VideoVoo: Online Video Marketing

I think this video with Matt Cutts from Google, who is the head of team responsible for search quality at the search engine giant, is not only an excellent introduction to SEO for Small Business Owners, but for SEO guys who want to take the pain and explain their highly intrigued clients what search engine optimization is in a nutshell. The video was made by Rodney Bartlett from Reachd.com TV at last year’s Pubcon in Las Vegas.

Matt is trying to stop cheaters on Google, so you obviously won’t get any bad advice (black SEO).

Wordpress & SEO

Wordpress which is a blogging software for free, open source, etc., has a 2.3 version. It is very search engine friendly, you can easily install it and use it as it is as a website, or just put it under one tab of your website, e.g. saying ‘news’ or if you have loads of quality videos on New Orleans, saying ‘videos,’ if you have how to videos and other tutorials, articles on crawfish, saying ‘resource’ etc. You don’t have to worry about the SEO-friendliness, it is taken care of (at least at a beginner-intermediate level).

Tip 1: Think of the words/ phrases your clients are using

Even better, “think about what the users are going to type” - this phrasing suggests several great things:

• a, go for words that laymen are using regardless of how amateur they sound to you: e.g. if you are a plastic surgeon treating inverted nipples, use this everyday expression ‘inverted nipple’ or ‘inverted nipples’ but also use even more everyday expressions like ‘nipple turned inward’, ‘nipple point inward’ ‘nipples shaped inward’ ‘nipple inward’ etc.
• b, go for synonyms, don’t stop at a single expression: e.g. new orleans restaurant, best new orleans restaurant, new orleans restaurant review, thai restaurant in new orleans, new orleans thai, new orleans thai food, best thai new orleans, etc.
• c, use misspellings, mispleings, mispelings, mipseling, etc. For instance, compare “aqurium fish” vs. “aquarium fish” in search engines and look at the number of competitors…

Tip 2: Make sure you offer some useful service

Besides illustrating your company’s services and featuring an about page, have some resource that make your page compelling for people to come back and talk about. For instance, tutorials, discussions on pros and cons, product reviews or re-reviews, etc.

Tip 3, SEO can be scary, but you can get better at it

Use the resources at hand for free: Google Webmaster Tool, Google Business Center, etc.

Google Maps with Business results

Sometimes searches are evidently navigational. If they are, a user will see a map with a business list. You can register for that!

Sitemap

You sitemap tells a lot to Google search engine. Make one.

Video

To YouTube or to Google Video? Where should you upload your vids so that they get found easily? If it’s less than 10 min place it on YouTube, longer ones should go to Google Video (or maybe you can cut it up into more parts and put it on YouTube). Use transcripts, because search engines have problems with spoken stuff, things in video and audio. Make good metatags for the video.

Navigation: problems with flash or javascript?

Google does a good job with crawling flash or java script, but think of other search engines, make their life easier. Have the navigation in html.