I love meetings. Actually, let me clarify. I like creative, strategy-focused meetings like a brainstorm or its emo cousin, the Post-Mortem.

What is a post-mortem? To some, it’s an examination of a corpse in order to determine the correct cause of death. To other more well-adjusted individuals (no offense Dana Scully), it’s a discussion (usually at the end of the project) to identify and analyze elements of a project that were successful or unsuccessful. It answers the question, “How’d we do?”

Many people find the name “post-mortem” too macabre. They’d rather call it a “retrospective,” which I find boring and lacking imagination. Even if a project was a ridiculously successful delight from start to finish, the post-mortem marks the end of a job (or phase) and your team is probably happy to have it behind them. If I had my way, I’d call it the “[insert project name] Super Post-Mortem Extravaganza!!” Now don’t tell me you wouldn’t rather go to that than the “[insert project name] Retrospective.”

Not Just For Single Projects

Many people assume that post-mortems are only for one-off projects. Although they’re extremely important for projects with a clearly defined start and end date – think apps, web sites, infographics, etc. – they’re just as useful for ongoing marketing efforts. Post-mortems can keep the big picture in perspective with monthly, quarterly, or annual reviews. Obviously, having one every month is time-consuming, but a few hours every quarter is time well spent.

Not Just For Agencies

Post-mortems aren’t just for agencies trying to retain clients or win new business. They are every bit as useful on the brand side. Marketing Directors can equally benefit by holding post-mortems after finishing any campaign or project. To note, in a perfect world, the post-mortem can involve the client team and the agency team together. Remember, it’s “How’d we do?”

So, now that you’ve been convinced of the awesomeness of the post-mortem and have probably already scheduled one, here are my 10 tips for getting the most out of your post-mortem:

(Note: For the purpose of these tips, I’ll refer to them in the context of a single campaign with a goal of completion rather than an ongoing project.)

1. Have a post-mortem for every project, no matter how small or how big, no matter what the outcome.

Even if a project is small, there are always things that pop up which will help you learn for larger projects. For example, let’s say that the project was delayed because of communication issues. This could lead to a delay of a few days for a small project. But in a massive project, this could delay you by months and more importantly, increase the cost by two-fold. Always a fun conversation with the CFO.

Importantly, post-mortems should be held no matter how well a project went. Some tend to think that a post-mortem is all about what went wrong. Again, I prefer to think of it as “how’d we do and why?” I’ve never worked on a project that went perfectly. Likewise, I’ve never worked on a project that was a complete disaster. There is always something of value to learn.

“The minute that you’re not learning I believe you’re dead.”
Jack Nicholson

2. Schedule the post-mortem directly after the project concludes.

If you’re like me, project details evaporate from memory when the big push is finished. If a project goes well we lose sight of problems in light of a job well done. If a project goes poorly we lose sight of successes as we try to figure out what went wrong. Have your post-mortem while details are still fresh. Bonus points for scheduling them in advance.

“The palest ink is better than the best memory.”
Chinese Proverb

3. Set a constructive mindset.

This is by far the most important tip on this list. A post-mortem is not about highlighting failures with the purpose of assigning blame. It’s not about reviewing employee performance. It’s about reviewing the work and the result for purposes of team and personal improvement. It needs to be constructive.

Therefore, it’s important that your team is in the right mindset: positive and learning-focused, not defensive or hypercritical. The best way to do this is to start off the conversation with something positive. Generally, the more powerful or proud they feel, the more effectively they can process constructive criticism.

As one of my team members always likes to say when things go wrong, “Well, nobody was killed, so…” Remind everyone that, no matter how embarrassing a gaffe, you can learn from it. Obviously, this doesn’t work if somebody did die, but no Portent project has killed anyone so far… so I’ve been told.

“I’m the kind of person who likes to create the environment and mindset – not because I do it deliberately, but because that’s how I like to live – where, from catering to makeup to hair to wardrobe, electricians, camera department lighting, sound, you know, it’s our movie; we’re together, and we have that camaraderie and that closeness.”
Steve McQueen

4. Create an agenda.

Even a relaxed meeting needs an agenda. The last thing we want is a completely disorganized mess that leaves you an hour later with no idea of what you actually learned. Having an agenda will actually help with all of the tips I’ve spoken about so far.

Here’s a sample agenda for an effective post-mortem:

1. Set Tone / Explain Format (5 Min) – This is possibly the most critical, pivotal 5 minutes of the meeting. It’s where you remind the group that this post-mortem is all about constructive analysis. It’s your chance to guide the mindset of the group and hopefully get them to relax and feel safe enough for a truly productive session.
2. Recap The Project (2 Min) – That’s it. You’ll give a synopsis of what the project was about and what the initial expectations were. This will let you focus on the measurable goals so you can objectively evaluate whether the project was a success.
3. Recap The Outcome (3 Min) – Although there might be a difference of opinion on how everyone thought the process went, usually there’s a pretty straightforward idea on whether the goal was met. Was the client happy? (This could be a client in the literal sense, or it could be the CMO of your own company.) Did the cost exceed the budget? Was the product delivered on time?
4. Team Member Questions (40 Min) – This is the meat of the post-mortem. Where all this setup will pay dividends. It’s where the conversation really gets going and your team members get an opportunity to speak up. It helps to jump-start by asking one person a question and allow people to riff off each other. The important thing is that everyone gets a chance to contribute. Here are the questions that I like to ask:
   1. Are you proud of our finished deliverables? If yes, what made them great? If no, what was wrong or missing?
   2. Did we get the results we wanted and did it make impact?
   3. Which of our methods or processes worked particularly well?
   4. Which of our methods or processes were difficult or frustrating to use?
   5. How would you do things differently next time to avoid this frustration?
   6. What else could we do better next time?
   7. What was the most gratifying or professionally satisfying part of the project?
5. Wrap-Up (10 Min) – This is where you thank everyone for participating and let them know that notes will be coming soon.

Admittedly, it can be really challenging to keep to this agenda on the fly, but the last thing you want to do is stop the conversation from flowing organically. Most times, the conversation will jump naturally from one question to the next. The important part is that you make sure each of the answers is a conversation and everyone is able to address them.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Benjamin Franklin

5. Identify the moderator.

Along with an agenda, there must be one person responsible for moderating the meeting. This is generally the same person that set the agenda and scheduled the post-mortem. Having a moderator not only creates bumper rails for the conversation, but allows all the other team members the freedom to speak their mind without worrying excessively about the structure or process.

A good moderator will give the right amount of leeway for the conversation to tackle a tangent before reigning it back in.

The moderator should also be the one to take notes. I recommend using a white board. That allows team members to stay engaged, rather than frantically scribbling notes.

“Can you repeat the part of the stuff where you said all about the things?”
Homer Simpson

6. Keep it relaxed.

As I mentioned earlier, I love creative strategy meetings. They tend to be more relaxed and therefore more fun. Dreaded, high-tension post-mortems kill creativity and seal your team into their personal shells. That kind of meeting is as productive as a team-wide nap time.

You’re uncovering uncomfortable stuff much of the time. Deliberately promote a relaxed environment. If it’s early in the morning, bring coffee and donuts. If it’s later in the day, bring beer and well… donuts. Always bring donuts.

“A cheerful frame of mind, reinforced by relaxation… is the medicine that puts all ghosts of fear on the run.”
George Matthew Adams

7. Encourage participation.

The goal of a post-mortem is a deep dive into the project and learning as a team. By surfacing the perspectives of everyone in the group – many of whom are often more in the weeds – they let us uncover issues at a micro-level that add up to a seriously macro impact. If only a few team members are speaking up, be sure and ask the others what thoughts they have. Sometimes it only takes a small amount of prodding before people feel comfortable talking.

“In teamwork, silence isn’t golden, it’s deadly.”
Mark Sanborn

8. Leave the laptops behind.

Just like creative brainstorms, I prefer that post-mortems are screen-less affairs. Folks are encouraged to bring notes, but computers often provide more distraction than they’re worth. For those already a bit hesitant to share their thoughts, there’s nothing worse than opening up only to find that people aren’t paying attention. A post-mortem should create dialogue and bounce thoughts and ideas back and forth. There’s no room for a computer in this process – even for note taking. (I’ll explain why later.)

“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser focus.”
Bruce Lee

9. Develop actionable takeaways.

Even the most productive post-mortem is no good unless there are clear, actionable takeaways. “Do better” is a noble takeaway indeed, but how do you act on that next time? You need specific to-dos the team can remember in the heat of the next project.

In our previous example, if communication was the problem, perhaps the actionable takeaway is to set more regular, in-person check-ins.

Actionable takeaways set clear expectations. The team can hold each other accountable for implementing them on the next project.

“An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.”
Jack Welch

10. Share post-mortem takeaways.

Nothing groundbreaking here. The last important tip is to share the post-mortem takeaways with anybody who might benefit from your newly-found pearls of wisdom. This definitely includes your post-mortem attendees. But spend the time to identify others in your company who deal with the same challenges.

“Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama

While some of these tips are bit more rigid than others, the most important thing to remember is to keep the nature of the post-mortem light, yet still productive and impactful. If you succeed, you’ll watch your team take away immensely valuable insights that’ll make the next project even better.

Or if this is all just too much, just be sure and call it a Super Post-Mortem Extravaganza. And bring donuts.

The post 10 Tips for a Successful Post-Mortem appeared first on Portent.

What is this IMC you speak about?

There are a few definitions for Integrated Marketing Communications, but my favorite is from the Northwestern School of Journalism: “IMC is a strategic marketing process specifically designed to ensure that all messaging and communications strategies are unified across all channels and are centered around the customer.” Simply put, it is the principle that marketing is most effective if every marketing channel has communication that is aligned to the same core brand positioning.

Like many good marketing strategies, this initially seems like a “duh” principle. Clearly you don’t want to have marketing that makes your brand look like it has some sort of split-personality disorder like Gollum from The Hobbit. (“No, not social media! / It will cheat you, hurt you, LIE! / But, social media is our friend!”) But getting all your marketing communications aligned is trickier than you may think.

Why now?

IMC is not a new concept, but it’s more important than ever, as there are now more marketing channels than ever before. Back in the 50’s, marketing campaigns relied heavily on print, radio, and television. It didn’t take much to keep these aligned.

But, now with digital media, we have everything from newsletters to social media campaigns. Our marketing tool sheds are filled with new and effective tactics that range from broad messaging (your website’s homepage) to targeting more niche groups (via Instagram).

In bigger companies, each marketing channel will have a different manager, which is all the more reason to make sure that high level IMC strategies are in place.

Examples, please!

An IMC expert once told me that when he first engages a client, he would audit their entire property. This obviously includes their entire digital efforts, but also included things that they might not expect.

In the case of a restaurant, he’d visit the restaurant and bring a notepad and paper taking note of everything from the condition of the parking lot to the personalities of the waiters. If the brand messaging of the restaurant is elegance and fresh foods, it really doesn’t help if the dumpster is viewable from the parking lot. Every little piece that contradicts your brand messaging is a step back.

Likewise, let’s take a look at a brand that seems to come up on everyone’s list as the gold standard for marketing – Apple. Apple stands for innovation, simplicity and style. Not only do their commercials, print ads, and website all share the same design aesthetic, but they bring the same qualities to their retail stores and even their products. For example, their customer service center – the Genius Bar – is set up to be simple, easy, and effective, just like an iPad.

What’s bad IMC?

One of the most common pitfalls for brands in terms of IMC is the use of too many tools for social media. Some brands have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Foursquare, Yelp, etc., when their audience only really pays attention to one or two of those channels. What ends up happening here is that although one channel looks nice and engages in meaningful conversation, the others look like a barren wasteland that ignores their audience. Not good.

But even when you have someone concentrating specifically on your social media, they need to not only be aware of the messaging they are trying to convey, but the manner in which they are conveying that message. Sometimes, it doesn’t always go well (See Exhibit A and Exhibit  B below).

Exhibit A

Here’s a post from ZzzQuil early in 2014:

And here’s one of the many responses they got:

Exhibit B

And again, what seemed like a genuine post from Gap:

And as you’d expect, it didn’t get the best response.

Another thing that sometimes brands forget about is that even though you may not be able to directly alter the messaging for external sources, you still need to be aware of it and try and shape it best you can. This can be done by how you choose to respond to audience communication. If this is done improperly, it’s the same as having poor communication in the first place.

TL;DR

The point of IMC is to make sure that every piece of marketing is paid attention to. If every piece is in harmony, the overall result is much more powerful and the audience will be able to hear what your brand is trying to say. Each piece, no matter how small, shares the same responsibility in providing a strong brand identity. Each and every drop causes the flood.

The post It’s Raining Marketing: The Importance of Integrated Marketing Communications appeared first on Portent.

Here’s the problem. Most people don’t actually understand PPC. Many aren’t even sure what PPC is. In many minds it’s like the functionality of a TV set – you just turn it on and BAM, it works!

Well, surprisingly enough that’s not the case. That’s why I’m here to tell you about the basics of PPC and why you should care.

PPC….What is it?

Here is a handy-dandy (extremely brief) overview of what PPC is.

At its core, PPC is a 3 part process:

1. Advertisers create ads to show in search results and select the keywords they want associated with that ad.
2. Advertisers set how much they want to spend each day + how much they want to spend every time an ad is clicked.
3. Search engines show the ads when relevant searches that match the advertiser’s keywords are shown.

At its core, PPC is that simple.

However, these days the search engines are constantly tweaking search results. Here are just a few of the multitude of examples:

Traditional Result – Text ads at the top of the page and in the right navigation area

Product Listing Ads – Image ads with product name, price and source

Sitelinks – Links to pages on a given site that can be included as part of an ad

So what’s with all of the variations? Well, their outward goal is always to provide users with the best possible search experience. That said, ads are often very prominently displayed whenever possible in order to “contribute” to the experience. Why not enhance usability and make $50 billion dollars like Google did from advertising revenue in 2013¹, right?

Why should we care?

PPC marketing is the way of the future – now!

In all seriousness, marketers are beginning to understand the massive value in PPC marketing. A recent PPC Hero survey found that Internet advertising will make up nearly 25% of the entire ad market by 2015! Furthermore, 72% of PPC marketers have plans to increase PPC budget this year.

One massive reason for the increase in focus on PPC is how quantifiable it is as a marketing option. A whole plethora of key performance indicators can be easily tracked such as clicks, average cost per click, the conversion rate, and total conversions. Most importantly, revenue and return can be tracked in almost real time.

PPC is also great from a branding perspective.  Why make it hard for customers to find you? For a much lower price than you pay for non-branded terms, you can get top branded paid results to accompany a top branded organic listing. On that note, if there’s a short-term slogan, sale, or incentive, that can also be easily advertised via branded.

Microsoft is a great example of maximizing available branded real estate. They use sitelink extensions (both paid and organic) and are not afraid to display incentives with non-branded terms.

Naturally, if competitors are bidding on your branded terms you don’t want them to have the top spot and steal traffic. Luckily search engines tend to give an advantage to brands. Plus, it’s way cheaper to bid on your brand than it is for competitors to pay to show up for your branded terms.

What’s the magic tonic that brings ads to life?

We’ve now covered what PPC is and why it’s important. Let’s now delve into how the PPC magic is created.

Actually, for most advertising platforms, it’s pretty simple. Each domain (www.yoururl.com) normally has 1 domain per account (more are possible, but not advised). Under this account, there is a campaign. Let’s use bedding as an example. A campaign is composed of a set of ad groups that share a common overall theme, such as “Pillows” or “Blankets.” The ad groups (an ad group contains ads, keywords, and bids) share a budget, targeting based on geographic location, and some other settings. They hold settings like daily budget and ad scheduling. In general, campaigns organize services or products you offer.

Below the campaign level is the ad group. The ad group level is where product type is distinguished. Using our bedding example one group could contain “Down Blankets” with another one covering “Fleece Blankets.” Specific keywords, ads, and bids fold up into each ad group.

The final level is ads and keywords themselves. When searched for, the keywords push to an ad. Settings for how exact a search query must be in order for the ad to display can easily be modified by campaign, ad group, or even individual ad, those are called match types.

Here’s a visual aide to clarify the typical levels of a given account:

Recap

Here’s a brief reminder in case you opted to scan through this post.

A. PPC is a 3-part process:

1. Advertisers create ads and select associated keywords to be displayed in search results

2. Advertisers set the daily and per-click spend of an ad

3. Ads are displayed by the search engines when a relevant search matches an advertiser’s select keywords

B. There are many ways in which ads are displayed by the search engines including traditional, shopping, and site links, to name just a few.

C. You should care about PPC because it’s a growing and proven method of advertisement, results can be easily quantified, and PPC can help grow and protect your brand name.

D. Most PPC platforms are set up in the following top-to-bottom fashion:

Account > Campaign > Ad Group > Ads + Keywords

Please feel free to share any comments or questions you may have below.

If you only remember one thing from this now long-winded tutorial it should be that PPC is great and your company should be doing it.

The post Pay Per Click Advertising Explained by a Non-PPC Person appeared first on Portent.

We’ve all seen it happen. An employee is doing killer work, initiating great ideas, and displaying a willingness to take on larger projects. The employee is quickly promoted to a manager position.

But while this top employee has excelled at the tactical parts of the job, he or she has never managed a team before. Letting these employees just sink or swim will be chaos – for you, the new manager, and for his or her team.

For growing companies like Portent, it’s important to guide even the smartest, hardest working employees as they transition into management roles.

As president, my role is to help new managers fully understand their roles and teach them how to manage teams properly. New managers bring a unique challenge, but with the right structure and procedures, they can succeed in their positions.

The key to setting your account teams up for success is to manage stuff and lead people.

Don’t treat your employees like products.

As your new managers wade into unchartered waters, they’re bound to ask questions and sometimes fail. If you see these challenges as problems that can be addressed and forgotten, you’re in for a bumpy ride.

Employees aren’t products; you can’t make one tweak or correct one problem and assume your work is done. Transitioning your team from workers to leaders is an ongoing process that takes patience. Even your more experienced managers may stumble along the way because some things are best learned through experience.

It’s all part of the process, but if you are there to answer questions and provide management council, your teams will be successful.

Help people find what they’re great at.

Great managers sit down with their employees to discuss their long-term career goals. If this initiative starts from the top – such as the president sitting down with a VP to set goals—it will trickle down and set an example for your new managers.

If you never ask what your employees are interested in, you may never know that your best copywriter has always been interested in developing client strategy. As managers, it’s important to set goals for personal and team growth and recognize the little things that show your employees progressing.

Motivate them to continue growing.

When great employees start at a company, they are motivated by the light at the end of the tunnel, which is often a managerial role. But oftentimes after they step into the manager position, they can feel as though they’ve hit a ceiling and lose sight of next steps for growth.

The president must find ways to encourage and motivate employees to continue to progress – otherwise they’ll find a new job where they see clear growth opportunities and feel appreciated.

Promote team culture and employee dedication.

As Portent grows, the people grow with it. Our employees know we’re loyal to our people. If we see an employee with potential, we take the extra time to help them excel and grow into a new position.

If a position opens up, our team members are considered first. If our employee is evenly matched with a potential outside hire, they’ll win the job every time.

Sometimes hiring outside the company is necessary, but we do our best to reward our loyal, hardworking employees.  We know our team is talented and when given appropriate coaching, they’ll succeed.

Companies that provide employees with room for growth and exciting new challenges have more to offer than a salary and a cubicle.  They offer achievement and goals, which are the building blocks for success.

The post Manage Stuff, Lead People: How to Turn Workers into Leaders appeared first on Portent.

Conventional wisdom dictates that working in teams is often the best way to accomplish a task. Many hands make light work, a bundle of sticks cannot be broken, etc.

Particularly with large, complex projects, there is just no way one person can accomplish everything on their own. We can’t possibly know everything, or be experts in everything, or be talented at everything. And believe me, I’ve tried.

A good leader pulls together their A team –people whose combined skills and expertise can achieve really big goals. But being a leader, and a good one to boot, isn’t easy. If you are an account strategist like me, or a project manager, marketing manager, etc., you know what I mean.

A lot of my leadership philosophy was forged by experiences in the backcountry. I’m a proud NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) grad, and have guided backpacking and hiking trips for various organizations, as well as spent many hours, weekends, and weeks on trips in the wilderness.

Leading groups in the wilderness is just like leading marketing project teams – only in the office, it’s unlikely my leadership mistakes will put anyone in grave danger.  But mistakes in the office can endure beyond those of a day or weekend hike, and can potentially result in lost revenue, lost clients, or simply lost credibility, internally or externally.

I’m happy to share with you some of the leadership pitfalls I’ve stepped into, both in the office and the backcountry, analyze why we often fall into them, and suggest some ways you can avoid them. But I’m sure you’ve never done any of these before:

1. Being too early out of the gate

At the beginning of a project, your team is often like a pack of racehorses behind the starting gate, chomping at the bit, raring to go.

They’ve received the SOW, creative brief, or project outline, and they want to dive in and get started on their work. But, oddly enough, your job as the leader is to hold them back. They’re not yet ready to function as a cohesive unit.  It’s also your job to paint the picture of  what the work will look like, what steps are necessary to achieve the goals, what role each person will play, and the ideal result. You’re selling the dream.

Business experts define the process teams go through as forming, storming, norming, and performing. Note that forming comes first, followed by storming, then norming – you’re not getting to performing for a while, get it? Allow for that. Build in time for that.

Forming is the critical stage where team members are figuring each other out and learning each other’s quirks (particularly with a new team).  This is also the stage in which everyone is generally being nice, but not saying what they really think. A leader needs to ask questions, motivating the team to open up and discuss their expectations.

Storming is where reality sets in – people realize they may not like the plan or each other; they may question the goals, or their role on the team.

Gradually, you’ll reach the norming phase – tasks have been assigned, roles defined, and goals set.  It’s beginning to look like everyone is on board. They respect your role as leader, and they believe the goals you’ve set are attainable.

Finally you can begin to think about opening that gate and performing as one amazing unit with a shared vision and goal.

During my NOLS training course, I had the opportunity to lead the first solo (without guides) trek in the backcountry. We’d had other opportunities to lead, but this was the first situation where no guide would be present to bail us out if something went wrong. The guides gave us our destination and two minutes later, I set us off on the trek.

I quickly realized I’d made one of the cardinal mistakes of leadership – I had allowed my team’s excitement to provoke me into starting prematurely.  We’d received training in map and compass reading, wilderness first aid, leadership, and traversing tough terrain, and with fantasies of Bear Grylls and “Survivor” in our heads, we thought we were hot stuff.

About twenty minutes into the hike, I realized we were going the wrong way.

Not only that, but the decision put my leadership in question, and mutiny (in the form of bickering about which direction to go) set in. We survived, but there were some tense moments that could have been avoided had I spent 10 minutes at camp getting the group’s goals in alignment and establishing myself as the team lead before setting out on our adventure.

2. Failing to check assumptions

One of the easiest mistakes for leaders to make is assuming everyone thinks like we do. Why wouldn’t they, right? Haha, hmmm…yeah.  Believe me, they don’t.

You might think everything is going great because the project is ahead of schedule, the client (or your boss) is happy, and conversions are way up – but meanwhile, your team may feel completely overwhelmed, stressed about expectations, and wanting to quit. How can this be?

You might think your client loves hearing the scintillating history of search engines on every single call – after all, it’s fascinating to you and they seem to be listening so attentively. But they may be thinking: “if she brings that up one more time, I’m going to go ballistic.” How can this be?

We are all unique creatures, with our own special take on the world. Assuming others think or operate the way we do will cause nothing but grief, and some (hopefully hilarious?) misunderstandings.

“Assuming” is one of the easiest traps a leader can fall in to, so how can you sidestep it?

Even if you think something is obvious, check the assumption.

Ask your client and your team (frequently) how things are going for them, and if they feel like their goals are being met. Do they have what they need? Is there anything going on in their organization or with other projects that you should know about? Do they feel like you are being responsive to their requests? Does your team understand your client’s goals?

Ask your client and your team what their biggest priority is. Reiterate your understanding of the objectives and blatantly ask if they are in agreement. The answers could easily surprise and amaze you. And what you don’t know CAN hurt you. People can quit (or complain to your boss), clients can fire you, and morale can suffer.

One of the mistakes I made in my debut as a trek guide on the NOLS course was assuming that everyone on my team valued speed over everything else. Why did I think everyone else felt that way? Because my friend and I both thought our trek should be more like the “Amazing Race,” where two teams compete to see which team can get to the X on the map first. We were two people out of seven in the group, but because we both felt this way, I assumed everyone else did too.

Consequently, as the lead of this group, I ran us at a breakneck pace over rocks, up steep terrain, through rivers, with 40-50 pound packs on our back, never once considering that this wasn’t fun for everyone else (particularly the guy who was recovering from a nasty cold).

I didn’t realize it until mutiny set in once again. Oh? Some people wanted to take a more leisurely pace, take pictures of wildflowers, breathe in the fresh mountain air, and chit chat as we strolled along? It never occurred to me.  How could this be? I never asked what anyone wanted to get out of this experience. I didn’t check the assumption that everyone thought like me, that a trail run would be awesome.  Humph.

3. Being too nice

This one is hard, particularly for those of us who are naturally social, as account strategists and marketing people often are. I really like people and I like being friendly – that’s why I have the job I do. I want people to like me back. The reality is, not everyone will, and particularly not those people to whom you assign tasks, direct work, or otherwise “order around.”

If you’re concerned about whether or not your team (or even your client) likes you, you’re probably ignoring something very important: the necessity of setting good boundaries.

Your role as a leader is to define roles, set objectives, plan steps to achieve those objectives, and motivate your team to deliver. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions regarding balancing the needs of your boss or client with the needs of the individuals on your team.  If you are worried about being perceived as being friendly, you’re not going to be able to do your job well.  And sometimes just the perception of being “too nice” can work against you. People may see you as a pushover, even if you’re far from it.

So how do you avoid this trap?

• Don’t avoid confrontation. Sometimes people will test your boundaries to see how far they can push you. If someone on your team is continually asking for more time to deliver a report, or continually making excuses for mistakes, call them out on it.
• Set a clear expectation for timeliness and quality of work and let them know what the repercussions will be.  There’s no need to be unfriendly, but setting clear boundaries can help minimize the perception that your friendliness can be taken advantage of. Sometimes your boss or a client will keep piling on the requests until you say no. Yes, confrontation can be uncomfortable in the moment, but clearly and concisely setting the boundary about what is permissible will work for you in the long run.
• And don’t apologize for things that aren’t your fault. The more you stand up and own your role as a leader, the more your team and others will perceive you that way.

As someone who prides herself on being physically strong and athletic, I often fall into the ‘being too nice’ trap by carrying more than my share of the weight on a trek.

On backpacking trips, your group often shares the weight of group equipment, such as parts to the tent, cooking equipment, first aid supplies, and food. This is generally distributed according to weight and bulk. Bigger people can generally carry more weight, so their packs tend to be heavier. If you’re willing to carry a heavier load proportionally than team members twice your size, and don’t speak up, don’t cry about it later when you are exhausted.

Know your limits, and speak up before you reach them. Being a hero won’t make you a better leader. Teaching your team members (and your clients!) how to carry their own weight will work better for everyone in the long run.

I hope you’ve learned a few tricks for avoiding some common pitfalls of leadership, or at least enjoyed watching me poke fun at my own errors. Often we don’t learn what TO do until we first learn what not to do.

And luckily I never actually lead my NOLS group off a cliff. I just created disharmony, exhausted them, and exhausted myself. And after that experience, I learned what traps to look out for in my marketing team leadership adventures.

The post 3 Common Leadership Pitfalls to Avoid at All Costs appeared first on Portent.

Great marketing should be mouthwatering, scrumptious, and satisfying. Don’t you want customers pining for your next email, devouring every bit of information, and anxiously awaiting more?

We don’t always think about marketing in terms of a delicious meal, but restaurants and marketers ultimately have the same goals. Give customers a taste of something yummy, satisfy their appetites, and keep them coming back for more.

Cooks have the advantage because they directly appeal to one of the most basic human needs (nourishment) and there are few things—if any—more satisfying than the perfect combination of dishes (okay, maybe the perfect combination of dishes and beverages). For me, few things beat a perfectly seared medium-rare fatty ribeye steak with a bold juicy red wine.

If we start thinking about the reactions we evoke from customers in the same way that culinary masterminds do, we can appeal more to their basic needs and desires, achieving maximum satisfaction for them while delivering profitability to us.

Here are five ways we can apply the secrets of successful kitchens and gastronomy to our marketing plans.

1. Be creative

Both marketing and cooking encourage and allow endless creativity and innovation. This is the magical allure of each.

But do not abuse the creativity by straying too far from your core competency. Find ways to innovate and expand your audience from within your brand voice and image.

If you’re looking for a new interpretation of the s’mores sandwich—of course, a waste of time because it’s perfect—don’t try to make it more savory with a garlic aioli. When sprucing up a traditional French dish, a Tex-Mex flare might not be the most cohesive approach.

On the other hand, lemongrass matzo ball soup (it even sounds delicious) is a brilliant and delightful play on the traditional dish.

Courtesy of www.bonappetit.com

That’s what you want to be.

In the marketing world if you envision creating a viral video, a piece of highly shareable content, or something to engage a new audience, think about what’s on your menu. How can you take what you already do well, and elevate it by adding a new dimension?

Starbucks’ #spreadthecheer hashtag on Twitter this past fall is a great example of a discombobulated marketing flavor profile. Yes, it’s a thing. This unfortunately coincided with widespread public criticism of Starbucks’ labor practices and questionable corporate tax policy. Starbucks did not consider how all of the elements would mesh, resulting in the equivalent of a lemon-curd mocha. Cheer was not spread.

Instead, take a lesson from something brilliantly simple like the Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment. A perfect balance of two things many people like—Diet Coke and Mentos—combined with a few things everyone loves—a sweet bass line, theatrics, and synchronized fountains—yields over 16 million views. That’s tasty!

2. Time it right

Whether cooking a delicious meal or brainstorming marketing ideas, keen awareness of your surroundings is imperative. Both require multi-tasking. When you know what’s happening, new opportunities arise.

Experienced and passionate cooks know that for optimal flavor, it’s best to use the freshest local produce. Ideally, produce should not have a long commute to your table. When selecting vegetables to cook in the midst of Washington (Portent is located in Seattle) winter, discerning chefs try to stay away from corn—it couldn’t have come from anywhere local because it’s primarily a summer vegetable. Instead, one might opt for the kale or apropos snow peas because they are winter vegetables more likely to be sourced closer to home.

Whether taking advantage of the best seasonal produce or a trending topic for your marketing plan, utilize convenience and existing opportunities whenever possible.

If I planned this blog post better, I could have coordinated it with the “Top Chef: Seattle” season finale last month. (There would have been a lot of searches around “top chef.”)

Check the calendar, look for upcoming holidays and identify potential opportunities to coordinate with events that already attract a large audience like the Super Bowl. How about a campaign for donating a percentage of your April revenues to a charity supporting Earth Day on April 20? Do you have a grand idea to coincide with the increasing ads for products and gifts targeted towards Mother’s Day on May 12?

3. Practice good management

Gordon Ramsay has a very distinct approach to managing his personnel and TV show participants: bitch, yell, intimidate, and then deliver just the right amount of sincere praise (when it’s due)—all of it in an entertainingly muddy British accent.

Iron Chef Morimoto is more demure and quiet with a head down approach. (When you make ridiculously innovative and incredible food for that long, people drop everything to listen at a second’s notice.)

The chefs have different styles of communication, but they both balance all of the moving parts of their kitchen with impeccable timing. They know every ingredient and item their sous chefs prepare. This doesn’t come off the cuff; it’s strategically organized so that everyone knows their role.

First choose a solid team able to execute your general marketing idea. Consider the theme of your campaign: what is the flavor profile? When that’s solidified, determine a specific timeline for completion of each piece and decide if that piece is a dish served independently or assembled into a grander meal.

If the campaign involves an aspect of outreach (which it likely should), assign someone to research relevant parties, organizations, and people to contact in advance. But remember: asking people to help or participate never bears fruit immediately. Account for an estimated time frame to hear back from contacts and build it into the deadline for completing outreach.

Are the proper discussion points, graphics, and videos prepared for your social media team to deliver on Facebook and Twitter? Perfect timing requires the timeline and all supporting materials to be ready well in advance.

When cooking, you must ensure the excellence of every ingredient. In business and marketing, if each piece of the campaign isn’t quality by itself, it will only bring down the entire dish. Realistically, things happen on the fly all of the time, but it’s always best to account for error and create as much time for review as possible.

This boils down to another element of timing: if the copy and personnel are in place to contact potential supporters, but the graphics and media aren’t ready, it can’t happen. Everything must be ready at the right time.

4. Adjust as needed

When steak runs out and the kitchen has to 86 (cancel) the dish, great chefs in nimble kitchens see an opportunity to create a new nightly special by using excess available ingredients from other menu items.

For example, a customer writes a scathing review on your Facebook wall. Rather than ignoring it or responding defensively, use the situation as an opportunity to showcase stellar customer service: respond to it directly and apologetically, offering multiple solutions to fix the problem, replace the product, or offer a free trial. This turns what could be a blemish on your profile into a demonstration of high quality, genuine customer service.

Or maybe you didn’t sell all of your discounted flash sale products, leaving you with excess inventory. Instead of leaving it to collect dust in your online store, use each item as part of an advertised giveaway to collect email addresses or increase your social following. Be creative to continue getting value from that inventory.

5. Present it tastefully

Chefs taste as they cook to ensure that all components of the dish and meal (including its marketability) are on point. That means tasty, unique, and cohesive.

The final product is only as good as the sum of its parts, or only as good as the weakest link, or insert other overused business cliché here. (These sayings are overused for a reason.)

Quality control at each step is essential. That doesn’t mean micro-managing and smothering creativity, but there must be adequate time to check every element.

When delivering a dish or final product, make it attractive. People eat with their eyes and their nose before ever putting anything in their mouth. It’s a mélange of the senses building to the most pleasurable and successful experience possible. That is the crux of both brilliant cuisine and marketing.

We don’t want our customers to just “go through the motions” by clicking on our advertisements or entering an email address—both are the equivalent of eating a bland meal.  We want them overwhelmed with excitement to get more information, join our community, or sign up for a trial.

This pork marketing campaign is a great example. A display ad showing an enticing image appears on a cooking site—great initial steps with effective audience targeting and appealing creative.

Courtesy of www.porkbeinspired.com

Click on the ad and it takes me directly to the website showing: a great slogan (entirely echoing my sentiments that pork makes everything better), beautiful images of delicious pork goodness, links to a variety of recipes thus broadening appeal (people love options), an easy recipe video, and a call to action inviting users to share recipes.

This isn’t perfect and it doesn’t apply to all forms of marketing, but in essence this contains many of the core concepts we want our campaigns to echo.

• Targeted audience
• Enticing creativity
• Engaging content
• Succinct and appropriate call to action

These aren’t brand new concepts to us as marketers, but next time you’re planning a marketing campaign, or even a one-off email, try a new approach.

Think about your favorite restaurant (your mother’s kitchen counts) and the feelings you experience there. It can be anything from a dimly lit romantic setting to childhood nostalgia.  Then ask yourself: what do you experience when eating the meal? Can you imagine the presentation, recall the smell and excitement? At the end of the meal do you feel entirely satisfied or crave more?

Now, change your approach to best evoke these feelings and reactions from your customers to get them raving and coming back with their friends.

Please comment, share your experiences and passion for cooking and marketing. Do you know a restaurant or organization that does both well? Can you think of a cooking metaphor I didn’t already abuse?

The post Why You Should Market Like You (Want to) Cook appeared first on Portent.

It’s hard to pinpoint when some of us fell out of love with Google. Maybe it was when they went from geeky Stanford students out to “not be evil” to the kinda creepy boyfriend who orders for us at restaurants because “that’s what we always have.” Like it or not, we were trapped. Over the years, many other search engines have tried to capture our hearts only to fail, victims of the collective addiction to the presumed-to-be-infallible Google.

Search engine as stalker

Like many, I greeted the arrival of the search engine DuckDuckGo with pleasure and skepticism. Right on the home page, they tell me that they believe in better search and no tracking on any level. DuckDuckGo does not capture your IP, archive your Web history, save your searches or store personal information of any kind. This means no weird “search aftertaste” in the form of remarketing banner ads that follow you around the Web and are based on searches you’ve done in the past. No worries about the search engine caving in to subpoenas requesting access to search data.

Better search it is with a lean and pleasing design that comes with DuckDuck “goodies” on demand. These are pre-populated queries and functions that do calculations, generate strong passwords, provide bartending recipes and produce the Green Day tour schedule. What’s not to like?

Search engine novelty acts

I know that we’ve been down this path before. There was Cuil and Viewzi. These were passing flirtations with novelty act search engines where we learned that search glamor is pixel deep. And that trash talking wench posing as a cyber-librarian Mrs. Dewey was just wrong on so many levels.

DuckDuckGo has street cred in the partnerships with Zanran, a search engine that pulls structured data from the Deep Web, and Wolfram Alpha, the search engine most like Sheldon from “Big Bang Theory.” A recent venture capital infusion will finance necessary expansion to take on Google, the Apollo Creed of search these days.

Search engines “learn” from use by analyzing the behavior towards results to confirm or tune the ranking algorithms. In order to compete effectively, DuckDuckGo needs to get more people using the search engine. Currently, it is processing nearly 2 million searches a day. Google processes somewhere around 3 billion searches a day.

Level playing fields are a good thing (or so I’m told). They foster a competitive landscape that produces innovation. I am doing my part to make the search engine landscape more competitive by starting my searching at Duckduckgo.com. Most of the time I find what I need and when I do not, I go Bing or Google.  Break the cycle of search addiction. Join me and many other professionals in the search world that use an ABG (anybody but Google) search engine as their default starting point for search.

Google will never know…

The post What the Duck? DuckDuckGo Takes on the Big G appeared first on Portent.

Recently I did a survey of our staff here at Portent to see if anyone had any questions about SEO they wanted answered.

I made the survey anonymous using Survey Monkey, because sometimes people feel more comfortable asking a question without their identity being revealed. In the spirit of sharing and transparency, we decided to post the results of our survey right here on the Portent blog.

So – how’d I do with my answers? Do you have any additions you’d like to make? Any strong disagreements? Don’t worry, I can handle it if you don’t agree… if anyone needs me I’ll be in the bathroom crying.

SEO survey questions & answers

What are the top 10 easiest things a blogger could do on their own?

Presuming no SEO expertise on the part of the blogger in question, here are some fairly easy tips to help with SEO:

1. Before writing, do some simple quick keyword research on the subject at hand and determine what topically-related keyword(s) people are using when searching Google. Tools to help with this are Google’s AdWords keyword tool, Google suggest (start typing a search, watch what Google suggests – or use Ubersuggest), Google Trends (look at the related terms and rising terms), and also do a search in Google then look at the “related searches” under the “show search tools” heading in the left sidebar.
2. After completing step 1, use the target keyword in <title> tag, <h1> tag, in the meta description, and use in a natural and not-forced manner in the page content 1-3 times (that last part is a rule of thumb, not a hard and fast rule).
3. Put a topically-relevant image on the page and name the image your-keyword.png (or whatever extension it is) and use the keyword in the image alt attribute.
4. Use a good URI structure such as one of these Permalink structures:
   /%postname%/
   /%category%/%postname%/
5. Use tags and categories appropriately. Example: blog theme = cooking, category = spicy recipes, tag = ghost peppers. Tags should be more specific than categories. Should you use your keyword? Maybe/probably; opinions differ here but Google seems to be fond of tag URLs for some reason. Don’t overuse tags, 1-5 is enough.
6. Use good internal linking: link related blog posts to each other. Vary the anchor text, don’t try to be “too perfect.” Use a blend of targeted keywords and generic terms (such as “here” or “this article”). Use anchor text that makes sense and is not awkward to a casual reader.
7. Add visible social sharing buttons – social overlaps with SEO because if people share your content, they may link to it, which can boost your page / site authority.
8. Look at your Google Analytics Content > All Pages report; what content has been successful in the past? Write more content on popular topics – content that has had good engagement metrics. Note: never duplicate content or make “thin rewrites” merely for SEO purposes.
9. Set up Google authorship – link your Google + profile to your blog. Eventually your picture will show up in Google’s search results and improve click-through. Use a good picture!
10. View keywords that currently drive organic traffic to your site – look in Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, and internal site search terms; mine this data for more content writing opportunities.

If Google consistently changes their algorithms, how are we certain the recommendations we give are the right ones which will benefit the client 6 months or a year from now?

Google does consistently, and constantly, change their algorithm. This is certainly something they do to best serve their users because Google’s revenue is mostly from AdWords clicks, and they want happy users who continue to use Google. And click on ads.

So in a sense, with respect to organic results, we’re chasing what Google is chasing and recommendations we make are, to some extent, evergreen. Examples of this include making sure that clients’ sites load fast, don’t have any technical barriers, roadblocks or SEO deal killers, and are optimized on-page/site with SEO best practices so that search engines can easily crawl and index those pages.

From that standpoint the recommendations we make today should for the most part still be good recommendations in 6 months or a year. Note: none of this should be interpreted to mean that SEO is unchanging, or that Google won’t make dramatic changes, or that the search landscape itself won’t undergo radical unforeseen changes. The basic foundations of relevance and authority will very likely stand the test of time even as tactical adjustments are necessary due to algorithm changes.

What is driving placement in Google search results so that I can tell my clients to do that?

Generally speaking (and presuming no technical barriers or problems exist) relevance and authority matter most.

When a searcher performs a search, Google is doing its robot-best to serve up the most relevant, satisfying results to the searcher. It’s extremely important for your clients to optimize their site for how people actually search for the product, service, cause, or issue they want to be found for in Google’s SERPs.

That means “getting inside the head” of their target market / audience and discovering how they search online. Organizations frequently talk about what they do using jargon or technical terms that their target market would never use in a Google search. Their website may even be rife with such jargon or technical terms… that their target market is not using in organic search.

Optimizing a website using those terms is of course only one of many recommendations that an SEO specialist will make, depending on the specific needs of that site.

Why does it take so damn long?

Why does what, specifically, take so long? Take longer than what?

I presume the question is asking why organic visibility and resulting traffic and conversions take longer than, for example, other methods such as well-managed PPC campaigns.

When you stop to think about it, it’s a fairly large undertaking to index, categorize, and rank the many documents that exist on the web.

In order to gain visibility and traffic from organic search, a website needs authority and relevance. The factors that influence authority and relevance such as garnering links from important and/or related sites and producing high quality relevant content – those tasks themselves require consistent effort.

Do rankings even really matter anymore? What about the whole personalized search thing?

For sure personalization, universal search results, local results, etc. have affected the SERPs (search engine results pages) layout and organic listings. That said, visibility does matter – how many times do you go past the first page of SERPs?

(I have my Google search settings at 100 results yet I still go past the first page).

For now I’ll set aside any discussion of whether people will bother to click on your result (even if you’re highly ranked). And I’ll also set aside any discussion of whether those people find what they’re looking for, much less trust, believe, or like on your site.

More to the point is the fact that rankings are not a business metric. Visibility is important; if no one finds you in organic search… you get the idea. But the more important metrics to pay attention to are engagement and outcome metrics in your Analytics reports.

Why are my search results less progressively less helpful every time Google has an algorithm update?

The helpfulness of a search query’s results is, to a large extent, ostensibly subjective. There are those who’ve publicly stated that updates such as Panda and/or Penguin have only marginally accomplished the goals of reducing spam in search results and thwarting the success of manipulative tactics.

Will a site with crappy content that’s been optimized outrank a site with stellar content that has not been optimized?

In the past, people have used SEO techniques and shortcuts to get crappy content to rank. The idea was to use all on-page optimization techniques but also game the algorithm by buying or otherwise procuring links fairly rapidly and typically with keyword-specific anchor text. These techniques, generally speaking, have been fairly successful.

The above is working less often than before due to ongoing Google algorithm updates such as Panda, Penguin, and others we surely don’t know about. Google is definitely aware of the fact that, for example, people have used “article spinning software” which takes a piece of content and replaces various verbs or other words with synonyms and so on; the net result can be dozens or even hundreds of “spun versions” of the original content which is then placed on various web properties linking to the main site.

Do I really need to input meta descriptions for all my blog posts?

Yes. I strongly encourage you to use well-written meta descriptions for all blog posts.

Here are some guidelines for optimal meta descriptions:

• 150 characters or less including spaces
• Include the page’s target keyword (it will be bold text in Google’s search results helping your listing to stand out to the searcher’s eye)
• It should give the searcher a very good indication of what they’ll get after clicking through
• As practicable, include a call to action and/or make it compelling

Is this really anonymous?

Yes, Josh, it really is; SurveyMonkey does not show me who asked any of these questions.

I’m curious about the influence of social on SERPs. Do we have any data or any correlations we can show clients that will help them to see that activity on Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest is playing a role in their keyword rankings?

Because rankings are not a business metric, I suggest that it’s better to tie social activity to metrics in GA – referrals/visits from social activity and associated engagement and outcomes (goals) data, rather than to try to tie that to SERP rankings.

There an excellent SEOmoz article here that does speak directly to your question of social as correlated with rankings; I suggest a careful read of this and not a quick scan in order to get all the data straight. It’s likely that social signals influence ranking in an indirect manner such as the more people who are exposed to a piece of (great) content due to social sharing, the more likely it is to garner links that do help with ranking.

I’ll end where I began here: it’s better to tie social activity to better metrics than rankings. Check your Google Analytics reports to see how your social activity is translating into traffic, assisted conversions, and goal completions.

The new HTML5 elements (i.e. <section>, <article>, etc.) are a big deal for accessibility. How do they play into SEO?

Examining the W3C documentation, it may be content in the <article> element will weighted more heavily by search engine spiders because that content is supposed to be “…a self-contained composition…” as opposed to the <section> element which W3C says is “…appropriate only if the element’s contents would be listed explicitly in the document’s outline.”

I’d suspect that as more sites use HTML 5 that Google et al. will evolve how they weight content in those sections and use <section> to get topic or especially sub-topic signals comparing that with the signals they receive from the <article> element to determine the relationship between content in those 2 elements in order to classify and index that content.

What is the single most important thing a website must have in regards to SEO?

Generally speaking – and crudely put – the single most important thing a website must have for purposes of SEO is relevant, index-able content.

That content must be valuable and unique, of course, and it’s best if the website has some sort of theme or main topic so that all the content “fits under a single umbrella” so to speak.

For the long and short term, for search engines and for humans, the single most important thing a website must have in regards to SEO is relevant high-quality content that is useful to humans and easily crawled and indexed by search engines.

Does a link in the first 100 words of a blog post really pass more authority than one in the middle of the content?

I presume we’re talking about how Google treats those links. And there are 2 possible scenarios – the link points to another page on the same site, or it points to different separate web property. Frankly, I doubt anyone outside of Google (and few inside) really knows for sure in both of those instances. My sense is that beliefs such as “only the first link passes link juice” etc. are not true and that there are more complex and sophisticated factors involved with how or even when and if a text-based link passes authority.

How few links should a 500-700 word guest post have to ensure our anchor text links pass the maximum authority to client sites?

Each page has a certain amount of authority or “link juice” to pass to another page. The more links on the page, the less authority each link passes.

Certainly we want to maximize our outreach and not undercut those efforts; I’d say don’t worry about including other links (to non-client resources) if they’re truly relevant and helpful to human readers of that content.

How does a link in the middle of a guest post compare to a link in an author bio appended at the end of the main copy compare to a link in an actual author bio box at the end of a post?

First, read the answer to the question above “Does a link in the first 100 words of a blog post really pass more authority than one in the middle of the content?” because that’s also relevant here.

Next, I’ll add that it’s quite likely that the link in the text is seen as more important than the links in author bio boxes.

How is optimizing a title tag and an h1 different? Should one be more catchy, the other more keyword-rich?

Ideally they should both be catchy and utilize the target keyword.  The main difference is space constraints (more on this below).

The <title> and <h1> should definitely smoothly relate to each other because if a searcher sees a search result (<title> tag is the search result “headline” and clickable blue link), clicks on that result, and the page headline (the content of the <h1> tag) is far different than the <title> tag in search results, that can create a post-click mismatch of the searcher’s experience with the pre-click expectation that was set in the SERP.

Another way of saying that is that the landing page headline should concur with the promise of the <title> tag in the search results to create a smooth experience, and the searcher feels like they found what they’re looking for.

For SEO purposes, the <title> and <h1> ought to both include the targeted keyword. Both SEO and searchers needs can and should be met when writing those tags.

Space constraints of the <title> tag: Google tends to display only 70 characters including spaces. After that they’ll either truncate or machine-replace the <title> tag (the latter is a more recent development announced by Google). If the company or brand name will be included in the <title> tag (typically at the end in most cases) then there’s even less space to work with.

The <h1> tag contents does not have this limitation so it can obviously be more expansive.

Wrap-up

People will continue to search online. Whether it’s a search that’s typed or spoken (or maybe even, gasp! – thought someday!?), people will be searching the interwebz to find information, answers to questions, and to make purchases. Companies like Google will continue to strive to present searchers with the most satisfying results possible. Search Engine Optimization professionals will continue to bridge the gap by helping companies with their online marketing efforts. Here at Portent we believe that great marketing can save the world by connecting people to what matters. What do you believe?

The post Portent Staff Survey: “What’s your biggest question(s) about SEO?” appeared first on Portent.

I’m going to play mind-reader for a moment. Here’s what you think about SEO:

• You think search engine optimization is a closely-guarded secret bag of tricks
• You think SEO means beating Google at their own game
• You equate SEO with “buckets of cash” which would be pouring into your bank account if only you knew what the secret Google tricks were

Okay, okay, you busted me – that’s what I used to think SEO was. I’m projecting onto you.

But in total honesty, did you ever think that way? Do you think that way now? Maybe I should be embarrassed that I once thought that way, but you can’t know what you don’t know until you know it, ya know?

Who knew SEO was primarily eliminating technical roadblocks, making sure your site pages are relevant for how people search for what you offer, and earning off-site authority? Actually, a lot of people knew before I did. Better late than never, I suppose.

Who knew Google tricks for SEO really do exist? Turns out you really do want to stay away from those. Unless you’re an evil genius who can truly out-maneuver (yes, I’m actually laughing as I write that) the hundreds of super-smart Google engineers out there constantly tweaking the search algorithm, you’d better not use any of those nasty tricks.

Now, you may not even know what those Google tricks are. You may have no idea what actions will get your website banned from the Google index faster than catnip from a goldfish convention. But you might as well know what they are – not so you can do them, but so you can make sure your know-it-all nephew who spent five minutes on the Interwebs researching SEO doesn’t get your website torched for you.

Without further ado, I bring you “Google Tricks You Must Avoid Or You’ll Be Very, Very Unhappy”

Don’t stuff yourself

This is a trick that worked long, long ago in a galaxy not far away (the one we live in): keyword stuffing. In the early days of search engines, just repeating a keyword you wanted to rank for would boost relevance and rankings.

For example: “if you need a New Jersey Lawyer, there are several things you need to consider before hiring a New Jersey Lawyer. First, you want a New Jersey Lawyer located in New Jersey. The next thing you’re looking for is a New Jersey Lawyer who…”

You get the idea.

(I have a suspicion someone reading this is running to their website and blushing with shame at this exact moment).

Star ships do it, why can’t my website?

Cloaking is a sneaky technique where you show one thing to search engines (page about baskets of kittens) and another to human searchers (page about buy Viagra). There are other fun things you can (but should never) do with cloaking like using scripting to inject keywords seen by Google but not humans, or to check for googlebot (Google’s robot spider that crawls the web to index pages) vs. not and do a content bait-and-switch. Fun stuff, eh?

Note: it’s okay if you’re detecting a mobile user agent and serving up a mobile version of your website; you’re not trying to trick Google.

Hiding in plain sight

Here’s another fun one: white text on a white background. Humans can’t see that you’re repeating “New Jersey Lawyer” over and over and over and over – but googlebot sees that. This is like keyword stuffing, but a bit sneakier.

Another version of this is using CSS to position text so far off the page humans can never see it… but you’re tricking Google, and I want you to trust me on this one: Google does not like being tricked.

The old switcheroo

Another trick that Google will hate your website for is what they call “sneaky redirects.” Somewhat similar to cloaking, an example of a sneaky redirect is using a JavaScript meta refresh to switch URLs, here’s how that works:

Googlebot shows up all happy and trusting and crawls your webpage; everything is rainbows and unicorns, and googlebot leaves indexing what it found. But, meanwhile – muahaha – when a human visits that same page, after a certain period of time the meta refresh kicks in and a new page loads – no rainbows and unicorns for you! No, you get PPC (porn, pills, casinos).

Scheming & dreaming

Google just does not like it if you try to manipulate their ranking algorithm; which to no small extent depends on links. Someone once called links the currency of the web. Sure, there are other signals of authority Google uses, but for now links are pretty darn important to Google for determining authority (how important a site/page is and how highly it should rank for certain search queries).

People figured that out early-on and devised various link schemes to trick Google such as buying or trading links; automated link generation (via software) on blog posts, bookmarking sites, forums, or directories;  links in an article placed in various article directories, and so forth.

These schemes have worked for some time, but those hordes of Google engineers have been working on this and will continue to do so. They released the “Penguin” algorithm in April 2012 (with subsequent, ongoing updates) to counteract and even actively penalize sites trying to trick Google with link schemes.

Final thoughts & wrap-up

Trying to trick Google is doomed to failure. Google has been hard at work this year releasing numerous significant algorithm updates specifically designed to “close the dirty tricks loopholes” and you can bet they’ll continue to roll out more. Sure, you can probably out-maneuver them for a while, and some of the so-called “black-hat SEOs” even enjoy the cat-and-mouse game. But if you’re a “regular” business owner, marketing manager, etc., you’re better off staying away from Google tricks even if your competitors are using them. Fair warning: tricking Google today will result in the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands tomorrow.

The post Google Tricks For SEOs to Avoid at All Costs appeared first on Portent.

“I know a little SEO, we should be fine”

No you don’t.

I understand that quite a few folks learn the basics of on-site optimization. I understand that quite a few folks read SEO blogs, or read marketing blogs that talk about SEO in passing. I understand that quite a few folks learn a lot from the SEO that used to work at the company.

That is not the same as being a full time SEO professional.

Knowing a little bit about SEO is a good way to be dangerous to your marketing department. Without thorough SEO knowledge, it is easy to do substantial damage to your web rankings. Whether you’re optimizing for the wrong keywords, accidentally using some black hat techniques, or spending all your time on spammy link building, you’re doing more harm than good.

“SEO was already done to the old site, we won’t need that for the new one”

Good point! SEO clearly adheres to the transitive property, so we’re good here…
First of all, this isn’t even the transitive property, so you can throw that reference out. Secondly, huh?

You spent a bunch of money to optimize your current site. You saw results, you improved in the rankings, you increased traffic, etc. Now it’s time to look at rebuilding your site to improve bounce rate, time on site, user interactions and conversions. Why on Earth are you discontinuing SEO?

This is the time when SEO can be the most crucial part of your marketing strategy. Changing your site means massive changes in the search engine’s indexes. If you get rid of a page, it needs to be redirected and the links to the page throughout the site need to be updated. If you change a URL, the old URL needs to be redirected to the new. Image sources will need to be updated. Page titles need to change. Content will be adjusted or removed—will your keywords and pages still be optimized?

Don’t change horses mid-stream. SEO leads to daily changes when your site isn’t going through a major overhaul, why would you shut it down when it is?

“We got everything SEO’d back in May”

Oh right. SEO is a one time deal. Somehow forgot about that while doing hours of work everyday.

SEO is an ongoing process. I like to relate it to an ad campaign: your site is the ad, and SEO is what delivers your ad to the world. You wouldn’t create a great ad and then never publish it, so don’t do the same with your website.

Leverage your SEO to get your website in front of more people.

“Our meta tags are up to date”

OK… what does this mean?

Pages can have dozens of meta tags of various types (description, author, charset, refresh, name, http-equiv, content, robots, googlebot, google, google-site-verification, content-type, keywords). Far too often, “meta tags” means stuffing numerous broad single term keywords into the meta name=”keywords” field. Problem is, this technique went the way of buffalo back in the early part of the century.

Do yourself a favor and remove your meta keywords.

“We made a link contest”

Oy vey. Do you want to be kicked from Google? Do you hate revenue?

Link contests (see also: link schemes, link building plans, reciprocal link abuse, etc.) seem like a sure-fire way to speed things up, when all it does is slow your site down. The idea here is based around gaming the old PageRank algorithm in order to gain massive amounts of links to your site as fast and painlessly as possible. The problem is, Google doesn’t much care for it. In fact, they downright forbid it in their Webmaster Guidelines.

Want more links? Do it the old fashioned way—write content people want to share, sell something people want to have, inform people of something they need.

If all else fails, post pictures of kittens.

“SEO best practices”

This one is near and dear to my bitter blackened heart.
What’s a “best practice?” Who defines “best practices?” To me, this is account speak.

From what I’ve gathered, it seems like this means all pages have a title tag (not necessarily properly formatted, nor optimized), a meta description, meta keywords (again, not used in SEO), and maybe (if you’re lucky) proper header tags throughout the site. Google measures 200 some odd elements to determine search rankings. If that’s the case, how are 4 on-site elements the crux of “best practices?”

SEO isn’t this simple. It’s complex and is beyond learning a few “best practices.”

“We’re going to add the SEO after it goes live”

NO.
NO.
NO.

So much is wrong with this one. Much of what I discussed referring to continuing SEO after updating your site can be applied here as well. However, there are a few differences here. With a new site, you’re preemptively killing its potential by launching it without any attention paid to SEO.
The first signals Google gets from your site are going to influence the next few months of your rankings – don’t launch without SEO…even if it is just “best practices.” ;)

Ever heard any of these in your agency? Got any to add?

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