MarCom Writer Blog: B2B Web Marketing Archives

I get A LOT of questions from people about websites; pretty much everything I write is in answer to these questions or in response to the mistakes I see companies making in the course of working with them.

To help owners of small and mid-sized companies understand Web marketing — and all of the changes that have taken place recently — I’ve created a new B2B Web Marketing Toolkit. It’s chock full of practical, proven strategies — everything from reports and a presentation to a Webinar and a case study — to help you get more leads from your website.

To learn more and to download, see the Toolkit landing page.

Be sure to check it out — and if you find that I haven’t answered one of your questions, let me know. I’m always looking for new topics to write about.

The bane of my existence is dog hair. To be specific, Sheltie dog hair. I have two Sheltie dogs. Shelties are “doubled coated,” meaning they have long flowing hair (that requires a pro to wash, trim and fluff on a regular basis) and a short undercoat. Shelties shed. Constantly. In the spring, they shed their undercoat. It’s called “blowing coat.”

As a consequence, I don’t just have dog hair all over my house. I have tumbleweeds of dog hair. Everywhere.

So when the woman who does my nails started talking about vacuum cleaners this past Saturday, my ears perked up. I’ve been wanting to replace my 16+-year old suck-up-the-dirt-and-then-blow-it-back-out-into-the-air vacuum cleaner for a while but hadn’t begun the research process.

My nail tech, Heather, brought up vacuum cleaners because she came home recently to find her husband with two unknown people in the living room — sales people who were planning on doing a demo of their Kirby vacuum cleaner.

Heather, as a matter of fact, had just purchase a Dyson vacuum and told the Kirby people they had to leave.

She explained to me why she bought the Dyson: “Oh my gosh,” she said, “I showed my husband why we needed it by vacuuming our carpet. He couldn’t believe how much dirt it sucked up out of a supposedly clean carpet. We were appalled we were letting our daughter play on it — it was disgusting!”

Heather, I might add, is a neat freak. Her house is spotless. So if she said the vacuum was sucking dirt out of a clean carpet, then it had to be a great vacuum.

As she was talking, another of the nail techs walked over — this one a twenty-something with tattoos and gauges. “The Dyson?” OMG, get one. Don’t look at the price. Just buy it. I have two dogs and bought the Animal model — pricey but so worth it.”

“I use the Swiffer cloths,” I said.

“Phhhht,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Get the Dyson. You’ll never look back.”

So I did. Later that day, I drove to Home Depot, and after some internal debate, I bought a Dyson (yes, the Animal model). Then I came home and started vacuuming. Three hours and six canisters of dirt and dog hair later, I stood in my dog hair- and dust-free house. Nirvana!

Offline still drives online

While vacuuming, I thought about the process of how word-of-mouth drove my purchase. What I love about this whole process was that it didn’t start online. It didn’t start with a website or a Tweet or my seeing a friend “Like” a Page.

It started with a casual conversation — which is how word-of-mouth works and which is what social media replicates.

But here’s the thing: Social media is wonderful and an important part of the marketing mix. But word-of-mouth offline marketing still works, too. Within roughly three minutes, two women whom I trust endorsed one product, endorsements which resulted in a sale. Can’t beat that!

And, because offline still works (and quite well), it’s important that you integrate offline with your online marketing (e.g. your website). Before I drove to Home Depot to purchase my vacuum, I went to the Dyson site and read all about the company, its products and its story, and liking what I read, I bought the vacuum. (Telling your story is another post altogether.)

Takeaways for B2B

Offline word-of-mouth still works — No matter where I go and what size company I work with, I hear the same thing: referrals still drive a boatload of business. Don’t discount it — which brings up my second point.

Reward people for referring you — One way to increase the number of offline referrals is to reward people who refer you. I personally send Starbucks or iTunes gift cards plus a thank you note for any referral. If the referral becomes a gig, I send an even nicer gift. (I also keep track of the connections between referrals and referees inside Infusionsoft — this way I know who are my best referees.)

Keep track of how people find you — One question I ask every new client is, “Do you keep track of how people find you?” Usually, the answer is “No.” For small businesses, keeping track of how people find you is really important as it lets you know which marketing tactics work. It also lets you know who is talking about you offline.

You can keep track any number of ways. If someone answers your phones, have him or her keep a sheet of paper nearby and when new people call, simply ask, “How did you hear about us?” Write down the answers and within 30 days you’ll have a pretty good idea of where your leads come from offline. Online you can add a field to your Website form — “How did you hear about us?” as well as use tracking software. Or if people email you, return the email and then ask, “By the way, how did you hear about us?”

Keep your website up-to-date — Nothing is worse than having a prospect, who has been referred to you, come to your site and finding it out-dated or worse, broken. (In fact, I recently visited a site of a prospect and when I told him it was broken, his response was, “Really? I never visit my site.” Oh dear.)

Visit your site on a regular basis. Make sure the navigation works. Keep information up-to-date. Test forms and other functions. Fix anything that’s broken.

As an aside, over the summer I bought two Vornado fans while standing in the aisle at Home Depot. Why? The product packaging had a call-to-action URL that took me to a great customer testimonial page that I read via my iPhone. Sold!

What do you think? Do you have a good story of how an offline referral drove a purchase? Or, do you have a good Dyson story? Please share!

SEO (search engine optimization) used to be a B2B marketer’s dream come true. One, it was relatively cheap and easy, compared to something more difficult and costly, such as ads in trade publications, two, you could see results (sometimes fairly quickly), and three, you could measure ROI.

Using a keyword tool, you selected the best keywords that people looking for products and services like yours were using, you used these keywords to optimize your site using specific rules, and then bingo, your page/s would begin to rank in the search engines and traffic would come to your site. Woohoo!

Then, using Web analytics, you could match up the keywords people were using to find your site with the keywords you used to optimize your site — and yay! you could see that your SEO efforts were working (or not).

Those days are disappearing rather fast.

If you haven’t looked at your Web Analytics in awhile, you may be in for a surprise. In 2011, Google stopped passing on organic keyword results for searchers who were logged in to Google or who were using the Firefox search bar or the Chrome browser.

For many of the small businesses I work with — and for my own Website — “Not Provided” is the number one result in the Google Analytics keyword report. “Not Provided” can represent anywhere from 30 to 50% (or more) of your organic traffic.

Basically, you’re now flying blind, so to speak.

At first, “Not Provided” sent me into a tailspin. I’m all about getting results for my clients. If I couldn’t prove to them my SEO efforts were “working,” how would that affect my business? As I thought it through, however, I realized that “Not Provided” is really a blessing in disguise.

Why? Because Google is forcing marketers and SEOers to wean themselves off the crutch of keyword marketing.

The main problem with keyword marketing is that nefarious SEO firms used it as a siren call for top rankings. “We’ll get you top rankings — guaranteed!” these companies would call out. Over the years I’ve had clients email me these seductive offers to ask if they were indeed legit.

Anyone can promise top rankings — but usually for the wrong keywords. And unsuspecting small business owners, who are too busy to keep up with all of this, usually don’t have a clue. (Even just a few weeks ago someone emailed to ask if a company promising top rankings through link farms was legit. Ack! Run away! Fast!)

The second big problem is the marketers and SEOers have been creating lots and lots and lots of content — all geared toward search engines. The problem, of course, is that people read and act on content, and as many of the people I talk to say, “Man, there sure is a lot of really crappy content out there!” Indeed.

With “Not Provided,” you now have the opportunity to use — dare I say it? — traditional marketing practices to create great content that also helps boost targeted traffic (targeted = prospects interested in what you’re offering). How so? Consider:

1. Articles in trade pubs — In the old days, you’d work hard to get an application note, info brief or feature article into a trade publication. Contrary to popular belief, trade pubs still exist and many of them still accept technical articles and the like. (See these two client examples: Lanmark Controls and Cabot Corporation.)

Trade pub articles give you some wonderful benefits, namely:

• They send prospective customers your way
• They show your industry your expertise and innovative thinking
• They give you links back to your site (the kind of links Google likes)

For more info, download my report, “Get Your Articles Published.” I wrote it back in the day, but the basic principles still apply. The report includes a nice interview with a trade pub editor on how to develop your pitches.

2. Case studies, reports and white papers — I know content marketers want you to think that content marketing is the new black, but any veteran marketer will tell you that B2B companies have relied on collateral marketing for decades. (In my first job as a marcom specialist in the early 1990s, for example, I used to produce three print newsletters that were translated into numerous languages and shipped around the globe.)

And, despite all the hype, you don’t have to create a lot of this type of material to be effective. For small companies with tight (or non-existent) marketing staffs, I recommend creating one case study and one white paper/report per quarter. One, this is a doable schedule and two, by the end of the year you’ll have eight pieces of collateral you wouldn’t have if you do nothing.

Again, the benefits are many, including:

• Providing prospects with information that helps them decide to do business with you
• Pieces you can use with other marketing tactics, such as direct mail or email
• Content that helps generate leads or inquiries

3. E-Newsletters — E-newsletters have taken a beating as they’re no longer seen as “sexy” and because our email inboxes are overflowing, but for small businesses, an e-newsletter is a great way to give your customers and prospects information they can actually use in the form of news, tips and tricks, and links to the collateral you’re producing.

If you produce great content, people will want your newsletter (with one of my clients, his client requested that people from his company be added to the distribution list).

You also keep your company top-of-mind with them.

If you have a blog, consider repurposing your posts and using them in your e-newsletter (the way Adam Jacobson, CEO of Red Three Consulting, does). This way you don’t have to create double the amount of original content, you drive people back to your site and you get a few social media shares and maybe a comment or two.

Optimizing your Website is still a very good practice as you want people to find your content. However, relying on SEO alone is no longer enough. SEO, the big kahuna of online marketing, is now one of many tactics needed for an integrated marketing plan.

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

One reason I love working with small businesses is because the people who comprise them often have great stories to tell: stories about their passion and how they help other businesses or organizations become profitable or achieve success.

It’s also why I’m passionate about creating Websites that stand apart from the crowd versus stuffing a company’s delightful story inside a one-size-fits-all WordPress theme and blah stock imagery.

To tell a company’s story, you have to employ the Japanese concept of genchi genbutsu or “go look, go see.” Go look, go see means you go look at things for yourself versus relying on others’ data or truths.

When I begin a new Website overhaul project, I take a tour of the business. If it’s a factory, I ask for a factory tour. If it’s an office, I ask for a walk-through. I begin observing things the minute I pull into the parking lot and note everything from the building signage to the lobby environment to how I’m greeted by the receptionist.

I’ve discovered over the years that a company’s story is often right there in front of me. When I did my initial tour of the financial services firm Welch & Forbes in Boston, I was struck by their collection of antique clocks. The company, founded in the 1830s, prided itself on using the latest in technologies to help their clients manage their wealth and on the fact that their client relationships spanned not decades — but through generations of families.

The resulting site (designed by Sonora DesignWorks) show cases this delightful combination of past and present both in terms of content and pictures. Even though I’ve done many sites since doing this one in 2009, the Welch & Forbes site remains a favorite to this day.

When I hear a good story (or stories!) during my tours, I get goosebumps. When I feel that delicious shiver, it’s because I know I’ve found a diamond in the rough.

Recently, for example, I was hired to project manage a Website overhaul for the Visiting Nurses Association of Eastern Massachusetts. The VNAEM management wanted to create a new site to better market their two assisted living residences in Somerville.

Within the first 15 minutes of the tour, I knew I had my story. The VNAEM, it turns out, was the first Visiting Nurses Association in the United States to build an assisted living facility. The woman taking me around on my tour, Linda Cornell, President of the VNAEM, and her board, had single-handly driven the construction of the first assisted living residence on a former brown field.

Yes, I saw a building and delighted occupants, but I also saw: vision, passion, commitment, creativity, and power. You want to know how hard it is to get a building constructed in Massachusetts? HARD. Linda and her board of directors had done it not once but twice!

Now that’s a story — and I couldn’t wait to weave those elements into the copy. You can read about the VNA of Eastern Massachusetts and tour their facilities by visiting their brand new site at http://vnaem.org (designed by Sonora DesignWorks).

Sometimes, however, I can’t do a tour, especially if the company is out of state or it’s virtual. It’s then that I rely on telephone interviews and research — lots of research. One client I’m currently working with is Dennis Woodruff, CEO of ClearView Consulting Company. Dennis and his team of consultants partner with the University of Virginia’s School Turnaround Program to assess principals and school districts to see if they’re ready for UVA’s program.

Dennis, I learned from interviews with people on his team, is “the man” when it comes to the BEI — behavioral event interview — a process developed by renowned human motivation scholar David McClelland (1917 – 1998). Dennis studied under McClelland and went on to become one of the top U.S. experts and visionaries in leadership assessment. (Dennis hired me after meeting with me at a coffee shop in Ipswich, MA. Once I learned who he was and what he did, I realized he had hired me after putting me through his own BEI. Whew.)

To help communicate ClearView Consulting’s story, I included a Methodology page about David McClelland in order to better explain the BEI and the theories Dennis and his team draw on in their work. You can see a screenshot of the page (the site, designed by Cre8d Design, is in progress and should be going this week).

These are just three examples of small businesses that have unique, wonderful and compelling stories. Given this, it would be a travesty to hide these stories in blah and boring WordPress themes and stock imagery.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Leave your comments below.

Do you love how people’s pictures appear next to content they’ve written in Google’s search results?

This is Google’s new rel=”author” tag. According to the posts I’ve been reading, having your picture associated with content in the search results increases click throughs — and who doesn’t love that?

To get your picture to appear, you can follow Google’s (somewhat confusing) instructions. OR, if you use WordPress and the Yoast SEO plugin, you can do it in two seconds.

Step 1: Create a G+ profile.

To make this tip work, you need a G+ profile. If you have profile, skip to Step 2.

You can create a profile whether you’re a company of one or you work for a large organization and have become the person people in your industry know. On your profile, add a great headshot of yourself.

You’ll also want to add links to your other social media profiles and any blogs to which you contribute. NOTE! If you link to a blog to which you contribute, link to the “Author” page where you’re listed, not the blog’s home page.

You can find lots of posts about how to set up a good G+ profile, so I won’t cover other basics.

Step 2. Configure the Yoast SEO plugin.

Open your WordPress installation and go to the Yoast SEO plugin. Click “Titles and Metas,” then click the “Home” tab.

Now choose yourself as the author of your blog. Click “Save Settings.”

2. Add your G+ link to your WordPress User profile.

Now go to “Users” menu on the left and click “Your Profile.”

Add your G+ profile link in the G+ field under “Contact Info.” Click “Update Profile” and you’re done.

For more tips on how to use G+ for SEO purposes, you can read this excellent SEOmoz post, 10 Dead Simple Tips to Take Advantage of Google+ for SEO.

Do you like Quick Tips like this? Is this one too basic? Did you already know it? I’d love your feedback as I do want to provide information you can use. I always figure that if I don’t know something, then others probably don’t either. Leave your comments below.

In my post, “Why a Website Overhaul is Like Redoing Your Bathroom,” I talk about how redoing your B2B Website is similar to redoing a room in your house. When you’re considering redoing a room, the first thing you do is call a contractor or an architect, and this person then asks you *lots* of questions in order to develop a plan.

For small companies, a Website Overhaul typically begins with a call to a designer. This is fine, but as I stated in my “bathroom” post, you need to consider much more than design when overhauling a site. What you need, before you even think about design, is a strategy that answers many questions and that lays the groundwork for the overhaul / redesign.

You have to take into account:

• Whether or not you’re upgrading to a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress
• Where you’ll host the site (on your corporate server or a hosting company)
• Integration with CRM (e.g. SalesForce) and marketing automation (e.g. Infusionsoft, Marketo, etc.)
• Search engine optimization
• Social media, a blog or an e-newsletter (such as Constant Contact)
• Developing new content / repurposing existing content

But, before you do any of that, you really need to sit down and determine your Website’s objective/s. By “objective,” I mean asking yourself what you want buyers, potential employees, prospects and visitors to do when they arrive at your site.

Determining your site’s objective is important for three reasons:

You’ll save time and money down the road — Because you’ve created a strategy, with goals and objectives, you won’t find out your site “isn’t working” after it’s been built or redesigned.

You’ll see an increase in conversions — Because your site is built with prospects and searchers in mind, you’ll notice they’re doing what you want them to do (download reports, sign up for a newsletter, leave a comment on your blog, sign up for your demo).

You’ll be able to measure ROI – Because you have objectives or goals, you’ll know exactly what you need to track and measure. You’ll no longer base data on vague metrics, such as, “We had 2,000 hits last month” (which is meaningless, by the way). Instead, you’ll have clearly defined metrics, such as, “We had 2,000 new visitors last month and 5% signed up for our newsletter and 2% emailed us to inquire about our service.”

In addition to determining your site’s objective, you’ll also want to focus on the following three key areas:

1. Your business objectives and goals

As a small business owner or marketer, you probably have multiple goals and objectives. Of course you want to increase revenues and add to your customer base. You may have marketing campaigns planned for next 6-9-12 months. Or, maybe you’re hiring or you’re considering using e-commerce for the first time.

Your Website should support ALL of these activities — and more. If you’re planning on allowing customers to pay for and download software, for example, you’ll need to consider a shopping cart that includes licensing keys and other functions. If you’re hiring, you’ll want to make sure you’re communicating why someone would want to work for you and/or how to submit a resume. And of course, your Website needs to support your marketing activities, including collateral downloads, social media, and lead generation (to name just a few).

2. Your sales process

Most small business owners know how prospects learn about them (usually word-of-mouth or referrals). However, few map out the sales process itself:

• How long does a typical sale take from beginning to end?
• What are the steps in the sales cycle? For example, a months-long sales process may include: Referral, Website visit, download a white paper, sign up for a newsletter, attend a Webinar, contact sales, send out an RFQ, negotiation, issue PO.
• What are some of the objections that must be overcome to get to the next step in the sales process?
• How many sales get lost to the competition and why?
• Once a sale is made, do customers order again? Why or why not? Do you have other opportunities to increase business with them?

When developing your Web Overhaul strategy, it really pays to answer these questions and determine how your new site — and its content — will facilitate your sales process.

3. The site map

Now is the time to start thinking about content — not after the site is built, which is what typically happens. You wouldn’t decide where the bathrooms, bedrooms, plumbing, etc. will go in your house after you’ve built the frame. It works the same for your Website.

It’s helpful to sketch out a site map, which is simply a list of the sections and pages that will make up your site. You don’t have to get too fancy with this — I do mine in Word just as you see below. A typical site map for a small B2B firm might look this:

Home
About Us
-Team
-History
-What Makes Us Different
-Press / News
-Awards
-Client List
-Testimonials
Capabilities
-Capability Type #1
-Capability Type #2
-Capability Type #3
Products
-Product #1
-Product #2
-Product #3
Knowledge Center
-White Papers / Reports
-Case studies
-Product collateral
-Newsletter archives
-Blog
Trial / Demo
Contact

By planning out your site map now, you’ll be able to quickly see what types of content you’ll need — and whether you’ll need to create new content (or hire someone to do it for you) and/or repurpose existing content. You can gather the content you have and either update it, repurpose it, or throw it all away and start from scratch.

Your Website is your number one marketing asset. To help ensure it “works” for you, take the time to map out your Web Overhaul strategy before you call a designer. You’ll be glad you did.

Do you have additional tips regarding a Web Overhaul strategy? Feel free to share them in the comments section.

Joey Bushnell, an Internet and social media consultant who has a large following, interviewed me for his blog a few months ago. The interview, which is audio-based, is now available at his Web Marketing Inner Circle blog.

I had completely forgotten about this interview and while listening to it, remembered the great questions Joey asked me. In this 21 minute recording, you’ll learn:

• Three things every B2B Website needs to tap into the emotional hot buttons of visitors
• Why calling your Website an “online brochure” is wrong, wrong, wrong
• Why you should have multiple “service pages” on your Website, and why you should treat every page on your site as a mini landing page
• Six types of “lead generation devices” you can use to gather people’s contact information
• Four tips for running a successful B2B blog
• Five steps to making sure your Website is good for mobile and tablet devices

As you can see, Joey asked some pretty good questions if he was able to get all of that out of me in 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Be sure to sign up for Joey’s e-newsletter. When you do, you’ll receive a free “Traffic strategies” course. Thanks again, Joey! It was a pleasure talking with you.

This past spring, I renovated my 52-year old bathroom — right down to the studs. When the contractor and plumber came to my house to talk about the project, they didn’t give me a quote right there on the spot — nor did they even give me a “ballpark estimate.” Instead, they asked me lots of questions:

** What did I not like about the current bathroom and why?

** Did I want to change the placement of the sink, tub, light fixtures, etc.?

** Was the ceiling fan of sufficient power to process steam from the shower?

We talked about the fact that I had a serious mold issue, that I wanted to remove a full length window that faced the street, and that I needed to create space for towel bars (the existing bathroom had only one!). I also had this funky linen closet that I wanted to close up on the bathroom side and turn into a coat closet on the hall side.

While I talked, they both took notes and made measurements. The plumber recommended the type of tub /shower I should purchase and told me to go look at them; the contractor asked lots of detailed questions about vanity height, type of mirror I wanted, tiles, etc. I stood there while they both fired away at me and felt my brain begin to fizzle.

I hadn’t considered any of this. I just wanted a new bathroom!

What struck me later, however, is how much this process dovetailed with how I help companies overhaul Websites — and how small business owners can become completely overwhelmed by it.

Because Websites are graphically rich, many companies begin the Web Overhaul process by calling a designer. This isn’t bad, but the problem often isn’t poor design. It’s that the Website doesn’t support a company’s business objectives (whatever they may be).

When the plumber and contractor came to my house, they didn’t ask what color I wanted to paint the new walls or what kind of fancy faucet I’d be installing. Instead, they asked lots of “get in under the hood” types of questions — questions that would help them understand how to create a bathroom that would solve my challenges (mold, privacy, hard water, and space, to name a few). The last thing on the list was what color I wanted to paint it.

Instead, I had to work with my contractor to develop a bathroom renovation strategy. The same is true for your Website.

Instead of beginning the Web Overhaul process with design questions, focus instead on two simple questions: “What challenges are we trying to solve?” and “How should the Website support our business objectives?”For the projects I’m currently working on, these challenges include:

• “We’re not getting any leads.”
• “We’re not showing up in Google.”
• “Our product offering has changed.”
• “We need completely revamped functionality.”
• “We now sell products online.”

Once you have your challenges mapped out, you can then create a Web Overhaul strategy that ties into — and supports — your business objectives.

I’m happy to say that due to the up-front prep work, my bathroom renovation went very smoothly and stayed on schedule and on budget. Even better, I now have this cool new closet where I can hang coats.

Do you have a home renovation project you’d like to share? Feel free to leave your comments below.

I like to joke that I’m semi-famous online, but in real life I’m known as “James’ mom.”

James is my 15-year old son and also my tech support dude. Just last week a fellow mom saw me at Back to School night and introduced me to another mom as, “This is Dianna Huff. She’s James’ mom!”

Another woman stopped me and said, “Oh! Are you James’ mom? Great kid!”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t use “James’ Mom” as a business name when I was thinking about what to name my business back in 1998.

I chose “DH Communications.” The “DH” stands for “Dianna Huff” in case you didn’t figure it out; people do ask what it stands for. I chose it because I couldn’t think of anything better.

I was pretty diligent about building my DH Communications brand. However, it didn’t stick. Everyone knew me as Dianna Huff (when they weren’t referring to me as James’ mom).

I wanted to change my business name to Dianna Huff, Inc. for years but couldn’t muster up the courage. I finally compromised in June and began branding myself “Dianna Huff” (while keeping DH Communications, Inc. as my official business name).

Freelancers and consultants often ask me what they should do with regard to their business name. Should they choose a name separate from their personal name? Or, should they use these their name?

And, people who have been in business for 10 or 15 years wonder if they should rebrand under their personal names as they’ve built a reputation. I’ve had three people call me with this question in the last month.

The answer is, of course, “it depends.” Each has its pros and cons. To decide what’s best for you, ask yourself some questions:

1. How well-known are you in your industry? Look at the number of speaking gigs you have each year, if you’re quoted in industry publications or blogs and any books/articles you’ve authored. (Bonus points if you have a Wikipedia page.)

2. Do you want to grow your business? If you plan on hiring people, you may want to choose a company name. Or, you can keep your personal name and add “and Associates,” “Enterprises,” “Consulting Group,” or “+ Partners” to it. This type of company name denotes you’re more than a company of one but the buck stops with you (which can be reassuring to some people).

3. How long have you been in business? If you’ve been in business a while and people know your business name, it may make sense to keep it (which is why I kept mine but minimized it).

4. What kind of feedback do you get? One reason I rebranded under “Dianna Huff” is because people kept telling me that “DH Communications” confused them. So listen to what people say when they visit your site or call you on the phone.

5. Is your business name also a great domain name? Let’s face it, “DH Communications” isn’t that sexy of a name, and it has zero search value.

But, someone like Jill Whalen, on the other hand, has a great business name – High Rankings. One, it’s a great search phrase, two, it describes what she does, and three, it’s a guarantee of what you’ll get when you work with her.

(If I had been smarter back in 1998, I would have used my other domain as my business name – marketingwriting.com. Alas, I did not.)

If you’re on the fence about going out on your own or you’ve been thinking about using your personal name as your business name, here’s what you should do while you’re in consideration mode:

Buy your domain name – Everyone should own their own domain name – i.e. diannahuff.com. This keeps other people from using it and, should you want to do business under your name, you own it.

If you have a common name, such as “Jane Smith,” purchase your full name – either first-middle-last or use your middle initial to differentiate yourself.

Claim your social media profiles – Open profiles on all the major platforms under your name in order to claim your vanity URLs – i.e. Pinterest.com/diannahuff or Twitter.com/diannahuff. Again, you prevent others from using them and you have them waiting should you need them.

Listen to how others refer to you – Obviously, if someone introduces you as “knucklehead,” you have some problems, but seriously, listen to how you’re introduced. Do people refer to you and your company name or just your personal name? Or, do they use your personal name with a description of what you do (this could give you some good ideas for a company name).

Have you had to deal with this issue? Let me know how you resolved it by leaving your comments below.

When I visit the websites of firms in my industry, I continue to be struck by the commodity quality we all seem to have in common. This is NOT good.

This similarity could be exaggerated in my eyes because I’ve been looking so long at these sites that my brain is beginning to fuzz over, but I think you’ll agree we’re pretty much all using the same words, making the same claims, giving the same promises over and over.

I’m afraid that my prospective clients are all likely performing the same exercise and seeing what I saw: site after site saying the same thing, all becoming extensions of the other, all blurring together with no single firm or message sticking out or distinctly resonating above the others.

I could have written this. In fact, I’ve written posts with similar ideas in the past — such as this one from 2010: Make Your B2B Website Stand Out with a Compelling Message.

These words, however, came from a prospective client who is considering a complete rebrand / Web Overhaul.

When I work with clients on Website Overhauls, I perform this very same exercise as part of my prep work (that is, looking at competitor / industry sites).

For years now, I’ve been struck dumb by how boring, how bland and how blah corporate sites look today.

As my prospective client points out, when you look at site after site after site, your brain fuzzes over. Nothing stands out. Everything sounds the same. If you feel that way, imagine what your prospects must go through.

I predicted, when Larry Page took over the CEO spot at Google, that the search engine would completely revamp its core product. This is exactly what has happened, and now Websites that present helpful, well-written, unique content geared toward users are being rewarded.

In fact, last week the FeedtheBot blog posted that Google had updated its Webmaster Guidelines. One sentence stood out for me:

“Think about what makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging. Make your website stand out from others in your field.”

This is my goal for every site I work on. I wooted with joy. Woot woot!

How to make your site stand apart from the crowd

Currently, I’m working with Simone Joyaux, ACFRE. Simone is someone I’ve respected from afar for years. She’s the life partner of my good friend Tom Ahern. Both Simone and Tom are big wheels in the non-profit industry. Simone, in fact, is one of the top consultants in the field and is known the world over.

When she asked me to help her update her site, I jumped at the chance. Showcasing Simone and her talents would be — and is — an absolute joy.

As with many industries, the non-profit sector is filled with “site after site saying the same thing.” In fact, I was rather appalled at just how bad some of these sites were. Zowie!

To set her apart, I began the engagement the way I do all of my Web Overhaul projects — I went for a tour. In this case, I visited Simone and Tom in their home and spent a wonderful two hours eating blueberry pie, drinking lemonade, and getting to know Simone, her work and her objectives for the new site.

Based on her feedback, I then worked with Rachel Cunliffe of Cre8d Design to develop a creative brief, which serves as our foundation for the project. We then collaborated on the home page and interior page mockups in order to address these and other issues:

• What message were we communicating?
• Which images would best communicate that message?
• How best to present Simone’s penchant for asking “cage rattling” questions?
• How to communicate Simone’s passion for helping non-profits and the people who work in them or serve on their boards?

And, most pressing for me, how to keep her unique voice even while seriously pruning content?

Communicating authentically is about sharing your vision

In the last year, I’ve done a lot of soul searching about what I offer to clients and how best to communicate it. People often ask me, “What’s a Website Overhaul?” Other people say, “So you just write content, right?”

Sure, I write content.

But what I also do is combine a number of things: My own passion, a sincere interest in what small business owners do and communicating it well, and the desire to create something exceptional for an exceptional company or individual.

And what I do really well is powerfully visualize. I help bring to life people’s ideas in the form of Websites.

When I met Simone and got to know her, I knew instantly the kind of site she needed — and was able to communicate that to Rachel.

Screams. Of. Joy.

When Rachel presented the first mockups to Simone, I was a little nervous. The new concept was very different. Would she like it? When I heard my phone ring and saw her name, I didn’t pick up. I was too afraid to.

I listened to the message and then read her email. She was ecstatic. In fact, she and Tom were screaming with joy. She even called Rachel in New Zealand to tell her how happy she was. Wow. (I’m still letting all that in!)

In his upcoming book, Risky is the New Safe, Randy Gage talks a great deal about how old ways of doing things are no longer “safe.”

I really believe that the current method of developing Websites — buying a low-cost theme, adding some “custom” elements to it, and then writing warmed over copy that says nothing — is now the new “risky.”

Sites like Simone’s — and the other client sites I currently have in progress — will be the new Safe.

Safe because they’ll pass through Google’s Panda / Penguin updates unscathed.

Safe because they’ll stand apart from the crowd.

Safe because people like Simone will show their authentic selves and expertise — which in turn will draw clients to them, effortlessly.

Simone, thank you. Thank you for trusting me with your brand and your site. Thank you for your vision and your constant questions as we move through this process. You have been a real inspiration to me. I’m honored to be working with you.

What do you think? Add your .02 cents.