When was the last time you updated your content or added a new page to your site? Why would you want to?

I’m working to build out the content of the site and added a page today on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

The idea is to provide a more in-depth explanation of each one of the services I offer and also provide more content for the search engines to index. By adding new content to the site and additional static pages regularly, the idea is to make the site more valuable for visitors and in turn provide additional pages to be indexed (listed) in Google, Yahoo and other search engines and thereby create more ways for people to find the site.

Explained a little differently, each page you add to your website can be listed on its own in Google. This means that if you add 1 page a week to your site then at the end of the year you will have 52 new potential entry points for people to find your website in the next 12 months.  Each page represents a doorway for people to find and access your information.

Ideally, each page will also contain valuable, relevant content for your visitors and also persuade them to purchase your products and services.

In the case of the posts I list here, each one is building my credibility in your eyes (hopefully!) and offers you valuable information that you can use to improve your business. The idea is that the more I give away here the more will return in terms of new business and relationships with happy clients. An additional benefit is that I enjoy writing and doing so helps to clarify my ideas.

Closing thought: get into the habit of adding new content to your site regularly. If you’d like a pain free way of doing so, setup a blog using Wordpress.org and start publishing a new piece of content each week. You don’t have to write much, just write something useful for your current and potential clients. It’s worth it and over time your posts will add up to new traffic and sales for a little bit of effort each week.

Google Trends is a useful tool when making tough decisions on what keywords to use in your search marketing and search engine optimization campaigns.

The tool enables users to determine, relative to one another, what term is more popular to searchers based on activity taking place in Google over the past several years. As an example, I wanted to see how popular Salesforce.com was in Google compared to several of its competitors.

Take a look at the live trend example here.

A nice feature of the tool is that it charts news stories to traffic patterns for the most popular search.

Try your own comparison using Google Trends.

Search Marketing Now recently published a great webinar on paid search marketing for big brands.

The webcast explores the challenges that are unique to larger companies running pay-per-click advertising campaigns.

Check it out here.

Blogging = Closed Deals

Picture this; a sales rep at your company is on a call with a hot prospect who is coming up with some particularly tricky objections. The rep knows that he’s being tested and with some additional information and reassurance that your company is the right fit, the deal would probably close.

Now picture this: for the past several months preceding this call your internal team has been interviewing the sales team and developed a list of the top questions and concerns prospects come up. Your team then took those questions and concerns and developed several reassuring answers to each one. Next, they developed a blog post around each objection and the corresponding answer being sure to include links to third party experts or customer testimonials to add credibility.

Now snap back to the sales call currently in progress. Your rep quickly and easily drafts a quick email with a link to the post and sends it over to the prospect mid conversation. The prospect takes a quick look, the objection is overcome and your rep has just gone from sales person to valuable resource in the eyes of the client. Deal closed.

Bonus Tip #1

If you’re using a CRM system such as Salesforce.com, create a series of pre-formatted emails with answers to major objections and link to blog posts that over come each one. That way your reps can save time when they’re on the phone with prospects and your company looks like a top-notch organization that knows what’s up.

Bonus Tip #2

When considering a blogging platform, skip the evaluation process and choose Wordpress.org. It’s easy for your IT department to install and for your designer to skin to match your corporate website. It also has a huge following in the developer community and has many marketing oriented plug-ins. It’s pretty much the best platform out there so why waste time thinking about others? Get it today.

1. Market to your in-house email list of current leads and past customers
2. Run a Search Engine Optimization campaign (SEO) in concert with a Pay-Per-Click marketing campaign
3. Get publicity from online portals and blogs relevant to your industry. A write up or mention that includes a link to your site is key
4. Market to a partner’s list or through their website to their in-house list of clients and prospects. If they’ve been in business longer and have a robust list, so much the better.
5. Build a site that is packed full of relevant content to your prospective client and current clients.

Bonus Tip:

#6: Market your business on facebook. For starters, sign up at www.facebook.com. After creating your profile, click on the home page link at the top of the page then scroll to the bottom and look at the business and advertising sections.

Facebook will continue to grow in its importance to businesses. As an example, did you know that for every person you meet in BC they have a 50% chance of being on facebook? In a future article I will go into the details of why this is important and will cover topics such as Facebook’s ad targeting system. In the mean time - go sign up!

My latest site, Salesforcetimes.com got a great mention on Salesforce.com’s customer success site, Successforce.com.

Thanks guys!

Check out my latest self promotion tool: my interactive presentation.

Salesforcetimes.com is entering its second full week in production and I’m happy to say I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from readers and people in the Salesforce community including Salesforce.com staff.

The site is on track to crack 1000 unique visits in its first month of existence. Next up: I’m looking for content writers. If you have a salesforce related product or service let me know. I’d be happy to post your article or product demo on the site and will provide link backs in return for the content.

After running killam&co for over a year, and after a great deal of introspection, I’ve decided to change direction. As a result, in the upcoming days I will be incorporating killamandco into adamkillam.com. I will continue to serve my existing clients and will take on a limited number of freelance contracts from here on as I begin to focus my time and energy on developing my own web properties.

Stay tuned for more updates as I work to bring all my websites and blogs into alignment over the next couple of weeks.