It seems as though this question could be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” (I would argue “no”), but a conversation I had yesterday with Chris Madrid of New Mexico Community Capital’s IMPACT New Mexico program helped me understand two things: 1) that a static website can still have some value as an “online brochure.” and 2) how far we have to go in New Mexico in terms of businesses understanding not just “how” to leverage the web, but “why.”

Certainly I understand that for small businesses just starting up, a website may not be their first priority. In terms of cash flow and number of hours in a day, they may be at capacity in just getting their business on its feet. But businesses have to do some marketing. The problem is many business owners have little or no expertise in nor understanding of marketing. As a result, they end up with a yellow pages ad and a banner in front of their place of business. If they’re lucky and they have great products or services, they will get enough word-of-mouth to allow them to survive. Some kinds of businesses, like restaurants, can even thrive on that formula. For many (perhaps most) businesses, that’s not enough.

So what value does a static, seldom-if-ever-updated website still provide? Assuming someone knows the name of the company or the URL of their website, they can find their way to it (not likely Google will be much help in finding it by searching on anything other than the company name). To some customers, having even a static website adds credibility to the company as long as the information on the site is not obviously outdated (if things appear badly dated, however, it can have the opposite effect).

If a static website looks nice, is easy to navigate, and tells a coherent and compelling story about the company and it’s products or services, prospective customers who find their way there may, in fact, decide to do business with the company. This is the nearly two decades old “online brochure” model of online marketing. It’s better than no website, but it’s never worked great (not even in 1993, when I launched my first website) for one simple reason: it doesn’t attract much search traffic. Which means not many people ever see the website. It’s like buying a television ad that runs at 3 am.

This is a strategy that absolutely depends on driving people to your website by putting its URL on business cards, yellow pages ads, mentioning it on radio spots, etc. Those techniques, with rare exceptions, have never resulted in much traffic for business websites.

So, static websites, if kept at least marginally updated, are better than nothing. But that misses the point. Marketing, rather than a (sometimes expensive) frill, is an absolute necessity for almost all businesses: it’s what keeps the customers coming. The online marketing game isn’t about providing cred to the 5-6 people per week who see your online brochure. The online marketing game is about getting found online by the hundreds and thousands of local people searching online for local products and services offered by your company.

Fundamentally, search engines have changed the game by focusing on local search results. It used to be that in order to see local results, I had to type in “Santa Fe” after whatever I was looking for. No more. Search engines now deliver local results (if any) based on your IP address, which indicates your geographic location. This both takes advantage of and fuels a trend in the growing use of search engines in looking for local products and services. If your website is not a search engine magnet, you’re missing out on business. It’s that simple.

Static websites are rarely (if ever) search engine magnets, no matter what might be done to make them more search engine-friendly. Blogs and actively updated websites with content management systems often are, if done with search engine optimization in mind. So you tell me: do static websites still have value?

Tags: Local Search, Marketing, Zeitgeist

Bandwagons are lots of fun to jump onto: there are usually a lot of upbeat, excited people already there. Many of them are convinced the bandwagon is taking them to a lovely, special place where their dreams will be fulfilled. And possibly they will be. The problem is, when people are in a state of expectant dream fulfillment, they talk as if they’ve found the "one true answer." And if it’s the one true answer, everyone should be on the bandwagon, right?

We think you need a better basis for making a decision to blog or not. We believe there are questions people in companies can ask themselves, the answers to which may indicate whether or not blogging will help them achieve their goals. Blogging can enable people (and the companies they work for) to do great things that they would not have imagined before they started blogging. It can also be a complete waste of time, money, and effort. There is no ideal company profile by industry, size, or geographic location that indicates the likelihood of successful blogging. In every case, that likelihood rests with an individual’s (and their company’s) ability and desire to have a successful blog. Blogging is not for everyone or for every company.

Make no mistake: we are blogging enthusiasts. We believe blogging creates opportunities for businesses that no other form of communication can provide. We also believe effective blogging can be learned, but only if circumstances support learning.

We’re writing a white paper (it will be available on EvoBloggito) to help you determine if those circumstances exist in your company and if blogging is likely to benefit you and your company. There is no "passing score" for the number of questions checked. It’s up to you to determine both the answers and their bearing on your decision of whether or not to launch a company blog.

If you decide to blog, the whitepaper will also offer some guidance and suggestions to help you get started on the right foot. Because getting started is the biggest step you’ll take.

Tags: Blogging, Local Search, SEO

This video from fall, 2008 is a pretty good explanation of how to add your business to Google’s local business center to appear in Google local search results and Google maps. Well worth the nearly 8 minutes of your time. Kudos to Small Business Web Guru for making this clear and concise video.

Tags: Local Search, Marketing