Eric S. Townsend

Search Engine Minimization

etownsend — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:31:20 +0000

my phone is blowing up with folks wanting more visitors at their websites. there are a few things to consider as the catch-all “seo” leaves your tongue. 1) everyone wants more online visitors, which makes the marketplace very competitive, which means it’s not silver bullet marketing; 2) the best in seo simply gets you “on the grid” — which means people will find you somewhere along the results returned by google but not in the top 5 positions where over 75% of traffic gravitates; 3) seo can only succeed where real research in engaged — meaning that it takes a smart, intuitive marketer to navigate google data, to separate the real opportunities from millions of searches and to leverage that knowledge for results at your website; 4) seo means search engine optimization, which is misleading — it should be “search engine minimization” since it’s the least you can do for your website to get into the game (too many think it’s ALL they need to do); 5) the real difference is made with search engine marketing (sem) where you commit a budget to an ongoing campaign of measures that raise your optimized website in the rankings. a pro can prioritize which measures bring the greatest return in the near-term.

“Saving” Today Can Cost You Tomorrow

etownsend — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:25:50 +0000

to my small business comrades, it’s time to get real. in fact, to all business owners — listen up! there’s a mantra that i’m asking you to internalize. “saving” today can cost you tomorrow. going d.i.y. almost always costs more than paying specialized experts. there are things you do well and others that you do not. know your limits. understand the risks of under-investing. procrastinating and/or slapping a patch to a problem invites damages to mount or compound. relying on your own perspective, ideas and knowledge of the market can cause you to appear amateur and/or miss opportunities — often by a substantial margin. business leaders often struggle to fully understand consumers. it’s a common trap that prevents what’s possible from being realized. don’t fall into it!

New Website/SEO — Dad’s Tree Service

etownsend — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:59:28 +0000

designed and launched a new website for leading arborist, dads tree service. ron kronz and his family have been in business for a quarter of a century in springfield virginia. they offer a wide variety of tree services that include tree fertilization, trimming and removal. kronz is also a notable saxophonist who has toured the world with local legend bobby parker. i came to work for dads upon realizing that the company had a long and successful history but zero profile on google. i performed a basic re-design, search engine optimization and offered consultation on how to market the website for greater results. they’re currently netting between 10 and 14 leads a week through their website for leading local searches like “tree service alexandria va” and a host of others.

Grade of Execution

etownsend — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:12:50 +0000

i was happy to see the united states win gold in mens singles figure skating. what most impressed me was that “grade of execution” was the difference between gold and silver. far too often, over-the-top and “wow” factors overshadow more subtle aspects in grading talent and performance. not this time — here’s how it went down. the american began the final round in second place, with a routine that lacked a quad (the most difficult move to stick). his artistic and technical execution was sharp and ended triumphantly on point. the russian skater began in first position and nailed the quad and followed it with a triple (in combination). no one else had the guts to attempt a quad at the beginning of his program. however, the rest of his program included several wobbly and off-axis maneuvers (although all were landed). his choreography was lacking a bit. in the end, a single point decided the gold, with the american prevailing. congrats to evan lysacek!

Commercial Speaks to Simplicity, Potential

etownsend — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:49:46 +0000

caught a great commercial today from ameriprise financial. it’s rare that a commercial connects with me in any meaningful way. this one was different. there is a simple, lucid and calming tone — and an acknowledgment that fear prevents dreams from happening.

Authority Marketing

etownsend — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:42:50 +0000

i’m not talking about promoting your local police organization here. authority marketing is walking the walk. marketing without authority is blowing hot air. so, how do you achieve authority? research. writing. publishing. relevance. credibility. consistency. 1) research — don’t jump to conclusions on efforts…circle the subject, learn something new every day, then proceed; 2) writing — putting words to paper helps to form, anchor and mature thoughts; 3) publishing — blogging, article marketing and more put your authority to the test by interacting with audiences and forcing you to defend your ideas and knowledge; 4) relevance — much like the factors that google uses to rank websites, make sure what you’re saying and doing has momentum, is in the news, has significant interest, etc; 5) credibility — search for consensus (especially pros who also speak on your subject matter) and pursue third party endorsements (testimonials, panel invites, etc); 6) consistency — stay on subject(s) for a prolonged period of time (establish longevity, focus, commitment, passion, etc), though it’s not necessary to hold the same perspective(s) and opinions (showing a progression in thought is positive in that it communicates consideration, balance, flexibility, humility, maturity, etc).

Fear Can Lead to Terrible Consequences

etownsend — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:01:21 +0000

just overheard an interesting byte on fear via espn sportscenter. the father of the fallen georgian luger revealed today that his son was overcome by fear upon arriving at the olympic course at whistler that would later claim his life. specifically, he was terrified of the turn where he would eventually lose control of his sled. not sure about you, but this theme comes up consistently over the course of my week — though with far lesser consequences. where you allow fear to take hold, you become unfocused and commit less to the task at hand. the prospects for failure increase significantly. for most of us, what’s at stake is our emotional or financial state of being. we can recover from these. for some, fear’s consequence is far more profound and final.

Townsend Backs Pepsi Refresh Project Entrant

etownsend — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:51:33 +0000

i joined forces today with jeff campbell of local non-profit hungry for music in his quest to finish in first or second place overall in voting for the pepsi refresh project. currently, they are ranked #1 in their category but #12 overall. at stake is a $250,000 grant that would allow his organization to place 10,000 musical instruments in the hands of 10,000 under-privileged kids. being an accomplished independent musician (9davine) and partner in a recording industry business (splashkit), this was a no brainer for me. jeff and i are brainstorming internet marketing strategies that could make the difference in the near-term. voting ends on february 28th.

New Website/SEO — Basement Detective

etownsend — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:53:11 +0000

went live with the basement detective website recently. they are a northern virginia contractor providing basement waterproofing, remodeling, sump pump systems and mold removal. with a new suite of search engine optimization (seo) services through vaseo behind it, the page is ranking highly for a host of local searches in its industry. they are solidly in the google mix with businesses who are far more established at 10 to 50 years. the first appointments are being set and the company is doing a ton of search engine marketing (sem) in preparation for the rainy months of march and april.

Indie.Arie at Cue Recording (SplashKit Partner)

etownsend — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:58:40 +0000

check the following videos from studio a at cue recording (falls church va). in intimate footage, indie.arie performs and talks about her grammy nominations. created for the 52nd annual grammy award awards and the national geographic/music voyager series. jeff jeffrey, cue’s owner, and i have been experts in splashkit since its founding in 2005.