RHO Quick List

RHO stands for Real Human Optimization; a different way of looking at the best practices for building a strong online customer base.

• Create content that viewers want to see
• Get relevant and reputable sites to talk about you (with links to your site)
• Repeat (keep the content fresh and up-to-date).

Content

Content isn’t the first thing that search engines look at, but it’s (arguably) the most important.  SEO tricks might get people to your site, but they won’t keep them there, and they won’t get them to make a purchase.  Far too many of the “SEO experts” hawking their services only know how to get someone to peek in the window.  They don’t know how to turn a “view” into a “visit”–much less a purchase.

Here’s the thing:  I don’t, either–for your business. But you do!  This is where “content is king”.  You know your business.  You know how to talk to someone who walks into your store.  You know what customers are looking for, and have the answers to their question.  That is what’s going to keep visitors interested.

What I know is how to translate what you do in your store into what you do online.

Which brings us back to the topic:  good content.  Google looks for sites that provide the sort of content that people want see.  It’s not looking at the tricks and gimmicks that every huckster is trying to sell you.  It’s looking for honest, quality content.  And it’s looking for how and when that content is presented.  That’s where Redleaf can help.

Don’t Sell Stuff

“But wait!” you say, “I created my website to sell stuff.”  Yes you did.  And the best way to do that is… to not “sell stuff”.

Let’s go back to your store.  When someone walks in you don’t leap out in front of them, shove a product in their face, and say “Buy this!”  You greet the customer, ask them questions, talk to them–and then, maybe, point out things they might be interested in. You apply the 4 cornerstones of RHO:

1. Identify – clearly label items by category, variety,  use; show them what and where things are.
2. Inform – give information about specs, price, place of origin and other basic details; this also applies to notice of upcoming sales, changes in policy,  or other details that can affect their purchasing decision.
3. Educate – help the customer to understand where the product originates, how it’s used, or other in-depth aspects that get the customer interested and help them make a qualified choice
4. Engage – interact with the customer, bring them in as part of the purchasing process, and keep them coming back to read (and purchase) more.

I’ll be writing more in-depth posts on each of these down the road, but you get the gist.

Talk to Me

I will say this over and over:  Your online presence is you.  When you’re building your website, writing blog posts, describing products, or tweeting or posting to Facebook, speak with the same voice you do in your store. Be you.

It’s odd that I have to say that so often, but it really needs to be reinforced. Too often I see people trying to “talk to Google” rather than to their customers.  They cram their posts full of keywords and buzzwords and marketing phrases that they would never use when speaking to a customer face-to-face.   They irony is that Google wants real content that real people want to read (RHO!), not all those gimmicks.   That personable content helps you build a strong online reputation–which is the topic of next week’s post.