If you're so busy delivering training that you haven't had time to think about how to get your business website working hard for you, here are some tips to help you get started. The first thing to do is make it easy for people searching for your services to be found on the Internet. That means: get on page 1 of search engine results for keyword phrases your ideal customers are looking for:
1. Publish Relevant Content
You've got 9 seconds to capture a prospect's attention. If your content doesn't apply to him and what he's searching for, click, he's gone. Keep your prospect's WIIFM (what's in it for me) top-of-mind when you create content. Whether it's a web page, video, blog post or article, your content must add value to keep his attention. And it needs to be blatantly obvious at the outset.
2. Use Your Prospect's Language
If you want to get found, know the problems your prospect wants to solve and what questions she's asking. Forums are great for finding out what people are struggling with and what terms, phrases and "insider" jargon they use to discuss their problems. The "Dummies" and "Idiot's" Guides can also provide a lot of ideas in specific niches. Initially all your prospect can see is her problem. She may or may not know what type of solution she needs just yet. Use her language in your content and match where she is in her decision-making process. As her language changes through the process, get found with content that supports each step of her process, using her language.
3. Craft A Smart Keyword Strategy and Stick With It
Not Donald Trump? Be smart and target "long tail keywords." These are 3-4+ keyword phrases that contain broader, highly competitive search terms. For example, "training" is broad and highly competitive as are "corporate training" and "corporate sales training." Whereas "high tech corporate sales training" is an example of a long tail keyword and is less competitive. Long-tail key words help you get found by fewer, but more qualified visitors. And when you create content aimed at owning that long-tailed keyword, you stand a much greater chance of being ranked on page 1 for it. Targeting long-tailed keywords is the most cost-effective keyword strategy today.
4. Use The Latest SEO Techniques
Keep up with the latest changes on the Web. For example: using language for all of your links (anchor text) that exactly matches the keyword phrase you're targeting on that page, can backfire. Think "broad match" phrases for keywords instead of "exact match" when writing anchor text.
5. Optimize All Web Pages
Feed Google's algorithm what it wants to eat:
• Create actionable, valuable site content that's written for a human, not a machine.
• Use header tags (h1, h2) and be sure all graphics have alt-tags with broad match keywords.
• Don't forget to include your unique meta description that makes it easier for a prospect to understand what he can do on this page when he sees it listed in search results.
• Create a unique page title that includes your exact keyword phrase.
• Most importantly: write your content as though you were talking to your ideal client.
6. Blogging Regularly
The latest data from HubSpot shows: companies that regularly blog get 55% more web visitors, generate 97% more links from other sites (back links) and have 434% more web pages indexed. Which means you can vastly increase your chances of getting found online, when you blog at least once a week, EVERY week.
7. Being Sociable
Make it easy for visitors to tweet, like, share, digg and pin your site's pages and especially your blog posts. Put social sharing buttons on all pages. Set up an RSS feed and an email subscription option for people to subscribe to your blog. And especially — don't forget to share your blog posts on your company's and your personal social media sites.
What things have you found effective in helping your training business to get found online?
