Episode 64: Maximizing & Analyzing Your SEO With Bethanie Nonami

SEO, or "search engine optimization," is an extremely important aspect of your business in terms of gaining new clients. Why? Because it dictates how your website will show up on Google results! So how can you improve your SEO and how will you know if your efforts are working? Bethanie Nonami of Marley Nonami has the answers. Bethanie Nonami Bethanie is an avid reader (and Audible & podcast listener), movie goer, foodie and loves super fast & loud cars. She helps people grow and scale their businesses by giving you access to your data and understanding the why behind your customers, leads and sales.   Bethanie's insight changes the way you sell. Bethanie loves fixing broken marketing systems and business processes to increase your revenues so you get back to doing what you loved enough to start your business in the first place! Listen in as Bella & Bethanie discuss these important questions regarding SEO and analytics: Whether or not your business needs to have a blog The most important aspects to understand about SEO and analytics What a "sales funnel" is and why you need one As a special gift, Bethanie is offering a SEO Masterclass exclusively for Bella In Your Business listeners! Claim it here: http://marleynonami.com/bella/ Subscribe To The Show: Transcript: This is episode 64 of Bella in Your Business. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready, Bella's got your chute. Let's jump. Welcome to another episode of Bella in Your Business. I'm Bella from Jump Consulting, and today I am here with Bethany Nonami. Did I say that right? No, not me. My gosh, I'm so sorry. I even practiced before we came on. I am bringing Bethany to all of the listeners today because she is a wealth of knowledge. She is a moviegoer, a foodie, she loves super fast and loud cars, but more importantly, she helps people grow and scale their businesses by giving people access to the data and understanding the why behind the sales that our customers buy from us. Bethany's insight changes the way we sell our positioning in the market, and she loves fixing broken marketing systems and businesses to increase people's revenues so that they can get doing what they love to do, which for most of us, it's pet sitters, dog walkers, hanging out with the pets, right? So a lot of us say we don't mind marketing, but anytime, Bethany, I ask my clients—I just did it an hour ago—I go, “So how are you marketing?” They go, “Well, we're baking goodies for the vet.” I go, “And how much revenue has that brought in for you?” She goes, “I don't know.” And I'm like, “I need the numbers to back it up.” So, Bethany, without further ado, fill in the gaps from what I did and explain to our listeners what’s about to come and what you do. Oftentimes, people come to us and they're like, “I need SEO for my website.” We look at their website and it's kind of clear what they do, but it's not really clear. So one of the things that everybody needs to do is they have to understand that you are competing for attention. You are competing against many crappy websites and some awesome websites. The average person sees four to ten thousand ads a day, which is what we would see in a month twenty years ago. Not only do you have to compete with your competitors or compete with them just not hiring you as a dog walker and paying the neighbor kid, you have to be very clear, or they’re going to be distracted in five seconds. Understanding the value of what you bring—because everybody probably has something unique. If you wash the dogs once a week after you walk them, you're like, “I wash dogs once a week.” Something that you can take, the convenience factor, and save your client time or money—that's a differentiator. People shouldn’t have to work with you to learn those differentiations. You should be able to clearly articulate that in three to five seconds because that’s how much time you have before they decide to leave, not open your email, not respond to your text, or not look at your flyer. Anything that you do—three to five seconds. The messaging that is on our website is very selling the industry and not the actual business. The most important thing to understand about your website is it's not about you. Nobody cares about “exclusive,” “premier,” “the best pet sitter.” Who cares, right? We're all busy. If you can save me time or money, or if you can help my life in some way, then say that. So don't think your website is about you and how awesome you are. Imagine that someone's finding you because you're solving a problem. You're trying to make their life easier and continue that conversation with them on your site. If you're listening and you have a pet sitting or dog walking business, the difference between “We are the best pet sitting company in Miami, and we do dog walking and overnight care” versus “We are the locally and nationally award-winning company that will help save your lunch hour so you don't have to run home and walk the dog and take the guilt away when you're away on your vacation, knowing that we're sleeping with your dog in your bed” is a completely different effect. People are going through the Google list and first seeing what website they like and feel good about, then which one they connect with. If that viewer can see themselves right from the front page of your website, you've got them for more than that three to five seconds Bethany just said. What about a blog? A lot of us have the best intentions by trying to reach people and add value. But what you have to realize is nobody needs to be smart anymore. What we used to blog for twenty years ago was to establish ourselves as an expert and say that we're credible and get people to trust us. Where now, you can just press a button on your phone and find out anything. You can't just have a blog and stand out because information is everywhere. If you can give people insight, if someone's Googling “How can I stop my dog from barking when I leave the house?” and maybe they don't understand that the dog has separation anxiety, you can give them insight. They find your site and they're like, “This is what you can do. This is why the dog is barking. Here's some puzzle toys. Put on Animal Planet.” And at the end of that, say, “By the way, these are some of the things we do for our clients.” When a client can see themselves in the words of another client's mouth, it's more powerful than saying what you do. Pick the right testimony to go on there—not just “is the best, we love her,” but “why.” What specifically happened that accentuates the experience you're giving through that one blog. Many people think, “If I write a blog, my company will come up.” It’s about relevance. So what’s a sales funnel? A sales funnel is really anything that you can automate and turn into a conversation. If you are talking to a client and they're like, “I just don’t want to give people a key to my house,” that's an objection. That’s part of their buying decision before they feel comfortable. That can be an email or a section on your website. A funnel nurtures someone to the time that they see you. “I want to know how to overcome separation anxiety for my dog.” “Okay, great. Give me your email and I’ll give you a checklist of things to try.” A funnel is nurturing them to where you want them to go—from a lead to a client, from a one-time buyer to a recurring buyer. Automate as much as you can if you’re going to scale beyond eight hours in your day. Even if you use something as simple as an Excel sheet to capture emails, use tools like ConvertKit or Drip. Be thoughtful—know what people will do and where they’ll go. Use analytics and heat maps like Hotjar to see where people are reading, stopping, and leaving on your website. It can even track words they hover around. You can see what they’re drawn to and make that a clickable link. It’s important to know that your website and marketing aren’t “done.” They evolve as you do. The pet industry, for example, faces disruptors like Rover.com, which draws people with convenience and social proof. Pet sitters can compete by highlighting how easy it is to sign up and book. Everything is fluid—you’re never done with your website. SEO—Search Engine Optimization—means search engine optimization. Whatever you type, whatever questions you have, Google accounts for 90% of the traffic. Assume people are looking for the problem, not your solution. If someone is looking for a dog sitter and you’re local, include your city in your SEO terms. It’s not just your city but suburbs too. There are certain terms you will never rank for. Dog training, dog walking—some old domains are unbeatable. The easiest way to check what’s worth targeting is Google’s Keyword Planner. You can use it free. Look for terms with “low” competition and avoid “high” or expensive ones. If there’s a successful local competitor, look at their site in Keyword Planner to see what keywords they rank for. If they rank for something with poor content, do better and you’ll take that traffic. Analytics matter because you can’t improve what you can’t measure. Google Analytics and Search Console are free. They tell you who’s coming to your site and what they’re doing. Maybe your visitors aren’t who you think they are. Facebook’s data lets you target your ideal clients precisely. From there, nurture them through funnels, emails, calls, and texts. No one converts at 100%, but tracking helps you improve step by step. Bethany offers growth assessments to review your traffic, marketing, and overall strategy. You can find her at marleynonami.com/bella. Connect with her through her website for contact details. For more information, free articles, and more, go to JumpConsulting.net. And remember, Bella’s got your chute.