My work here is done! Barry just tipped me off that a search on Google for my own name now brings me the the top of the list above www.steveclayton.com who does a very nice line in guitar picks. I may enquire about a guitar pick with my WeeMee on as a momento. Sadly I'm not top of www.live.com yet for the same search but it's surely only a matter of time before that site catches up? www.steve-bigman-clayton.com is ahead of me there so lots of work to do I feel.
Joking aside, this is a great example of what I have been telling several small businesses for quite some time - blogging works as a marketing tool. Here's an example:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=savile+row&meta=
Number two on this list is Thomas Mahon of English Cut. The story is pretty well known and you can read it in Naked Conversations. In a nutshell, through a smart blogging approach, Thomas went from being a relative unknown in the world of high end suits to a rock star. Sure he had first mover advantage but so can you - pick your microniche and you can do the same thing.
If I were Flat White coffee shop in London for example I would be all over this as they make the best coffee in London (in my opinion). They have coffee Otaku.
As it happens a search for London's Best Coffee bring up my blog as 5th on the list and I only wrote about them once. Imagine what would happen if they wrote about themselves a few more times with this term and other similar ones.
There are lots of tools and techniques out there for search engine optimisation (SEO) but this is quite a bit more than that. Thomas and other succeed because they write about something they're passionate about so not only do they find their way to the top of the list through consistency but when people click through to their site, they find something useful and probably come back for more...oh and they tell their friends which is the best marketing on the planet. Sneezers is what Seth calls them.
You can find out much more on this stuff from way smarter people than me though. Hitwise Heather is a good place to start but here are some more:
There is a tonne of stuff out there about blogs and search engine optimisation but at the end of the day, content is king and as Hugh says Blogs don't write themselves.
You dropped back again I'm afraid; should have screen captured it!
I note Steve-BIGMAN-Clayton is from Birmingham - like all BigMen I'd say
I totally agree about blogging and SEO, I have the #1 spot on Google for my name, and I'm just some guy with a blog.
the problem with a microniche is that you are incredibly interesting to a very small number of people, which is quite ego boosting but won't do much for any bottom lines.
It also makes a microscopic difference to a microbrand if
that's what a blogger is after.
Flat white blogging that their coffee is the best in London, might improve their google juice but would not be as good for sales as a few more people like yourself blogging about how great their coffee is, independent endorsement is far more effective in the blogosphere .
The fact that you are the number one steve clayton means that people who are looking for a steve clayton will find you, you should be more excited that you're number seven when you search for Microsoft Change the world :) work on this one let the guy sell his plectra.
(Hugh beats you BTW)
Steve I develop this a bit further over here :
http://blog.commsconsulting.co.uk/2007/03/11/do-many-microbrands-make-a-macrobrand/
I'd be intrerested in your feedback, we're not so small but I'm keen to extoll the benefits of my latest passion to the business.
hi alasdair - I'll go take a look at your site now. thanks for the link!
hi alasdairford. if we take myself and Hugh out of this for a moment, I don't think the small amount of people argument holds up. Lets assume Flat White is competing with Starbucks and Caffe Nero hence is not going to have their high overheads type store in a well trafficked area nor the size of store and amount of staff. All Flat White needs is the coffee cognoscenti to start talking to each other about their store and they'll have a constant stream of people beating a path to their door - as opposed to Nero and Starbucks who typically don't have a loyal following. From a sales point of view, they'll never compete but that's the thing - they're not competing head on with the big guys but for the coffee experts and as long as there are enough of them to make good business they'll do just fine.
I agree that independent endorsement holds strong weight but still think it'd be valuable for them to blog their story and their passion for coffee. That's what people would buy in to and others would then be able to endorse the quality of their product alongside that.
as someone mentioned at an event I was at last week - some people just blog for the ego (who me...nah), but for others their purpose is to do something bigger than that. I think it's an option for many to use it as a marketing tool about their product and themselves :)
hi steve
very fair point about Flat White blogging about coffee, I was being blinkered, thinking along the lines of a 'boy aren't WE great' kind of blog which rarely if ever works (I've beem sullied by marketing).
You're absolutely right, a passionate blog from the owner or barista about coffee in general would make me more interested in visiting their place or buying their beans if they had mail order. like the english cut if your tone is, isn't this stuff great and shows passion and enthusiasm then you're going to attract people to you and your product.
by the way you're doing Flat White a world of good, I'm not so far away today so if I get the time I'll pop out to sample their wares. :)
BTW post timings seem to be out.. just me? or DST problems?