Have you heard of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization? If you're part of a larger partner organization with a well staffed marketing team who's got this covered, way to go! But for the rest of you, do these 3 little words; Search Engine Optimization, cause a slight feeling of anxiety? Perhaps a sense you're missing out on something good, but no time to deal with it or to figure out just how good it could be for you (and your business)?
Hello, I'm Heather Robinson (formerly Ireland) and I have been a part of Scribe marketing for over 5 years. In my previous life I spent my days helping Microsoft partners get their marketing off the ground, so I have an affinity for helping partners with marketing. Dipping back into these roots for this blog, I thought I'd share why Scribe partners should leverage SEO. Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on SEO, but I've learned enough to be dangerous, so if you dare, take a look at the top 5 reasons I think Scribe Partners should care about SEO.
1. No ducks please. It all comes down to matching the right people with the right content. You're looking for people to visit your site who have a genuine need for the services or products you sell. Perhaps you're looking for someone who is interested in migrating data… but you're definitely not looking for someone interested in migrating ducks. SEO is more complex than focusing on one word (like migrating) and populating a page with it to an extreme, but not so complex that a small company can't have success at SEO with just a bit time spent researching and implementing the new changes.
2. You matter and are important. You want your site to be viewed as reputable, relevant, and having some authority. The more you can incorporate correct SEO with relevant content and inbound links from other relevant and reputable sites, the more those search engine spiders viewing your site as being relevant to someone's search is increased.
3. Use what's already available to you. You can leverage existing sites which are highly ranked, because you are already a part of their larger community. Whether you're a Microsoft, Salesforce, or Sage partner, starting with that main vendor and working your way through ISVs (such as Scribe) and other partners and blogs, you can begin reciprocal linking and making sure you're taking advantage of linking opportunities which may already exist, such as Microsoft's Solution Finder, Microsoft PinPoint, or Salesforce's AppExchange . And yes, Scribe offers reciprocal linking to our partners.
4. You can increase sales. Honestly you can, but first you must lead customers to your website. If your Web site is properly optimized on the Internet, and among the appropriate search engines, your Web site will generate new sales leads. Your new customers are out there, they just need your help to find you!
5. You can do it for free. With minimal time and effort, and without having to invest thousands in an outside company promising they can get you ranked #1 in search engines, you can pull up your rankings in the main search engines. The SEO I'm referring to does not include paid search, like Google Adwords, it's about getting visitors to see your site as a top listing in "organic" or natural searches, so when they click on your site it's free to you, and you can take satisfaction that it's because of your work, not an expensive outside company.
Getting Started
If you're ready to get started today, I found a terrific tool that will give you a rough starting point of "grading" your website, and also a couple relevant vendor links for SEO.
www.websitegrader.com Website Grader analyzes your site for free and gives recommendations on how you can improve the SEO aspects of it. You will get a follow up call from the folks who provide it, but they're not pushy if you're not interested.
Microsoft Partner Tools for SEO: https://partner.microsoft.com/US/40073325
Salesforce Partner Marketing Tools for SEO: http://blogs.salesforce.com/marketing/search_marketing/
If your appetite has been whetted and you're interested in learning more about SEO for partners, in my next article I'll share how to quickly get started, so stay tuned. Of course, if you've had success with SEO or have ideas you'd like to share with other partners, we'd love to hear from you.
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