SEO Generates Leads for Sage Business Partner

About a year ago, I started doing search engine optimization for a customer's website. Since I knew absolutely nothing about the subject, I started by reading one of those books for dummies. I learned the basics of SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, and immediately started applying what I learned.

From registering my customer's domain name on Google and Yahoo to adding selective keywords to HTML, I gradually took my customer's website from invisible to the top 3 in Google. It takes time and, most importantly, constant monitoring and tweaking to obtain and keep top spots in the search engines. There are some tricks that can really help boost SEO rankings but most of all, content is king. If you have good content, be it in the form of whitepapers, case studies or press releases, the search engines will reward you with good rankings – provided you keep the content fresh, that is.

SEO has become a primary source of new, and even better, more qualified leads for my Sage reseller customer. In just the last 2 weeks alone, three new leads have come via the Contact Us website. One came a month ago via the whitepaper download site. All four are still opportunities in the pipeline for the Sage reseller.

If you haven't started your own SEO strategy, there are a few options you should consider. First, figure out how much time can you personally commit to SEO. There are many things you can do to help out your SEO. Some business partners have chosen to start Blogs, which used to be known as weblogs a few years ago. Blogs are a great way to keep your website fresh but they need to be done as often as possible. The content of a Blog can vary from highly informational Sage-related topics to general business commentary or even fun anecdotes. The important thing is to take it seriously and make it sound authentic. Also, proofread your work so you don't offend any former English Majors out there! [HINT: Some business partners who either lack the time or willpower to keep up a Blog will often pay a professional writer to come up with well-written content. For more information on how to find a professional Blogger-For-Hire, contact me at dmanzer@thesagecloser.com.]

Second, determine what marketing dollars you can afford to allocate to SEO. This is critical because if you don’t have much time, or inclination, to execute a thorough SEO strategy then you will need to enlist the services of an SEO consultant. SEO is becoming increasingly complex, involving social media websites like Twitter and video websites like YouTube. At the very least, retaining an SEO consultant can fill in the gaps that you may not have the time or expertise to address.

Third, stay focused on SEO for the long-term. Online marketing hasn’t been around that long, and many of its outlets weren’t around 5, let alone, 10 years ago. Still, SEO is best suited to harness the 3 great forces behind many of today’s sales: 1) online research, 2) online referrals, which are often done through social media websites like Facebook, and 3) consumer preferences for less in-your-face advertising so they can control the sales process (where, when, why and how much). SEO is constantly evolving so plan to stay in for the long haul. When you start receiving your first emails and phone calls from qualified leads, you will see the light!