Hold on, I hear you ask. Isn’t that what search engine optimisation is? Ok, yes, it is. But SEO on its own is only half the story. Its all very well to get people to see your website at the top of Google, maybe even click on it. But what do the visitors do once they get there? This is the missing metric: conversions. You want your website visitors to actually do something, don’t you? You want them to take action, whether this is buying something, following a link, or signing up for a subscription.

Most US companies are shifting their focus to conversions, but the Australian market is still lagging behind. A combination of Search Engine Optimization and a focus on conversions is what is truly needed.

Links are the currency of the web. More links are, of course, better than less, though some links are worth more than others. Many people buy links and use reciprocal link programs, but it is not good to rely on these for your links. It is a much better strategy, in terms of Search Engine Optimisation, to attract genuine links. Which means you need to offer those linkers something they want.
Give them something unique, useful and interesting. Put it out there and get heard. This is your best bet for obtaining some valuable and search-engine-rank-boosting links.

• Submitting you to thousands of search engines (this won’t do anything to your ranking in major search engines, and submitting to Google is free)
• Claiming or implying a ‘special relationship’ with Google that will guarantee you a number 1. No one has this.
• Offering to ‘help’ without any clear indication of what they mean by this. Be sure you know where your money is going. An ethical Search Engine Optimization service provider will explain their practices to you.

Some Search Engine Optimisation practices that shady companies provide can actually harm your rankings. These are the companies that have given the whole practice a bad name in some circles. Many companies provide ethical and practical services that will genuinely make your website more visible and accessible for your intended website visitors.

First, you need to carry out a benchmarking of the site’s current web traffic statistics to enable tracking of your ROI. There are several web stats analysis applications available for this task, and I find that using a combination of these tools is better than relying on any one. Mostly, at this point you are looking for the amount of traffic to the site to compare against the amount of traffic coming to the site as the project progresses.

Next, you need to examine search engine rankings for various likely keywords or keyphrases target clients might type into search engines to find the site. You will need a list of keywords to use as a baseline.

The last step is a technical audit of the site which will flag any issues that could be harming your search engine rankings. There are some elements of websites that search engines just read better than others. These need to be addressed as a last part of the benchmarking process.

Social media optimisation is now a relatively delicate process. Traditional link building campaigns often involve blatantly asking for links, or simply buying them. Social media optimisation is only effective if a marketer can convince others to link to material, not by asking, but by creating exceptional content. Links are the best way to build organic search engine optimisation.

Many people’s accounts and profiles on social media websites are intrinsically attached to their offline self. Unlike people who run a website that includes a designated “Links” page, social media users are not likely to add a company’s profile as a “friend” or vote for a company’s content just because they’re asked to. The majority of people want their user history on sites like Digg and Reddit, and their friend lists on MySpace and Facebook to reflect something about their personalities. This means you have to work pretty hard, particularly if you’re part of an industry that is not particularly socially appealing.

The recipe for social media/ search engine success: learn how to be cool. Or just make sure you give relevant and interesting information.

Linking software, Doorway pages, Artificial traffic, Semi-reciprical links are just some of the practices that some companies still use despite the risk of your website being penalised (pushed most definately of the first page of Google).

If the company is offering you a one-off service that will improve your rankings, alarm bells should be going off. This is because SEO is an ongoing service. The search engines are continually updating their algorithms and indexes, and so your website and SEO strategies need to be constantly updated to keep up.

However, it has been proven by researches that paid links do not get nearly as many hits as the top organic results.

But did you know the two are closely related? Paid advertisements should still be optimized for top placement amongst the results. And, although organic results will get more attention from visitors, the value of having your name right up there at the top of results from SEM should never be dismissed.

SEM should not be considered as in opposition to SEO. A carefully considered combination of the two is your best strategy for optimum visitor traffic and visibility.

1. Use text links instead of flash
2. Use a good, descriptive yet simple URL, avoiding too many hyphens
3. Have a site map with a (text) link from the home page.
4. Don’t restrict access to your site: search engines do not fill in forms
5. Continually update your content

Remember, Search Engine Optimisation is a continually evolving art. And it’s even more complicated than it used to be, because search engines are getting smarter. To make it really work, you also need incoming links and an increased web presence.

The new ways of people getting their news has fundamentally changed the way we do PR forever. While printed press releases and media kits still have their place, online PR is increasingly important, and the rules are different.

For example, there is a rising practice of sending releases to influential bloggers. But you have to be careful if you want to try this.

Online, PR tactics have to change: bloggers can be more influential than many companies want to acknowledge, and if you send them a release full of spin and marketing speak , you are asking for obscurity or even ridicule. The fact is, in the online world, companies are expected to be transparent. To really engage with bloggers, the best thing you can do is to set up your own blog and join in the conversation in a frank and engaging way.

SEO also needs to be considered a major component of online PR; it is about controlling the message you send out, and ensuring that the first page of search engine results is dominated by your particular message.

The business-to-consumer (and business-to-business) relationship has changed. The internet facilitates a much more reciprocal and dynamic relationship than before, with consumers having a much greater influence over a brand’s reputation, ethics and development.

The book dishes up some hard truths, such as ‘You Don’t Own Your Company’s Reputation’ (the title of chapter 2). Basically, the nature of use of social media makes it impossible to keep complete control over your company’s reputation, and the case studies in the book, like the one about Dell, demonstrate the futility of simply burying your head in the sand.

‘Radically Transparent’ isn’t about creating panic, however, it also offers some very useful and insightful advice. I particularly liked the 10 ‘New Rules of Engagement’ (chapter 4) for some suggestions on how to participate in internet communities. For example: ‘Step 1. Trust the Community’. This is easily said, but not very often done. But how can you expect consumers to engage with you if you don’t demonstrate some basic trust in them?

There are also some very useful insights into blogging and social media, as well as the new ways of dealing with Public Relations online.

As Beal and Strauss demonstrate throughout the consistent references to real brands and companies, it is becoming a ’sink or swim’ situation online. If you don’t join in and engage appropriately, you may very well regret it. This timely guide will provide invaluable to anyone who has any kind of brand, whether corporate or personal, because sooner or later, it will be discussed online.