SEO And Word Of Mouth Advertising

May 13, 2008

We attend lots and lots of business mixers here in Tucson to promote our business. At almost every event the conversation will turn to blogging and why you should provide free advice on your website. The usually refrain is “Why would you give away free advice?” Keep in mind that these are business owners that we are talking with about business.

I am still dumbfounded every time I hear that question. For, us it’s all about the golden rule in action. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Or perhaps, “What goes around comes around.” Some get it when put in this context, but many don’t. These are what we would call the “what can you do for me crowd.”
They are so blinded by their own wants or needs that they can not believe there is an actual benefit to helping others for free.

They don’t understand that an educated consumer can be your best client or your best word of mouth advertisment. I talked extensively with a business coach at one of these mixers. I had me laptop and gave him a quick SEO 101. We covered simple Page Title and Page Descriptions and the need for him to geo-target for Tucson.

I meet him two months at another large mixer where he joined our table. He explained how he implements what I had told him. He stated that he was now #3 and #4 on Google for the keywords that he had targeted. He then looked around the table of seven stating to each “This guy knows what he is talking about.”

He then turns to me, and say’s now how do I get to #1 and #2? I wryly replied “for that, it’s gonna cost ya.” I stated that since I gave so freely to him that it was now his job to go tell others.

I was retelling this story later in the evening when a friend from the table pointed out that that’s exactly what he did after leaving our table. She told us “I’ve been watching him every since we left our table, and he has been telling everyone about you and how you helped him and that he even pointed me out in the crowd.

I was blown away, I only jokingly suggested that we go tell others. Apparently he was so grateful that he felt obligated to tell others about “this guy who knows what he’s talking about.” You simply can’t buy this kind of endorsement.

Posted by admin | Filed Under Geo Targeting 

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