Happy new year everyone, this is my first blog post in 2010 and I would like to start off this year with this ebook I just completed. 2010 is going to be the year of social media, I hope “Social Media Basics for Executives” will help organizations make the right decisions in social media.
Don’t forget to share it with others if you like it!

Many new business owners ask me what to do with their new brands, they ask me if they should invest in search engine optimization for their websites so that their new sites can be more “visible” on the online world. Here’s the sad news for them, SEO doesn’t mean anything at all, SEO shouldn’t be a noun, and it shouldn’t show up on people’s name card as a job title. Because “content” is the only thing that matters.

Why do Business Owners love to go for SEO

Okay, if SEO doesn’t mean anything, why do small business owners spend money on it? Many of them don’t have enough knowledge on digital techniques like SEO. All they know is that after they invest in some online project with a fancy name (SEO), their company website will show up higher on Google search results. Because the result of having SEO sounds very tangible for them, it’s always easier to convince/trick them to use the services.

Google doesn’t like SEO, they like Content

Many so-called SEO gurus like to claim that they know the magic tricks to control organic results on search engines. They lied. Let’s think about it from Google’s point of view. In order to keep everything as relevant as possible, Google keeps upgrading, and improving their bots’ algorithm with the goal to make their bots smart enough to analyze websites like how human would do. Let’s assume Google bots were human, in order to make him believe that your website is the most relevant result for a keyword, you’ve got to impress him with uniue content as the first step, really doesn’t have anything to do with SEO techniques.

SEO is not a long term solution

Similar to marketing principles, SEO is just like packaging a product. People might like it at first, but after found out that there’s no true value in it, visitors or Google might stop being impressed by it, therefore your well packaged (SEO) site will go back to the rank that you deserve if your content is not impressive to Google.

SEO techniques don’t spread

Sites don’t link to you because of the SEO techniques on your site, they link to you for the original content you created, or maybe for who you are/ what your company does. And Google give page rank mainly based on how many backlinks a website has.

The Real Trick

Sites that can’t be found on the search engine are basically invisible. The best trick to get your site on first page of search results is to ignore all the tricks. When creating a website, think only about how to deliver the best information and how it will interest audience. Think about the true value of your content, what’s in it for your audience? And that’s the ONLY thing you need to know about optimizing your search ranking.

Gordin Ramsey is not only a British celebrity chef, but also a smart marketer. I watched a few episodes of the Kitchen Nightmares and it reminded me of the basic marketing concepts that I had almost forgotten.

Kitchen Nightmares is a TV programme where Gordin goes around the world and improves failing restuarant businesses. I personally find it very interesting because cooking and marketing are my interests and this show has both in it.

In the show, Gordin’s tasks were simple, he would first figure out all the weaknesses of the business that needed to be improved, then he would usually do casual consumer market research in the neighbourhood, get to know about what the customers want, then make the customers happy.

I think these days as technology and competition make the marketplace so complicated, some marketers get too technical and forget about the basic concepts in marketing, which is the common sense like what Gordin uses in Kitchen Nightmares.

You can watch the previous episodes of Kitchen Nightmares on Youtube.

I’m sure all of us know how powerful individual business cards are. The moment you give out one, it means that you’ve gained a potential business connection.

People who are looking for intelligence do not only look at education and experience anymore. As there are more competitors in the field who have similar qualification, how can you stand out? You show them your personality before they get to know you!

By putting Twitter ID on your card, people who are interested would most probably check out what you’ve been doing in your own time, your enthusiasm for your field, what you like to talk about, and what kind of connections you have. That would give them a “second impression” of who you are.

If you are constantly looking for new opportunities and challenges in your field, it is a good idea to market yourself by including Twitter ID on your card.