In part 1 of Why sooner is better for small business SEO we discussed the benefits of SEO in regards to developing niches and the advantages of establishing age early. In this section we’ll focus on how establishing SEO in a small business earlier rather than later will help us better understand customers, avoid spending unnecessary resources and learning to do it yourself.

Understanding your customers

• One of the most integral parts of implementing SEO in your web presence is extensive keyword research. You want to find and utilize the keywords that your customers are using to find products and services that you offer. This research is more often than not quite eye opening, and as a business owner you likely have many preconceptions regarding the ways your customers find you, often times wrong. Becoming involved in keyword research will help you understand what your customers are looking for. These could be products that you may not be offering or possibly, something you are offering but are calling it the wrong name.

Affordability during earlier stages

• Deciding to take on SEO practices earlier rather than later will also save you money on the bottom line. In the earlier stages of the web site design phase you can build your site to be SEO friendly. If you were to wait until much later in the life of the business a redesign of your website to become more SEO friendly would cost a great deal.

Learning to Do it Yourself

• In initial stages of almost any project small businesses tend to take on a good portion of the work load in-house. SEO practices should be no different. The advantages of starting early allow the small business to learn as they grow rather than having to spend great deals of resources either hiring an outside SEO firm or by trying to learn when the company is larger and there is much more at stake.

Whether it be for a product or your business, in general, Facebook Pages can be essential in social marketing. With Pages you can display videos, pictures, and have “fans” of your page write reviews and discuss your product. You can also spice up the page with flash and can even use some html. However, it’s not called html, it’s called FBML. Facebook’s own coding:

Another benefit to Pages is fans can opt-in to receive messages from you.

I have recently started playing around with Google’s Website Optimizer and I now wonder if the traditional web consulting firms have a future in the industry. There was a time when website owners would hire a consultant or spend weeks in meetings trying to guess what changes to their site would give them the biggest impact for their users. Usually the most effective way to determine what would work would be to conduct extensive market research through surveys or focus groups, both of which take a great deal of time and resources.

Google’s Website Optimizer puts the power of the large consulting firms into the hands of the site owner. I was amazed at how easily it was to set up the tests and how profound the initial data was. I am now obsessed with checking the stats and can’t wait to start the next test. I will keep you posted on the results of the tests and keep you up to date on my impressions.

Now that this tool is in the hands of the site owner will there be less of a demand for web consulting firms? Or will fast adapting consultants use this tool to offer the same market research services but save money by implementing this cheaper and faster method.

Here are a few other ways to market your product or service on Facebook:

1.) If your business has a blog, import the blog into the Notes section of your profile. This will help keep others you network with up to date on your company.

2.) Create a page for your product or service. You can list important details about what you are offering and message fans of the page with updates.

3.) Create your own group. This can be the most effective of the marketing “tools” on Facebook. You are allowed to invite people to join, post video, post pictures, post links and notes, etc. People who join can really get involved on the group message board and wall.

The great thing about all three of these is every little move you make, it’s posted on all your friends Facebook homepages in the mini-feed!

As a small business owner, capital and time are typically the most precious resources. Deciding where to allocate these valuable assets can often be a tedious task. With so many options available to you, putting your resources into the activities that can grow your business effectively can mean the difference between coming out on top or sinking to the bottom.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, isn’t typically the type of expenditure that an emerging small business thinks of in the early stages of development but there are several reasons why doing SEO early can greatly benefit an organization in the long run.

· D     Developing Niches

o As companies grow markets tends to decide which products and services are the most valuable to them, often without any guidance from the company themselves. Unique offerings can appeal to specific niche markets that the company may not have anticipated. By using SEO before these niche markets fully develop you capitalize most of the market exposure on the search engines before competitors join the niche. Getting your roots down early will establish your organization as an authority in the marketplace.

· B     Building Age

o Age of links is a very influential factor in search engine ranking. The sooner that you can start building links the sooner those links can start passing benefit. This thought process will also get you in the habit of thinking of ways to leverage your content as you build it rather than saying “We will adjust this for SEO at a later date”.

In part two we’ll discuss how good SEO will help you further discover and understand your market.

There is a lot that can be done when using Facebook to market a business or service. With millions of users communicating with friends, family members, and co-workers, it is only natural to get in on the conversation. The important thing to keep in mind when using Facebook as a marketing tool is transparency. Always disclose your affiliation with what you are marketing. As Eric Weaver recently said in his blog post, Social Media Basics for Marketers, “Be very transparent and honest. Consumers often assume marketers are self-interested. By being transparent, you curtail doubt.”

With that being said, the first thing to do is set-up a personal profile and add your interests, your work information, and any other extra details about yourself. Once you’ve done that, you can start gathering friends or trusted contacts.

Next, search for groups similar to the product or service you would like to “market”. For example, if you are a snowboarding instructor in the Aspen area you might join groups related to snowboarding and winter sports. However, the key is to interact with others in the group and offering advice on the sport when needed. How does this market your snowboarding business? Well, the next time someone asks about a good instructor in the Aspen area to the person you gave advice to, there’s a good chance your name will be brought up.