Peter Butler - 18/34 - Smart Mortgage Marketing

Peter Butler

Simple Tip To Get More Backlinks To Your Website!

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peter-butler-google-profile-250I’m really under the pump with helping new clients get their websites up in the Google charts and that reminded me of just one of the simple tips we use to make that happen.

It’s a no brainer for getting back links to your site, courtesy of Google themselves. Every bit helps and any way you can use Googles services has to be a good thing right? All bow to Google!

Set up your own Google Profile.

You just need to fill the information that they ask about yourself, include the URL of your website, add some pictures and bingo, one more backlink. As long as you add enough information, your profile will be displayed in Google’s search results, and it should count as a normal backlink because Google does not use the nofollow attribute on the website links.

This service is also useful if you are not worried with building links, because it gives you an opportunity to create a profile page and possibly to get it ranked for your name on the first page of results.

So what are you waiting for? Go set up your own profile.

If you’re a Smarter Websites client chances are we’ve already done that for you. Do a quick check by entering “Google Profile for <your name>” into Google Search and see what comes up. Let me know if you can’t find you 🙄 and I’ll talk you through some tips and tricks.

Make a comment below if you need help.

The picture above is my own profile with all the sites I’ve built and run (some are old and my pre WordPress days so don’t give me grief)

Everyone Is A Marketing Expert, Apparently…

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p_003To build a really successful business we can’t do it all. As a start up we might be the “Jack or Jill of all trades” but sooner or later…

We get our bookkeeper to do the figures, the accountant to make it ‘make sense’ and work for the ATO and our insurance broker, mortgage broker to get us the best deal and so it goes on. We know we need these people and we trust their expertise and guidance (mostly).

But when it comes to marketing everyone is an expert, apparently…

That’s the trouble though, it’s just a damn opinion and rarely has it any connection to facts. Opinions are only opinions.

Why would you sit down with some friends or colleagues and make big decisions about the direction of your marketing and your website when all they are is opinions. It’s great to brainstorm to get the creative juices flowing but…

Seriously, I see this all the time and it’s doing my head in. I get paid good money to ‘make websites work’. The fact that we do a lot of rebuilds of ‘dead and dormant’ websites and turn them into lead generating, money making machines is evidence that we at least have half a clue that we know what we’re talking about.

But, go figure…

I then have people coming to me and saying “But my mate told me that if I buy a heap of domains and point them all to my main website then I’ll rank better.”

Well, good luck with that! Yup, you go waste your money… and time. Might have worked 5 years ago but do you really think that Google doesn’t cotton on to stuff like this? Whether you’re a Google fan or not their whole premise in business is to provide a “good user experience” and clever tricks like this won’t work, certainly not in the long term.

In the case above – How do you think a person might see you and your business if they see one website address and then they get sent to a different address? (There is a case for doing web address redirects but not as a supposedly clever SEO trick …)

That’s just one example of stuff that I hear. Hey, don’t get me wrong , I’m all for checking pretty well anything and everything out but here’s the litmus test if you like.

Look at your website and marketing as being the front door to your business.

  • Will you be able to relate well with people and build a relationship with them?
  • Will you get people to give you their details?
  • Will it be a good user experience?
  • Will you convert a certain number into paying clients?

But here’s the kicker. Who are you listening too? Someone who does it for a living… and is successful?

So why are we all experts on marketing?

Mostly because the opinions can’t be verified, not right there and then anyway. Why do you think most people believe “brand’ marketers” when they say “You just need to run the ad longer?”  The reason is because there is no evidence otherwise and people don’t know any better.

Another part of human nature is “enrolment”. If you get a group of people sitting around and they all back each other up on a particluar point then that’s enrolment. What is a maybe becomes a fact. If you really want to believe something it’s not hard to get people to agree with you.

You wouldn’t get property investment advice from the granny next door (not unless she was a property tycoon).

Here’s a fact!

I’ve had clients ask me “Why have a newsletter opt in as well as my Free Report opt in on my website?”

The answer is simple.

The stat’s over the last 12 months show that 2.5 people will sign up for the newsletter to every 10 people who grab your Free Report.

Obviously not everyone wants the solution you offer in your Free Report but they do want to get more of your stuff.

Now, armed with that factual information a client can then make an informed decision about whether they want a newsletter sign up form as well.

That’s my point – make decisions based on facts… and not opinions!

Opinions won’t make you any money and the reality is, it could cost you!

Do we at Smarter Websites know it all? Absolutely not, but you know, I am so passionate about websites actually working and making people money that I bust my gut to test and try everything. Make sure you always test and measure!

OK, I feel better, I’ve vented my frustration. Make a comment! Have you a similar experience from your niche, industry or field?

If your website isn’t building a client list or making any money then get a Free Website and Marketing Prosperity Health Check Here.

I can only do 3 this month. After that I’m all outa time. I actually drill right down into your site to find out what works, what doesn’t and why! This is valued at a very real $385.00 so be in quick!

ness and your

Don’t Do This Classic “I’m Gonna Get a Truckload Of Spam” Mistake!

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Just caught one of my clients doing the classic – “I’ll make it easy for people to contact me” mistake by putting my email address on the bottom of my post.

Umm, woops! Spam galore coming your way soon. Leave it there for any length of time and I’ll even give a written guarantee on that!

The thinking is sound – you do want to make it easy for people to take the action you want and to contact you. The safest way is to provide a link back to your contact page. One click and they’re done.

A couple of hints for the newbies, there’s smart text linking and then there’s not…

  • Always make your text link bold (make it obvious, assume people are dumb and blind)
  • Decide whether you want the page to open in a new window or the same window (Most times I go for a new window unless I’m taking them on a journey and they don’t need to refer to the original or previous page)

If you’re opening in the same window make sure that the steps are obvious and congruent to even a 12 year old, always a good litmus test.

What do you want the link text to say?

Most people just use the ‘click here’ and I’ve certainly been guilty of that over the years. What you’re better off using is the actual text that you want to known for or ranked for (SEO stuff). Just having ‘click here’ won’t give you any demerit points so don’t lose any sleep over it BUT if you want to take advantage of every ranking trick you can then just do it.

Why? It’s called the Anchor Text. If the anchor text and the url (web address) line up and the page is relevant to the text then it’ll be deemed authoritative by Google and the other search engines.

If the text says “Contact Peter Butler” and goes to a page containing the url text Peter Butler https://www.smartmortgagemarketing.com.au/contact-peter-butler then I get some link juice for Peter Butler, otherwise I get link juice for ‘click here’ – not something I’m trying to rank for.

Something like this link saying you can get hold of Peter Butler here.

We tell clients this on their coaching calls and when we set up a new sexy Smarter WordPress Websites but then they forget. Hey, we share a lot and it’s a lot to take in, hence this timely reminder.  To try and recover an email address when it’s been picked up by a Spam-Bot. Well, good luck with that.

If you’ve done this then go back in ASAP and delete the email address and convert it into a link containing your name or a main keyword you’re trying to rank for.

# 1 Google Rankings in 6 Minutes… or Less!

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p_113Today you have a very real chance of becoming the ‘King of the Mountain” in your field. Never before has it been easier to position yourself as the “guru” in be in spot # 1.

Breaking News – “Real Time Search Engine Results” have begun! (and I have the evidence!)

What does that mean? And will it affect you?

It’s a matter of “Humans VS Machines” and the human factor has just been added back in to search engine results, flipping hallelujah!

Have you ever clicked on blue links that lead you to a piece of content dating back to a year or more ago? Search results lose relevancy pretty well each day due to the amount of new content hitting the internet. Spiders, web crawlers and engines decide what content is relevant via algorithms and those results can be manipulated via intelligently structured content (SEO). All valid but the “human” element has been missing.

Real-time search enables users to receive information via conversations and people instead of machines. Take a look at your web results today. Would you rather receive cold content determined by algorithms or what the crowd and people value as good and bad?

I’m rapt that my recent post “When did you last do a website back up?” was ranked # 1 in Google.

My stuff does well but… in 6 minutes flat? Wow! (Actually, it might have been less but I didn’t check until the 6 minute mark)

Here’s the snap shot I took of the result. Check out the time line and position – plus the 3.2 million other results I was up against.

6-minute-google-results-590

So what is all the fuss about my ‘post’ being found within 6 minutes?

  • It means that Google had actually been to my site for the content to show up at all.
  • It also means that the “Authority” and “Relevance” of my site is being escalated as my content shows up in the results. My “Positioning” is being strengthened.

I mean, no-one is going to even know about you and Google won’t give you the time of day if you’re way back on page 140, or 1400 even.

So, how will this help you build your business?

You will be able to reach mega star status in your field if the search engines can find your relevant content easily and quickly. This gives the average person the opportunity to position themselves as the “guru”.

So how do you do that?

The Real-Time web offers us the ability to become co-creators in not only content but also in what is deemed important. Why? Because we decide what is worth sharing, discussing and having opinions on. This behaviour serves as a natural selection of valuable content. Certainly the current web allows for creation of content, but what is deemed as important and valuable is mostly left up to a few individuals, organizations and a bunch of robots.

The Real-Time web, once fully integrated, will change that. That’s why WordPress along with social media marketing integration is the answer.

And you don’t even have to understand how it all works.

Why is WordPress the solution?

  • You are in control
  • You add the content
  • You get the relevance factor
  • You gain the respect
  • You command the credibility
  • You get the power of positioning

It doesn’t matter whether your passion is cooking, health, martial arts, water-tank expert or even real estate or mortgage broking. You now have a very real chance of positioning yourself as the “Go To Guru’ above all others. You need to be “seen” as the guru even if some days you don’t feel that way. It’s not rocket science. Perception is everything.

How to start the journey?

If you have a Smarter WordPress Website then keep making posts, 1 a week at least is best but certainly 2 a month. Use your keyword bank and tags like I showed you. I am working on the Membership area for you all but I do need sleep sometime, I’ll keep you posted.

If you don’t have a Smarter WordPress Website click here to find out how to start the journey with your own guru status. Look, you don’t actually have to want to be “a Guru” as such BUT you do need a cost effective way to let the world know you’re in business if you want success. Look, it’s a journey, and it takes time, so best you get started before you get any older.

I’m limiting this before Christmas to Only 3 so if you want the “17 Point Marketing & Website Prosperity Health Check” Then Be Quick and Click Here NOW!

Make sure that 2010 is YOUR YEAR! Be an ACTION TAKER!

When Did You Last Do a Website BackUp?

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Have you ever lost a Word document? Lost an email maybe? It happens, right! And it’s an absolute pain in the butt!

Not only do you lose a heap of time looking for it but there’s the stress and drama that goes with it.

Imagine if you lost your website!

And it happened to a colleague not so long ago. The story gets worse!

There was a server crash and he lost about 30 websites – yup, that’s thirty, as in 3 and 0. He swore… a lot!

What made it worse was there was no up to date backups. And get this, most were client sites.

Here’s the reality, a server is just a hard disc drive essentially, and they fail, it happens. Surely you’ve had a PC issue at some point… “touch wood”, same deal, they break.

I back up my own sites, and all my clients sites of course, on a regular basis.

But how do we back them up?

I have a strategic plan. I have to account for the fact that I might get hit by a Mac Truck, God forbid. If I’m as thin as sliced cheese and my clients can’t get to their back up  that’s not going to help them get their website “live” again.

There are 2 parts to a website backup, this is in real simple layman’s terms.

There is all the database stuff which is all the techy in the cogs and behind the scenes coding and stuff and then there is the graphical elements and images. That’s the oversimplified version but that covers it.

So obviously we have 2 parts to our back up process, well, actually we have 3.

What we do is use a tool for all our websites, mine and my clients, that automatically does the database back up aspect. It even emails the back up out to them.

!Note for Smarter Website clients! You will now get a weekly email that contains a file with this database file. The attached file will look something like – “yourdomain_wrdp1_30102009_xxx.sql.gz”

I was having these all sent to me on a weekly basis but then I had a close shave with a Mac Truck. No, not really. I just figured that no-one knows all the stuff we do behind the scenes to keep your sites up and running and it was about time to blow our trumpet.

What do you do with this email! File it, just in case. (and pray I don’t get hit by a truck)

So what are the other 2 parts to the website back up?

The next is all the files and folders, where all the graphical and other stuff is. We back them up to a separate disc on the server, sort of like a mirror image of the first server drive. That way if there is an issue it flicks over to the other drive so your site is “live” at all times. No down time plus a safe back up.

The last part is to back them up externally, as in “off-site”. Server centres are very secure, they have fire protection and all manner of safety stuff in place but you just never know, especially in today’s world.

So what is your back up plan? Don’t do the “it’ll never happen to me” thing. Look, most shared servers and hosting do have auto back ups done but it is worth asking the question.

Here’s the “Sell” if there is one in this post! (This part either fits for you or it doesn’t)

We now do “reseller plans” so you can actually make money out of web hosting! It’s all on our very fast and sexy “dedicated server”. A “reseller plan” means you can make money from selling web hosting without having to do anything – money for nothing and forever.

I’m not going to go into the techy stuff but if you have multiple websites or reckon you have the opportunity to direct people to or sell good hosting then we need to talk. Contact me through that link or give me a call on 0413 733 272.