Bill Borden

If your website allows comments beware that spammers will be looking for opportunities to trash your site. How do they do it? Easy. All they do is leave comments with links back to their site. Their comments will say something like this.

Website Comment Spam.

• I’m glad I found your website. Boy, do you really know what you’re talking about. Thank-you so much.
• Wow, what a well written article. I was thinking the same thing. More people should be just like you.
• This is the best website I’ve ever been to. I’m going to send everyone a link.

How do you know these comments are spam? Simply copy and paste all or part of the comment in a Google search box. If spammers are attacking your site, you’ll see hundreds of websites or blogs with exactly the same comment.

Spammers get away with it because unsuspecting bloggers and website owners think they’re getting compliments, not spam.  Inexperienced webmasters see so many wonderful comments and they think they’re doing a great job. The fact of the matter is that spammers are leaving compliments in hopes that you’ll allow links back to their site.

How Spam Affects Your Website.

Some websites are littered with spam comments.  If you’re writing a blog or it’s your business website, you will lose credibility if people know the comments are all spam and you’ve allowed it.  Google tracks information as well. If the spam of your website is on hundreds of other sites, it can affect your search engine ranking.

What Can You Do?

• Remove spam daily
• Don’t allow comments
• Adjust your comment settings if you’re using a blog software such as word press.

Many businesses have a website. Some have a paid a lot of money to have one build. It might look very professional and be highly informative. Maybe you showcase the best products and offer the best services.  The question is this. Why have one? Chances are that unless you have a name brand or you’re very good at internet marketing, your website is getting little or no traffic.  That’s why people ask me,  ‘do I need a website’?

Reasons to have a website.

• Credibility. Your customers expect you to have one.
• A website works 24 hours a day, selling your products and services.
• Because a website can take the place of salesperson, it can save you time and money.

I have a website. Why is no one going there?

You’re not alone. The internet is littered with billions of websites that no one is visiting. Why? Because no one can find them! 90% of all prospects who use internet search engines want to do business with companies that appear of the first page of their search. Space is limited, usually to only 10 companies. If your website is not on the first page, you’re missing out on 90% of the business you could be getting.

If you’re not on the first couple pages of Google when people search by keyword, then you’re not getting any serious traffic. Of course that doesn’t mean a website is not important. It is.  However instead of Google driving traffic to your site, you’ll have to do it yourself.

How to promote your website.

• On your business cards, flyers, brochures, … all printed materials
• Radio, TV, youtube, facebook, linkedin, twitter, … all media
• Word of mouth. Make sure your customers and prospects know the name of your website

How can my website appear on the front page of Google?

Google accounts for roughly 90% of all search engine traffic to websites. It’s the most important search engine at the moment.  To get on the front page you can do this.

• Pay per click advertising
• Optimize your website

Optimizing your website so that it shows up on the front page of searches takes time.  It’s not instant. Changes you make today on your website might be noticed by Google months from now.  Also since content, incoming links, and social media recommendations of your website takes time, getting your site on the front page of Google searches, depends on how much work goes into building and promoting your site over a long period of time.

Why is it important to be in the top ten?

If your website comes up first in a Google search, or if it’s on the first page, you have instant credibility.  Think about your own search habits.  Being on the first page implies that you’re the best and that’s what people want.

Limitations of website optimization.

• It takes time
• A lot of effort is required to get on the front page of searches
• Results are measured over many months

Of course once you’re on the front page of Google searches, you’ll need to continue optimizing your site, just to maintain your position. If you don’t update your website with new content, you’ll lose your place. There is limited space on the front page and lots of competition.

Another reason why optimization is required after your website is on the front page is because Google changes there logrithims often and it’s proprietary. This means that no one except Google knows how they decide which websites go on the first page.  SEO experts like myself are constantly testing what works and what doesn’t work.

Certainly, the worst thing you as a business person can do is hire someone to get you on the front page of Google fast.  These dishonest techniques designed to trick search engines into improving your rank,  will backfire on you.  If Google discovers what you’re doing (and they will), your site will be blacklisted. It can be very difficult to gain Google’s trust again.

The moral of the story is to do search engine optimization honestly. Provide excellent, original content, update your site often,  and make sure it’s a site that deserves to be number one or at least in the top ten.

Immediate Website Traffic.

What can you do to get traffic to your website immediately? Pay per click advertising is one way of being on the front page, right at the top or on the side. First you need to decide what key words you will use and how much you’re willing to pay per click. Some key words can cost you a lot per click. Other keywords are very inexpensive.  Pay too much and you’re wasting your money. Pay too little and your ads will not show up.

The strategy most businesses use is to start with PPC  (pay per click) advertising to generate immediate income and begin work on search engine optimization as a long term project.

Free traffic to your website.

Why pay for expensive PPC advertising forever and ever? Consumers prefer not to click ads. They want to do business with companies that are the best. If you’re on the first page when they type in their search words,  they assume you must be the best.  Of course your website better be good. You’ll need to impress them. But that will be easy if you’ve done SEO properly.

If  you’re serious about your business, optimization of your site and getting free traffic by being in the top ten listings, is well worth whatever you spend on it.  You can use pay per click advertising indefinitely but it’s very expensive.  SEO (search engine optimization) will save you money over time. Also most consumers refuse to click ads.  75% will not click on paid ads.  Why?  Because they know they’re paid for.   Unless you’re a name brand, they don’t know if you’re a quality company. Most consumers would rather do business with an established company that must be  doing something right to be listed at the top of the page.

The rules of marketing has changed for all businesses including chiropractors. Not only have marketing strategies changed, but they continue to change every year.  What I am doing today, is positioning  chiropractors to  be successful in the future, rather than on strategies that worked good in the past.

How can someone predict what the future of marketing for chiropractors will be? We can do it by studying current consumer habits and marketing tools we have available today.

Internet companies will continue to create new marketing systems to overcome today’s limitations. When we understand what consumers want, we can predict what will happen tomorrow.  In this way, I’ve been able to help doctors stay ahead of their competition.

A good marketing system is more important than ever before because internet marketing constantly changes. What I look to do is implement strategies that will continue to work well in the future, rather than on strategies that could be obsolete in a few years.  When you spend your advertising dollars wisely, you save  money and your revenue increases every year.

Word Of Mouth Advertising Is Back!

The good news is that word of mouth advertising is back. It’s called ‘the internet’. Consumers are using it to recommend good chiropractors to their friends. Internet marketing is cheaper than traditional forms of advertising and you can easily target patients needing your service.

That’s the good news.

If you’re a chiropractor who delivers results and your patients love you, word of mouth advertising will work in your favor, IF you position yourself correctly online! Forget about yellow pages.  Customers today are searching for you online.

If you’re not showing up on the first page of a Google search,  you’re at a big disadvantage. 90% of consumers will do business with chiropractors on page one. Only 10% will do business with chiropractors on page two.

Here’s the bad news.

If you provide average service, patients will seek out better  chiropractors and leave you scratching your head as to what happened.

Here’s what can happen if you’re not marketing online and monitoring what your patients are saying about you.

Consumers today have the power to bring huge corporations to their knees by leaving bad product and service reviews all over the internet.  The same thing will happen to any business, including chiropractic.

Just one or two bad patient experiences can affect your bottom line. Successful chiropractors are using this ‘bad news’ to their advantage.  I’ll show you how.

Paid Marketing Vs Free Marketing.

If you want your phone to ring and pick up new patients, you need to be on the front page of Google when people do a search for chiropractors in your zip code or city.

There are two ways to do it. Pay Google to be first using ‘keywords’. Or optimize your website and get on the front page for free.

Since 75% of all consumers ignore ads, website optimization is preferable.  A good marketing plan should include optimization of your website. However if you want patients immediately, a good keyword strategy will do the trick until your website begins appearing on the front page.

Good Marketing Strategies for Chiropractors.

Today’s marketing strategies for chiropractors will include what works online today.  We also look at where we’re going from here. Here are the basics.

• Implement effective strategies for new patients to find you
• Give patients good reasons to use you rather than the chiropractor next door
• Give patients more than they expect
• Reward patients for recommending you online
• Handle complaints immediately

Negative reviews and comments about your business can stay online for years. That’s why it’s so  important to monitor what patients are saying about you online.   If you find negative comments about your business online, there are things you can do.  Contact  me for a free consultation.

There are endless ways to make money and new ways are being developed every day. We live in a changing economy. Good ways to make money ten years ago may not be as good now.  What can you do?

• Be creative
• Get attention
• Love what you do

Be creative.

Most people are followers. Leaders are not. They are always looking for new opportunities to help people and make money at the same time.  Whether you want to work for someone else or start your own business, you’ll probably need to be creative. Why? Because in most industries there’s lots of competition.  We need to find ways of providing more value for less money.

How can you be creative? Relax. Creativity comes easily when we’re relaxed and not thinking too much. Look for things people need and do it better.

Get attention.

Whether you’re a job seeker or an entreprenuer, once you know what you want, you need to get attention. Today it’s much easier and cheaper to get tons of attention. Here’s why.

• Free and low cost communication tools (internet)
• Social media
• You Tube

Without attention, no one will notice you. If you’re doing the same things everyone else is doing, who will find you? Who will get excited about you, your products, or services? People love someone who develops a new concept or idea.  When you have something new, unique, and creative, it’s much more likely that your message will go viral. You can reach millions of people in a short period of time when you are creative and find ways to get attention.

Love what you do.

Instead of focusing on ways to make money, make a list of things you already like to do.  Then find ways to make money doing what you love. If money is your only motivation, and you don’t love what you do, it is very difficult to succeed and be happy.

What if you love to do things that don’t pay very well? Be creative. Make a list and then ask yourself why you love to do these things. What are common elements?

e.g. you might find that you love certain things because they give you these things.

• Financial freedom
• Independence
• Flexible work hours

If this motivates you, what else could you do that gives you the same reward?  What other jobs or services could you provide that give you financial freedom, independence, and a flexible schedule. Be creative.