – http://bit.ly/cVMpkn