The Maine SEO Blog

Let’s say your site ranks #1 on Google for the best terms imaginable. What’s more, people are searching for those keywords. And most importantly, those people are actually going to your website!

But then, when you’ve got them right where you want them…they leave. They leave without buying, they leave without signing up, they leave without contacting you.

Why? You don’t have a call-to-action. Calls-to-action get people to convert. SEO doesn’t amount to anything if you don’t have conversions.

If your call-to-action is buried at the bottom of a page or deep within the site, how do you expect people to convert? Don’t think you’re putting your “buy now”, “sign up now”, or “call us now” buttons in people’s faces too much. There is, of course, a limit; but the truth of the matter is you need to make it obvious what you want people to do next.

Let’s look at SEOmoz‘s website as an example. They’re pros (excuse the pun) at this.

What do you think they want you to do?

Subtle, yet above the fold. And tells you exactly what to do. There are a few calls-to-action on the SEOmoz homepage, but the Pro Signup is where they make money. (For some great specific pointers on how to make a call-to-action, check out this post.)

Calls-to-action aren’t SEO. But if you don’t have great calls-to-action, you can’t count on high conversions.

Nicki Hicks
What do you want people to do?

How often should I blog? How often do I tweet? How often should I update my Facebook status?

These are among the most common questions I get. For most, I answer an indefinite, “however often feels right” or “however often you have something meaningful to say“.

For most business owners, this answer is not concrete enough. So, here’s an example of how you could manage your social media time:

Every day…

• Digg something of someone else’s
• Bookmark something on Delicious.
• StumbleUpon something of somone else’s
• Twitter
  • Add something of value
  • ReTweet someone
  • Engage with someone
  • Promote something of your own
  • Follow someone new
• Facebook
  • Add something of value
  • Comment on something (friend’s/business’s status, photo, etc.)
  • “Like” something

Every few days…

• Write a blogpost (and ping it)
• Update your LinkedIn status
• Add photos to Flickr
• Comment on a blogpost
• Facebook
  • Friend someone new
  • Update your business status
  • Promote something of your own

Every week…

• Check your Google Analytics
• Digg something of your own (and ask others to digg it)
• StumbleUpon something of your own (and ask others to give it a thumbs up)
• Check in somewhere on Foursquare
• Participate in a forum or LinkedIn thread
• Do one “Please RT” on Twitter
• Answer or ask a question on LinkedIn

Every two weeks…

• Create a new YouTube video

This schedule won’t work for everyone and, as it’s generalized, certain social media channels might need to be tweaked.

Nicki Hicks
It’s all about Time Management

Search geeks are a witty crew. Google is infamous for its April Fools Day pranks, but today SEOs alike have joined the fun.

Here are just a few of the pranks around the Interwebs today:

SEOmoz doubles as RustyBrick.

Google changes its name to Topeka.

Search Engine Roundtable has the best selection of round tables, guaranteed.

Google Maps offers street view in 3D.

Store literally anything at Google Docs…even your house keys.

Watch YouTube videos in text-only (TEXTp).

Google is now in the jailing business.

Google buys ProBlogger.

There’s a ton more over at Search Engine Land.

Nicki Hicks
April Fools!