The Digital Oz
4 Things Every Small Magazine Publisher Should Do to Boost Google SEO
by Mike Bannan

Small magazine publishers are a wealth of high quality content and should dominate Google's search results. You should gain ground on your SEO every day. And boosting your rankings is way less complicated than you think.

Grandpa Bannan taught me that most consultants just help you figure out what you already know. SEO consultants are no different. You already know Google SEO. Really.

Google can feel overwhelming: they consider over 200 elements in their indexing algorithm, which they change up to 10 times per week. But they do all of that just to answer 4 simple questions.

The average time spent on a web page drops every year, as site visitors are becoming much better at intuiting the answers to these same 4 questions. Here’s how you, a niche publisher, can help Google (and your readers) answer those questions correctly and improve your site’s Google rankings at the same time.

1. Is this page relevant to me?
• Decide what keyword phrases you want people to find you with.
• Use the keyword phrases that your readers and searchers use.
• Use your keyword phrases in page titles, article titles, and the first 10 lines of text.
• Write simple and direct headlines. Format them as headlines.
2. Is this site credible?
• Get other sites you respect to link to you (some quick wins: authors, advertisers, subscribers, industry associations).
• Rank high in something—that credibility rubs off on everything you do. Focus initially on very narrow keyword phrases. (E.g. “dogs” returns 190 million results, while “Scottish terrier bad breath” returns 5,350, of which only 100 look relevant. Better to dominate “Scottish terrier bad breath” than live in the oblivion of “dogs.”)
3. Is this page credible?
• Don’t overuse (“stuff”) your keyword phrases. Write naturally.
• Make sure the other content on the page relates to the page’s main topic. (An ad for Viagra reduces the credibility of a page about Scottish terrier bad breath.)
4. Can I see information on the page?
• Use alt tags and captions with every image and video. Readers can see that a photo contains an image of a veterinarian brushing a Scottish terrier’s teeth, but Google sees it as <img src=”csrmln.jpg”>. Add alt=”Veterinarian eliminating a Scottish terrier’s bad breath by brushing her teeth”, and Google “sees” the photo the same way we do.

Most of these are simple changes to publishers’ existing processes. Sure, it would be great if we could hire someone to put our sites at the top of Google. But as Grandpa Bannan told me 20 years ago: most (SEO) consultants—the white-hat ones, anyway—are like a guy you hire to tell you what time it is: he borrows your watch, tells you the time, and keeps the watch.

Hey, he saved you the effort of looking at your watch, anyway.

Mike Bannan, a technology consultant for 15 years, is now focused on www.ideafit.com, the world’s largest set of tools and education for fitness professionals. Reach him at mike@bannan.net. Follow him on Twitter at @mikebannan. See him at the Niche Digital Conference http://www.nichedigitalconference.com/ in September.

Sponsor of the month:

Ad Sales Mania
When no one buys print advertising, it’s time to stop selling it!
By David Shaw

About the middle of last year, when it became clear that the print advertising slowdown was going to go on for a long time—and maybe forever—we made a decision to stop selling print advertising.  Good thing, too, since a number of our advertisers decided to stop buying print advertising.

This doesn't mean that we've folded our magazine tents and gone online-only.  It does mean we stopped trying to sell what our customers aren't buying, and instead have focused on what they are buying—or at least, what they might buy.

This simple, but effective, change in approach, has gained us some traction.  We're getting our foot in the door, and are able to have substantive conversations with our marketing partners.  And we've been able to earn some business (not enough to bring us back to the levels of the "good old days" of 2007, but not as bad as it could be). 

Instead, we’re offering marketing packages where print is just one of the components.  If the client doesn’t want the print ads, the price for the package remains the same…so most of our clients opt to add print advertising.  And clients who have never done print ads with us have started to, since the print ads are “free.” 
 
Here are 5 great packages we’ve developed in the past few months:

1. Online thought leadership sponsorships.  An advertiser can sponsor the free delivery of our paid content by topic area (“Brought to you by…”) and add their associated whitepapers and videos.  Readers get valuable content for free, and the advertiser gets to bring its own content to the mix (each element is clearly marked as either editorial or sponsor-supplied).   Print advertising is included in the package.
2. We used to include web advertising with contract print advertising buys.  We’re now shifting that approach to include print advertising with major web buys.
3. High level invitation-only sponsored roundtables, which bring together 25-30 top decision makers among our readership, with a carefully selected sponsor who provides expertise to those decision makers during the moderated discussion (no sales pitches allowed).  We provide the marketing and the moderator.  And print advertising is included in the package.
4. Co-sponsorships of major research projects, which deliver great content to our publications, and great visibility for the sponsor, and add print advertising as part of the package.
5. Sponsored group print subscriptions to our paid circulation magazines, which include a letter from the sponsor with each issue, as well as print advertising in the magazine itself.

Packages aren’t really anything new—they’re part of a general movement in media to selling integrated marketing packages.  But only a few media companies have had real, sustained success with this.  There are a couple of reasons for this, in my opinion:

1. In most integrated marketing proposals, print comes first.  Here, print is the last component we discuss.  It’s a simple, psychological trick.  We’re not selling print advertising; instead, we’re selling another solution entirely.
2. The package sale is made to the wrong person.  This sale needs to be done at the highest client levels.  And it’s almost impossible to pull off with the client’s agency, since they’re not usually compensated on the types of things we’re selling the client. 
3. Many salespeople are uncomfortable selling anything other than print.  It’s what they know. These package sales should be spearheaded by the publisher or owner, who can more easily gain access to the right high level person on the client side.  Your salespeople can handle the details – and soothe the agency – after the commitment is made.

But won’t “throwing in” print advertising ultimately undervalue the power of print?  Perhaps, but the reality is that our clients are already undervaluing print advertising, generally—and wrongly—assigning it no value at all.  And since we price our package sales to fully include the cost of the print ads that they’re not really buying (nothing is really free!), we’re getting full value for the services and results we offer.

David Shaw is president and managing partner of GRID Media LLC.  GRID Media provides “publisher in a box” contract management of magazines, websites, trade shows and conferences to media owners ranging in size from small family-held companies to large portfolio media companies.  GRID Media also provides coaching services to smaller publishers who need a cost-effective outside sounding board and expert advice and counsel.  He can be reached at david@gridmediallc.com, or (301) 963-6162.

Blue House Helps Publishers Reinvigorate their Design

Starting a new magazine to reach your organization's members and supporters? Looking to re-invent your current publication and want a fresh design and layout?

Blue House can make it happen!  With over 15 years of experience working solely with associations and niche publications, Blue House combines the customers' needs with our extensive publication knowledge and design expertise to create projects that are original and professional. Whether it is a start-up magazine or a long standing publication, partner with Blue House and get the results and personal attention your publication deserves.

Niched Out Magazines of the Month –
Our Fabulous Nichee winners!

Every year, the Nichee Awards honor wonderful small and medium-sized magazines with targeted audiences. The Nichee Awards are special – no black tie affair here – and recognize the creative talents of the very best niche publishers. This year's winners were selected from an outstanding pool of entrants in all categories.

Congratulations to all of the 2009 Nichee Magazine Award winners!

Building Indiana News
Best Niche B2B Magazine
  
Our House
Best Niche Consumer Magazine

VegNews
Best Niche Digital

Heritage Iron
Best Niche New Launch

Courier Magazine
Best Niche Magazine Design

Emarketing tip of the month:
The Right Call-to-Action

Here are a few tips to consider when crafting your next email message, and your message’s Call-to-Action.

Keep it focused. We know you want to take advantage of every customer touch-point, but your main email objective will be much more successful if the message isn’t cluttered with multiple call-to-actions.

Say it early. You’ve all heard the email phrase "above the fold." Well, this is where the first mention of your call-to-action should be placed. A clickable call-to-action should be visible in the preview pane.

Say it often. Make that next step as easy as possible on your email recipients. They shouldn’t have to search or scroll to find the call-to-action.

Include multiple methods. You’re likely to receive a higher response if your call-to-action is non-confrontational. People are much more likely to fill out a short online form or download a media kit than they are to call or email a sales person.

Don’t make it a button. If your call-to-action is a link, we recommend including the literal URL in addition to graphic buttons in your email messages. If a recipient has images turned off in their email application, your Click Here button won’t appear, and your call-to-action is lost.

As always, Proximity Marketing’s Design Squad is here for free advice. If you’d like some additional tips on email rendering, design and government compliance send your html email designs to the Design Squad.

Hi Niche Heads,

All of us at Niche Media HQ are finally getting settled back into our regular life after the Niche Magazine Conference. Life as a "pop-culture" star is too crazy for everyday life!

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect this year. It's been a crazy year for almost everyone--so who could predict the mood of the attendees. I was shocked to find the most cheerful publishers and sponsors in the world! The tempo in Denver could not have been more cheerful. I think everyone was so happy to spend 2 days with their fellow niche publishers. The event was full of positive forward thinking plus a whole lot of fun…

Highlights:

• It snowed in Denver during the opening.
• Ted Bahr's keynote reminded us why we got into this business in the first place.
• Incredible sponsor gifts ranging from the complete Monty Python DVD set to a jug of Vermont maple syrup to a $300 Visa card.
• Mike Bannan handed out cold hard cash during his SEO session.
• The Cabaret show at Lannie's Clocktower totally rocked.
• Attendee Jack Morgan's impromptu performance with Elvis at the Welcome Reception.
• We had a wild Nichee Awards party.
• And this year's wacky conference movie

Next year it'll be all sunshine in Phoenix, February 1-2.  We'll see you there!

Cheers,

Carl Landau
Grand Poobah
Niche Media
carl@nichemediaHQ.com

Send your Magazine Ad Sales Staff to Camp Niche!

• Baltimore, Oct. 26-27
• Learn how to send cats
in the mail!

www.campniche.com

Hook up with your
niche Linked In colleagues
on your very own network!