Happy new year, everybody. Clearly one New Year’s resolution of mine wasn’t to get out the first edition of Changing Lanes in a timely fashion. Still, let the record show this edition came out in January 2012.

That’s really not bragging. It’s what every business, large or small should be doing once or twice a week at a minimum.

The “it” referred to here is adding new content to your website (let’s keep it out of the gutter, people).

When it comes to our websites, the fundamental complaint business owners have is not ranking high enough in the search engines. While
there’s the entire science of having the right keyword or keyword phrases, adding new content on on a fairly regular basis remains a critical part of higher rankings. Yet how many actually do it–add new content–each week?

Search engines only see words. Once a site has been indexed, it receives its ranking. If other website owners–new and those with existing sites–add new content with those same keywords, they can leave you in the dust.

That’s why having a blog that’s built into your website–not on separate blog sites–is critical to sustaining your search engine ranking. By simply posting a blog entry with your select choice of keywords, you are sending a message to the search engine spiders to “reindex me” with that new content. That helps keep your site from going to the bottom of the list.

So, how do you manage to do it at least once a week (shame on you if you haven’t caught on by now)? Here are some easy ways to consistently have fresh content:

• Hire a freelance article/blog writer like yours truly to draft a month’s worth of blogs.
• Make it a priority for you or a dedicated member of your staff to add content at least once a week.
• Recruit guest bloggers. Invite non-competitors who have a similar target audience contribute a blog to run on your site. You can return the favor by writing one for theirs. If you work this right, you can be writing one blog a month but have new content every week and reach additional audiences.
• Reference articles and link to them. That’s not advocating publishing an article verbatim on your blog. But a paragraph describing the article and then linking to it is fine.

Companies spend thousands of dollars in establishing a web presence. Yet it’s amazing how many forget to put that same effort on an
ongoing basis by updating the content to ensure the success of the site. By “doing it” once a week (or more), you can keep your website current and virile.

There are a number of reasons why many people put little stock in testimonials. The most obvious is that many testimonials do nothing but shower praise on a product, service or person with very little objectivity. Yet that’s not the real reason people hold their noses when reading some testimonials. It’s empathy-or lack thereof.

When people read testimonials, it’s largely because they visited a website or picked up a brochure for information on a product or service they thought could help them with whatever their problem or situation might be. If the testimonial contains nothing about the “pain” that caused them to seek out the product or service, the reader doesn’t really relate to it and it loses any influence it may have on making them take the next step. In the end, it becomes nothing but an ego stroke for the business owner-and that’s really not the intent of a testimonial.

So, how do you ensure a quality testimonial that creates a connection with the reader while reinforcing a positive image for the company?  What I’ve found to be most helpful in creating effective testimonials is having the testimonial-giver answer four basic questions:

• What did you hire Company X to do?
• How did it go?
• If there was one aspect of your experience with Company X that you would mention in a referral, what would it be?
• Would you refer Company X?

The responses to these questions typically set the scenario of why you would hire Company X, while pinpointing particular strengths. And even though it goes without saying that somebody providing a testimonial would refer that company, it never hurts to reinforce that in the testimonial.

Of course, there are a number of things a testimonial should contain to enhance its effectiveness and credibility (e.g. real first and last names, names of companies, etc.). But for a testimonial to truly be effective, it must figuratively speak to the reader and solve their pain-pretty much what the copy in all your collaterals should do.

Your skeptics will always doubt the authenticity of a testimonial. Give them an idea that you understand their pains with those testimonials and you’ve got a shot if the messaging in your collateral piece or website does the same thing.