Facebook

Guest Post – Your SEO is Failing Because You Focus on Rankings

black hole

*****
Guest Post — I asked a good friend who is the CEO of a company that specializes in helping companies doing $1MM-$100MM in Revenue handle all their SEO, SEM, PPC, Re-Marketing, LinkedIn & FaceBook campaigns.   email me if your company needs help…  Cameron@CameronHerold.com
*****
Although headlines can be too long and still get good traffic, I really wanted to make the headline above even longer: “Your SEO is failing because you are too focused on rankings.  Stop focusing on rankings and start focusing everything on user experience.”

I’ve been doing SEO for a while now, and I just had a breakthrough as I was writing a lengthy email to a client of ours. Most people fail at SEO because they are so focused on trying to get a few “magic” keywords to rank at spot #1 on Google. They build pages about “magic” keyword. They create videos titled “magic” keyword. When rankings peak at around page three, they hire a new SEO firm to do more of the same, with the promise that this time it’s going to be different. The problem is not that SEO is that difficult, the problem is with your approach and your understanding.

The companies that get to the top of search engines are generally the companies that have the strongest brand (which creates trust with users) and that routinely create the best content. The key word in that sentence is routinely. They have a content engine that creates useful content for their users, and they constantly design their site for ease of use and to optimize for purchaser’s intent.

Think about this: When was the last time you polled your customers asking questions like “What do you hate about our website?” or “What are you really looking for online?” When was the last time you decided to convert your site to E-commerce because you polled your customers and found that they would strongly prefer to order from you without having to speak to any human being? Domino’s Pizza realized this massive shift and rolled out an App in the UK that boosted sales 14%.

Improving rankings in search engines is slow, it is deliberate, and it cannot be faked anymore. Google is now using AI machine learning to create an unbeatable search engine (i.e. RankBrain) that will seek out quality content and sites that have above average user experience for any given industry. Some might say it’s scary – we think it is awesome. It’s going to keep websites that belong at the bottom of search results at the bottom. So how do you get to the top? Here are three key things to consider:

  1. Instead of focusing on rankings, focus on your traffic sources and conversions from those sources
  2. Figure out, through talking to actual users and clients, what they are really looking for from your brand, and give it to them. If they want to order online, stop making them talk to a sales rep to buy your product.
  3. Create a content engine.       Create real, genuine, helpful content targeted to your user’s pain, not just keywords. Even if you want to use an Ad driven strategy, this is still needed in order to get a high quality score.

Is it worth the work? Absolutely. There is a dis-proportionate share of sales and mind share available by capturing the top spots on Google, and many companies have used this strategy to grow well over $100+ Million in sales (Salesforce, BuildDirect, Moz, etc.). For those willing to do the work, the prize is worth the work.

****
email me if your company needs help with your SEO, SEM, PPC, Re-Marketing, LinkedIn & FaceBook campaigns… Happy to introduce you…    Cameron@CameronHerold.com
*****

Top 4 Strategies to Grow With Less People Faster

Screen Shot 2014-12-19 at 4.34.20 PM

Years ago I realized that hiring people was a bad deal.  Don’t get me wrong, we need employees but often we can’t hire the most senior people we’d like, in all the roles we’d like to have them in.  We simply can’t afford to hire a complete, full time, A Level Team.

So, if we can’t hire them full time, what if we could hire them part time, VERY part time…

Part time, fractional experts can swoop in, or work remotely via Skype with you, to only focus on what you need them to.

Here are 5 areas every company should considering using a fractional expert in – email me I’ll happily introduce you to the people in each of these areas who can really help you grow.

Financial
Most companies can’t afford a real CFO.  They may have controllers or bookkeepers with titles like VP Finance or CFO, but in reality they don’t have CFO skills at all.  And most Entrepreneurs don’t have the finance skills to really run their company properly and end up relying on unskilled advice.  I have a team of 18 CFOs, with huge variety of experience from tons of industries.  For 2-4 hours a month, they look over your financial statements in detail for you.  Then they come back to you with coaching opportunities, or areas for you to look into or have your finance team clean up.  i.e. you’ll have a CFO in your back pocket.  And it is way less expensive than you think.  Normally only about $1-2k a month.  Email me for intros – Cameron@CameronHerold.com

Executive Search / Recruiting
Most companies can’t afford to hire a full time recruiter.  Or if they can, they probably can’t afford a team of them.  That’s the first hurdle.  The second is, the most recruiters suck.

I’ve finally sourced 4 executive recruiters that are bullet proof.  And you won’t know their names.  They’re under the radar and largely in stealth mode in helping great companies recruit or poach great A Players.

Remember too, that most great employees aren’t out unemployed looking for jobs.  They already have jobs, have no intention of leaving, and you have to know where they are and go poach them.
I can intro you to any of these firms if you want to build out your team.

  • Search Company 1 – C-Level Roles Only, Total Compensation per role needs to be $400k+
    • They crushed a COO hire for one of my clients which helped him later sell his company to Go Daddy.
  • Search Company 2 – Mid Level Managers & Executives.  $75k-$300k roles. Retained & Contingency Rates. And they obsess over Cultural Fit first.
    • I actively refer them, and they are even sponsoring my speaking tour this year.
  • Search Company 3 – Mid Level Managers & Executives.  $75k-$300k roles. Contingency Rates.
    • I’ve actively referred them for 2 years.  And half my clients even use them.
  • Search Company 4 – Sales people, Sales Managers, Sales Execs – i.e. ONLY sales roles
    • Wicked smart ‘sales’  focused team.  They just nailed a VP Sales for one of my clients.

Email me for intros – Cameron@CameronHerold.com

SEM/SEO/PPC/Re-Marketing/FaceBook Campaigns
If you still advertise in the Yellow Pages, skip to the next section, however if you’re spending money on any of these areas I have two potential introductions for you that can blow wide open your revenues and growth.

For 14 years I’ve heard CEOs complain about how crappy all the companies are in this space.  And I agreed.  Two years ago however, I found two companies who are crushing it for tons of companies I’ve introduced them to.  email me if you’d like to have them look at growing your business for you.

Way smarter to have these teams doing it, than to hire some 24 year old and hope they really know what they’re doing.

  • Digital Marketing Company 1 – Min Monthly Spend $15k / Month.  I’ve intro’d companies who spend $100/Mth with them.
    • And they have clients 10x bigger than that. Entrepreneurial Team. Fantastic SEO Depth too.
  • Digital Marketing Company 2 – Min Monthly Spend $5k / Month.  I’ve intro’d tons of companies to them.  Great Entrepreneurial Team. Fantastic SEO Depth too.Marketing
    Most companies have an $80,000 Director of Marketing, who is a jack of all trades, master of none.  Or they have a small marketing team of 3-4 people.  We’d all love to have the former Chief Marketing Officer of major brands helping us with strategy, direction, coaching our people etc., but who can afford the $350,000 salaries they need.I have a team of about 40 former Chief Marketing Officers who will do all of that – for only a few thousand dollars a month.
    They can work with you and your team on Strategy, Budgets, Calendar, Tactics, Implementation etc., and they also can Coach your Director of Marketing for you in person or via Skype, instead of the blind leading the blind.

    Email me today and just tell me which areas you’d like introductions for, and I’ll introduce you to their CEO to fastback things for you also.  Cameron@CameronHerold.com

    Growth isn’t difficult, we just make it difficult on ourselves when we expect huge results from junior employees.  Imagine having experts in each of these areas in your back pocket.

Open Up The Office


119b

Facebook’s new office in Palo Alto

If you’re interested in showing people you’re committed to a work environment, as a business coach and mentor, I can say that the easiest way to do that is by getting rid of your private offices. Seriously. While this isn’t the only way to show your committed to the free-flow of information, I believe it’s a powerful way of setting the stage—so to speak—for your employees to pick up on the importance of free-flow information, feedback, and ultimately, success.

When I was a little kid in Winnipeg, Canada, I attended the first “open concept” school, which meant that there were no classrooms, no walls, and lots of great buzz. Sure, there were lots of distractions, but also lots of absorbing what others were doing, too. From this experience, I learned how to focus when I had to, and also how to filter out what I could learn from others around.

Building an open office doesn’t mean that the employees work out in the open and CEO and other senior staff can retreat to private offices. Everyone has to be out in the open—and I mean everyone. Of course, you can still have groups of people with glass walls between some areas. For example, why not create the Finance Fishbowl and put all the finance people in one area and give them a glass wall if needed. You can also go radical and have the only barriers be forty-two inch high work stations–that’s only three and a half feet, so you really aren’t blocking much at all.   Everyone can see everyone, which means no hiding.  If you aren’t working, it’ll be obvious.

The benefits of an open work space are numerous. For starters, open offices teach you to filter out the noise and still concentrate on your work. They also allow everyone to hear what’s going on, which means they’ll understand others’ roles better. Best of all? You’ll feel the energy and togetherness grow within the company because you can see everyone more than when they are hiding out in walled offices. Obviously if you want to have private work areas, spots to take confidential phone calls, or little places for private discussions, you can still have lots of small meeting rooms. But whatever you do, get out of your offices!

Pic Chill Out Point

 

For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture.

Social Media is Unavoidable

fintThis can either be a great tool for companies or a complete waste of time and energy.  I’ve been using social media for years and I know what fits for my company and what doesn’t.  I’ve spent time thinking strategically about how I can leverage components of it and what not to use it for, too.

First order of business? Get on Facebook.  It may seem daunting at first, but you’ll figure it out, trust me!  If you don’t figure it out, it’ll figure itself out for you.  Just don’t get sucked into all the stupid stuff with it.  Put your business profile on Facebook and people will start finding you and linking to you, and all of a sudden you’ll realize that people are learning more about what you do and remembering more about what you do because of this social networking tool.  Don’t bother wasting time with all the silly stuff meant for teenagers – think of Facebook as a resume, except an interactive, colorful one. Ensure it shows the best side of you, but more importantly, the real you.  Start focusing your time on adding all the friends and business associates you know.  If you start with that, and reading the messages people put up, you’ll get the hang out of it.  If it makes sense for your company (it doesn’t for most) then get someone in marketing or sales to set up and manage a “Fan Page” for your company.

LinkedIn is the same thing as an online resume.  Get on there, too!  It’s the new way that people are networking.  I’ve been on LinkedIn for close to 10 years now.  People aren’t going to Board of Trade events to meet each other anymore.  They are way over that.  It’s a waste of time.  I don’t have time to go down to a Board of Trade, pay for parking, walk in, talk to bunch of suits, come back out and realize I’ve got all these business cards to type up.  Eeeeew!  The new economy doesn’t work that way.  You’ll meet a lot more people using the technology that’s out there online, and free.  You won’t build the one-on-one relationships using Facebook and LinkedIn but you will identify potentially useful connections faster, and set-up time to interact outside of LinkedIn. Set up your entire profile so that others can find you easily.  When you or your team are hiring people check out their profiles on both Facebook and LinkedIn, too.  You’ll learn a lot about them.

I’ve been using Twitter since early 2008, and rank in the top 2,500 people in the world to follow.  Follow @cameronherold and you’ll learn a ton about how to use the site for marketing and customer service.  And there are even tools now that allow you to use Twitter in private spaces, one of which is called “Yammer.” Set up Yammer and you can “tweet” inside your own company privately and have the same interaction you would on Twitter—just within your own parameters.

I’ve started using Twitter as my note-taking tool while at conferences.  It allows me to multi task: I share with the people following me while reminding myself of the important points in a presentation. I type each idea or thought from a conference into Twitter.  And at the end of the day, I simply copy and paste all of my tweets into a Word Doc.

Jump in.  It’s easier than you think.

For more information on this topic, check out: Generating Free PR.

book-4

Meetings Suck: Turning One Of The Most Loathed Elements Of Business Into One Of The Most Valuable

We all know that meetings suck, right?

You hear it all the time. It’s the one thing that almost everyone in business can agree on.

Except it’s not actually true… 

Meetings don’t suck.

We just suck at running meetings.   

When done right, meetings not only work, they make people and companies better.

In Meetings Suck, world renowned business expert and growth guru Cameron Herold teaches you how to use focused, time effective meetings to help you and your company soar.

This book shows you immediately actionable, step-by-step systems that ensure that you and everyone in your organization improves your meetings, right away.

In the process, you’ll turn meetings that suck into meetings that work. 

In life, we always hear about people who’ve made huge decisions from their gut – without data.Today, I want you to make a decision, not only from your gut, but also from some data.  A decision that is only $12 per employee but will be priceless for your business.

Right now, your gut is telling you something is wrong with your company’s meetings.  You KNOW everyone complains about meetings.

People HATE going to them, they HATE running them, and they really have NO idea which meetings are truly necessary but they hold meetings simply because they think that is what they SHOULD do.

Even some of the smartest CEOs in the world complain about meetings – Elon Musk publicly told employees at Tesla & SpaceX to walk out of meetings if they weren’t being run properly.

I sent Elon a message saying that wasn’t going to fix anything – the key is to fix the root of the problem – NOT continue to ignore why meetings suck.

A Meeting is – Any phone call, video call or occasion where 2 or more people meet to discuss or work-through office topics.

Most employees on average spend 1-2 hours per day in meetings.

And likely, none of those employees – front-line staff or leaders – have had any training on how to attend meetings or participate in them, LET ALONE How to RUN THEM.

Consider this…

If the Average employee spends just 1 Hour per day in meetings – that’s 1/8th of their time.

If the Average employee earns $50,000 per year.

And they’re spending 1/8th of their time in meetings, that means you’re paying $6,250 dollars per year for just ONE employee to attend meetings.

The reality is, employees spend 1/8th of their time – and 1/8th of your company’s payroll – doing something they have literally NO idea how to do.

The Reality is…

95% of employees are booking & leading meetings – and they have NEVER been trained on how to run them.

95% of employees have had NO training on how to show up and participate in the meetings they attend daily.

And 95% of employees and companies have no idea what meetings are even necessary to hold.

Meetings CAN be hugely effective – IF you know how to run them

Meetings don’t SUCK, we just SUCK at running meetings. 

Investing $15 per employee – to help ensure the $50,000 a year you spend on them is an obvious and easy choice.

This could be the most impactful $15 you’ll ever spend and will save the company’s money, time and resources instantly.

Buying a copy of Meetings Suck for 100% of your employees and having them read it this month will have a huge impact on your company’s success.

book-5

Free PR: How To Get Chased By The Press Without Hiring A PR Firm

Public relations has always been an essential part of doing business which is probably why you’re shelling out big money to an outside PR firm. But the truth is that you don’t need them. You already have all the necessary tools in-house to do as good a job as the so-called experts. 

Cameron Herold and Adrian Salamunovic have taught thousands of company execs how to exploit free media coverage and ditch these expensive, often ineffective outsiders. 

Cameron & Adrian have also built in-house PR teams, spent decades learning how to generate Free PR and how to leverage public relations to complement their sales and marketing strategy. 

In Free PR, you’ll learn how the media world operates while you gain invaluable insider knowledge and actionable advice on how to: 

  • Build your own in-house PR team
  • Provide effective interviews
  • Score great media coverage for free with just a few easy steps 

Landing public relations coverage for yourself and your company is a powerful tool to help elevate your personal brand. PR is easier to generate than marketing, PR is easier to leverage than marketing and PR is more cost effective than marketing. In other words, Public Relations is more critical than ever in growing your brand and your business. 

You’ve got more passion, commitment, a larger stake, and a deeper understanding of your business than any outside PR firm could ever have. So stop wasting money and take the reins yourself.  Learn the secrets to landing TONS of Free PR for your company.

What they’re saying:

“I think PR is the core for promoting any business. Public relations acquires customers! That’s what’s cool about this book.”

– Kevin O’Leary,  Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank

“The ultimate guidebook for those looking to get press, grow their brand, and get in front of the masses. Free PR is the roadmap you’ve been looking for.”

– Peter Shankman, Founder, Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

“Adrian and Cameron will show you the secrets of getting massive exposure for your business. This book is packed with actionable insights from two guys that actually know how to to do it.”

– Dan Martell,  Serial Entrepreneur & Investor (Intercom.io, Unbounce)

“I told Cameron to write the book on generating free PR. I’m excited to see that he’s finally sharing his secrets with the world. This is a must read for any entrepreneurial company and marketing team.”

– Verne Harnish, Founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)

book-3-1

Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool For Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future

Many corporations have slick, flashy mission statements that ultimately do little to motivate employees and less to impress customers, investors, and partners. 

But there is a way to share your excitement for the future of your company in a clear, compelling, and powerful way and entrepreneur and business growth expert Cameron Herold can show you how. 

Vivid Vision is a revolutionary tool that will help owners, CEOs, and senior managers create inspirational, detailed, and actionable three-year mission statements for their companies. In this easy-to-follow guide, Herold walks organization leaders through the simple steps to creating their own Vivid Vision, from brainstorming to sharing the ideas to using the document to drive progress in the years to come. 

By focusing on mapping out how you see your company looking and feeling in every category of business, without getting bogged down by data and numbers or how it will happen, Vivid Vision creates a holistic road map to success that will get all of your teammates passionate about the big picture. 

Your company is your dream, one that you want to share with your staff, clients, and stakeholders. Vivid Vision is the tool you need to make that dream a reality.

miracle-morning

The Miracle Morning for
Entrepreneurs: Elevate Your SELF to
Elevate Your BUSINESS

READY FOR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND ACCELERATED SUCCESS IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.

READY FOR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND ACCELERATED SUCCESS IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

Hal Elrod’sThe Miracle Morning has helped redefine the mornings and the lives of millions of readers since 2012. Since then, careers have been launched, goals have been met, and dreams have been realized, all through the power of the Miracle Morning’s six Life S.A.V.E.R.S.

THESE SIX DAILY PRACTICES WILL FUEL YOUR EFFORTS TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN POSITIVE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE.

Now The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs brings you these principles in a whole new light—alongside the Entrepreneurial Elevation Principles and the Entrepreneur’s Elevation Skills. These are essential skills that you need to create a successful business and personal life. Cameron Herold— Bestselling Author and a widely-respected expert on entrepreneurial mindset—brings his wisdom and insight to you using Hal Elrod’s powerful Miracle Morning framework.

DEVELOP A VISION FOR YOUR BUSINESS, AND BECOME THE INFLUENTIAL AND INSPIRING LEADER YOU WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE.

The principles and skills you’ll find in this book will help you to channel your passion and achieve balance in a remarkable new way. – Learn why mornings matter more than you think – Learn how to master your own self-leadership and accelerate your personal development – Learn how to manage your energy—physical, mental, and emotional – Learn how to implement Hal Elrod’s invaluable Life S.A.V.E.R.S. in your daily routine – And much more… You’re already an entrepreneur. Now discover how to take your success to the next level by first taking yourself to the next level. The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs is your roadmap to masterfully building an empire with a powerful vision, utilizing your areas of personal genius, with the right team at your side.

Start giving your business and your life the very best opportunities for success, right now.

A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.