Visibility

Social media sites have taught us that companies are no longer in control of their own message.  The individuals who post the good and bad about your company on blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Delicious, Twitter, etc. have changed the game.

That doesn’t, however, mean you have to give up all control.

The best way to understand how you can maintain some control of the conversations taking place on the Internet is to imagine that when you go online you are really going on a trip. Just as you type an address into your GPS unit to get directions to where you want to go, you type specific keywords into a search engine. So, if you want to make sure those words are the roads that lead a person to your website, you need to live a keyword centric life. Here’s how:

Create a Keyword “Bible”

A person’s web experience begins with the copy that shows up in search engine results.  

So, you need to take the time to think of your customers’ problems, wants and needs. This will help you determine all the possible keywords that could be used to find your website.  

First think geographically.  Pretend for a moment you are Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  People would naturally search for you by the city where you are located, so ‘Pittsburgh conservatory’ is a logical keyword.  But, what about ‘Western Pennsylvania conservatory?’ Some people might search for that, right? Others might search for ‘Pennsylvania conservatory.’  Remember, some people might not use the word conservatory but instead use ‘Pittsburgh indoor garden’ or ‘Pittsburgh botanical gardens,’ thus giving you a few more keywords.

Next, do the same for your reputation and revenue-generating ideas such as ‘weekend activities in Pittsburgh’ or ‘Pittsburgh tourist attractions,’ etc.

Finally, compose a list of all of the variations that could be created from your name.  Type ‘Pittsburgh flower show’ into a search engine and you’ll still find the link to the Phipps’ site.

In the end, you will have compiled quite a list.

Write Keyword Inspired Content

Once you have your Keyword “Bible,” share it with everyone in your organization and your marketing and public relations partners who produce materials for you – both online and off.  Advise all your content creators to use these words intelligently in ads, news releases, case studies, tweets, blog entries, Facebook entries, video names, podcasts, event names, LinkedIn announcements.

For example, if you’re uploading photos to your electronic newsletter of the fall flower show, you might be tempted to use that generic title.  After all, your readers know it’s for Phipps.  When you realize a specific title can lead a person to your site, you understand the importance of giving everything a label that is also a keyword.

Obviously it’s impossible to use all of your keywords simultaneously. But the important thing is to think of the words others use to describe you, which are based on their needs and perceptions.  If you are only referring to yourself by your brand name, you are missing the opportunity to be found by those who might use alternative labels.

A person who loves orchids might search for ‘Pittsburgh orchid show.’  Someone else who’s interested in green gardening might search for ‘Pittsburgh green gardening tips.’  Both of these people will land on the Phipps site even though they are searching for something completely different.  

By living a keyword centric life, you are in essence thinking of the problems you solve for your customers and what they want from you.  This is how they search so it’s in your best interest to use these words to describe yourself.

Use Keywords in Presentations

If you speak at trade associations or conferences, work a popular keyword into the title. This gets people used to your keyword phrase.  The more people hear a phrase, the more they grow accustomed to using it.  

Then, after the conference, consider posting the presentation on SlideShare.  How do people find a presentation on SideShare? They use SideShare’s search feature.  Using our hypothetical example of Phipps, if they had a phrase, like ‘sustainable landscaping best practices,’ in a presentation title and someone searched for that popular topic, it would lead a person directly to information about Phipps.  

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Living a keyword centric life does not mean you throw out the old rules of public relations and marketing.  Remember, you are still writing for people, not search engines.  A compelling story still trumps the power of keywords.  

Keywords can help a person find your site but strong copy keeps them on your site.  Well-written copy with engaging stories will resonate with your prospects. So spend the time to strategically embed the keywords into the stories.

Monitor Your Keywords

Keep your eye on the search logs and the tags others create on their social networking sites about you.

First start with Google Alerts.  By setting this up for your company and product names, you can monitor the terms people use when discussing your company in the news, blogs Web pages and videos.  Next, set up either Tweetdeck or Tweetbeep, which notifies you whenever a specific word or phrase is tweeted on Twitter.  You can then use Web Trends or Google Analytics to confirm your assumptions as to what keywords will bring people to your site.

Social networking sites like Delicious and Digg can help you figure out how people perceive you, which can lead to new insights.  For example, if you go to Delicious.com and search for Phipps Conservatory, you find tags for ‘wedding’ and ‘Pittsburgh’, which takes you to a page on the Phipps site regarding wedding receptions.  In addition, a blog called Green is Good is tagged for ‘fuel cells’ and ‘earth tubes’ and has a post explaining how earth tubes are used to create natural air conditioning inside Phipps and how a fuel cell is used to power the conservatory’s Thailand rain forest exhibit.

The insights from social media sites can help you determine how to revise your Keyword  “Bible,” which should be done approximately every six months.  You need to account for changes in the marketplace so these insights are invaluable.