SEO's Dramatic Climb into the Mix of Winnipeg Business

It was almost exactly a year ago that I began researching into the world of internet marketing as it relates to Winnipeg business. My background was print and radio advertising; however, anyone breathing can see the shift that has occurred in where consumers now look for information on products and services. It was because of this that I sunk my teeth into researching this growth market.

At the time, there were only about 3 or 4 companies that were offering SEO (Search Engine Optimization) services; basically selling the ability to list a company's website top of the search engines for search terms related to their products and/or services. Now, a year in the future, there are over 60 companies in the mix vying for the Winnipeg business owners precious marketing dollars. (even more precious in the 'Peg as our belts tend to be strapped on quite tight). The obvious question becomes: How can so many experts emerge in such a small market in such a small period of time?

The answer: They can't!

Why then are so many companies offering a service they really can't deliver? Well... as one Winnipeg Marketing Agency told me in an interview "Its where the money is." Wow!... with care for the customer like that, please... take my money.

The reality is that SEO is a very distinct skill set, and that most companies offering this service in Winnipeg are mainly web designers or traditional marketers who have gained some base knowledge of good practices through blogs and online forums. To hire someone of this calibre would be equivalent to spending a night of fine dining with a chef reading from "Cooking for Dummies." The result from both being a bad taste in the mouth and less money in your wallet.

For a skill as specific as SEO (also known as online search marketing) it is actually quite simple to measure the merits of the competing Winnipeg businesses:

Step 1: Go to Google.ca (.ca means that Google will pull pages from Canada first)

Step 2: Type in "SEO Winnipeg" or "Winnipeg SEO" or "Winnipeg Search Marketing"

Step 3: Read which companies are listed first on the left-hand side (the organic not paid side)

Step 4: Call the #1 company.

Why you might ask? Because if a company is offering to list your website top of the search engines, they better be able to be the leader in their own category in a market the size of Winnipeg. If they can't, what makes you think they will be able to list you?

Whether economic times are difficult or not, wasting money is wasting money. In the past, a business struggled to place their marketing dollars in a media that most directly reached their target customer. The guessing games are over now. If someone types in "pool table Winnipeg" its because they are in the market to buy a pool table in Winnipeg. This is the power of the net.

The Fall is when most Winnipeg businesses will begin looking at where to allocate their dollars for marketing. If you are one of them reading this, please follow the steps above and put your dollars where you'll see results.

It's your turn Winnipeg!

Your Next Winnipeg Business Lunch

My wife and I, on an empty stomach, found ourselves asking the same question we often ask when deciding on where to walk to enjoy some good food on a patio in Winnipeg - Corydon or Osborne Village? However, this day we changed our predictable path and found ourselves wondering around in St. Boniface when we came across what is now our new favorite restaurant.

Les Jasmins De La Tunisie is Winnipeg's only Tunisian restaurant, positioned beautifully at the base of the Esplanade Riel Pedestrian Bridge. The restaurant is run by the Manachou family, and just recently celebrated their one year anniversary back in May of this year.

My wife and I were very unfamiliar with the majority of the items on then menu, but all are well explained, and the owner was quite helpful in providing further information and also wine pairings. Come on... you can't enjoy a meal in Little France without a little red wine.

Unfortunately I did not grab a menu when we left, (and they have no website...?) so I am unable to give the exact names of the meals we had. What I do remember is the appetizer we had called "brik." This is a filo pastry stuffed with tuna, spinach, fresh herbs and an egg. After the first bite, we stared at each other almost like wild dogs knowing we had to share, while each wanting to eat the whole thing ourself, plus a couple more. Truly a taste unlike anything I've had in the city before.

We are both eager to return to try other parts of the menu, and both have plans to bring friends and co-workers. Winnipeg palates rejoice! You will be amazed by the food and charmed by the location and owners. Bon Appetite!

Social Media hits Winnipeg Businesses

I couldn't believe when I read the Free Press and found they published an article promoting social media. There must be a wave of change towering over Winnipeg businesses if the editors at the Free Press have actually surrendered to the demand for more news about new media. Normally, the only information you can find in the Free Press to do with the changing media landscape are ads directing the readers to the various websites they have selling cars and homes. That leads me to an interesting conversation I had with the VP of Corporate Development at Corus Entertainment.

As many of you may have read, Corus lost some $145 million in their last quarter. I spoke with the VP there to understand what they were doing now to try and raise their online presence, considering a large reason for the loss was reportedly because of the shift of consumers and marketing budgets to online. She said they were building some new websites and using their TV and radio stations to promote them. Huh?

It was just reported that there are more users online, but you're choosing not to invest any money to help people find you online? Sounds like a plan... not a good one, but a plan.

If you listen to any Winnipeg businesses advertising on our local radio stations, they all do the same thing - air ads that direct listeners to their website. Ads in the Free Press and The Sun are no different. Yet, if you call anyone of these Winnipeg business owners, most will tell you that they have no budget for marketing online. My second huh? of the blog.

It's called cutting out the middle man. If you know your clients are online, why not put your marketing dollars into making your website visible to them instead of having them try and memorize your web address?

Obviously change is coming to Winnipeg when the most traditional of marketing vehicles publishes the "tricks to tweeting." One can only hope that those grey hairs that read the article will jump on board too.

It's your turn Winnipeg.

Winnipeg Businesses Shift Towards Internet

Businesses in Winnipeg and across Canada continue to move dollars away from traditional media and into the internet as is evidence with Corus Entertainment announcing a third quarter net loss of $145 million. In Winnipeg, Corus owns stations CJOB 68, 99.1 Groove FM and Power 97 FM. The loss was directly related to both the slumping economy and the growing shift in dollars from radio advertising to the internet.

This, and the other countless examples from the thinning Free Press to the fall of CanWest, should have Winnipeg business owners asking themselves: Where am I putting my limited dollars for advertising?

You'd think common sense would come into play when considering this question. With all the press out each week on the struggles felt by traditional media, you need to start taking more time considering if a quarter page ad in the Sun is the best use of your money?

I'm amazed at the number of companies in Winnipeg that still don't have a budget for online marketing. Many have locked themselves into stale Yellow Page campaigns or blown whole budgets doing trade shows. Yet, if I ask them how they look for goods and services many tell me they mainly search online. Those that still use phone books are usually those that worry if they click too many buttons on the computer it will blow up. These owners need to fight through the fear of the unknown and use the smarts that made them leaders in business to recognize that, even if they don't understand computers and the internet, that it is not a fad and that it can help their business.

Over the weekend I was at an anniversary for my Aunt and Uncle and ran into a radio personality who works for 99.1 Groove FM. We began discussing the advertising climate in Winnipeg and she was openly scared for her job. She reported that many people have been laid off or have quit seeing that the future in radio is a complete toss up. She actually had to come off maternity leave early just because of her fear that there may not be a job to come back to if she was away too long.

Personally I don't see the end of radio or newspapers anytime soon; however the playing field has definitely changed. Have you?

Winnipeg Business I Know Where Your Target Market Is

The mystery of where to put your dollars in marketing has always been based on the question, "Where is my target market?"; and - Winnipeg business owners - if you don't know this by now than please continue reading.

As is common, a Winnipeg business owner will set aside a budget specific for marketing. And if you are like most, you naturally gravitate towards the traditional options of the "Free Press vs The Sun; BOB FM vs CITI; or Winnipeg Women Magazine vs Flavours Magazine." But the question still persists, "Is this where my target market is?"

The answer is to quit guessing and embrace the change that is"online search marketing." When a person types in "skechers shoes" on Google.ca, it's because they are in the market to buy skecher shoes.

There is no wondering if your target audience watches "The Amazing Race" on Wednesday nights to hope they'll catch your ad. There is no fear they may not read the "City and Business" section of the Free Press and miss your sale on men's ties. No my friends, if they type in "men's ties" on Google.ca and your website is one of the first they see to click to, than once again your 24/7 online salesman has closed a sale.

The times aren't changing, they've changed. The guessing game is over.

It's your turn Winnipeg.

Who is Measuring the Winnipeg Business Call Initiative?

It was reported today in the Free Press that 12 hot leads have been prospected from the "Business Call/Selling Winnipeg to the World" initiative led by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. At the Chamber breakfast Friday morning, it was further revealed that actually 100 prospects were identified, and of those 12 were considered "hot." What also came to light was that about 5 or 6 Winnipeg businesses are preparing to exit the city as well - something the Free Press failed to report on. To me this is the most important piece of information, and may be the most critical work done by the Business Call team.



My question - Who is the Chamber/Business Call team accountable too? Who, outside the Chamber, is measuring their performance? Is it the responsibility of Winnipeg business owners or the taxpayers or some third party committee? How are they measuring success? One company relocating to Winnipeg?... Two? Keeping one here who was going to leave? What?



We all know should the Chamber close any of these 12 hot leads that Martin Cash will be quickly be shouting the praises of their good work in the "City and Business" section of the Free Press...but what if they don't close any? Furthermore, what if they lose the 5 or 6 businesses looking to leave?



I was also puzzled when the Free Press quoted V.P. Bill Morrissey on the results of the survey that Business Call did to the variety of Winnipeg business owners. He stated that "the results were not surprising -- the highest positive attribute was the reliable workforce and the most prominent negative one was the tax base." So why do the study then? Was this the best use of time? Why not at least make a statement more to the flavour that "the study reinforces our strong workforce and limitations that the payroll tax provides" as opposed to saying "no surprise?" I'm big on the language people use, especially in the business and political world, and I would guess that interested Winnipeggers would be sensitive as well - especially when in writing. The statement made me think that there may have been better questions to ask to better utilize the time of the business owners they called.



All in all, the Business Call initiative is important. The one-to-one approach will always be effective. I only wonder, though, that if this initiative fails, how or will we ever know?

Winnipeg Business - Online Brand Protection

I was enjoying a walk with my beautiful wife the other day - my mind far off the Winnipeg business scene - when we came across a home that was quite obviously mired in renovations. As we grew closer, it was easy to see the amount of work that remained to turn this construction site into a home. What was most eye-popping was the sign, written in red marker on a large piece of cardboard, which read:

"I.C.E. Construction Group

8-10 weeks Concrete Project

Began Sep 08

Concrete???"

Trying to focus on what my wife was telling me - I couldn't help but think about the power of the written word, but more than this, the importance of online brand protection.

The sign, coupled with the obvious state of disarray this poor homeowner was enduring, sent a very powerful message to the competency of I.C.E. Construction Group. Immediately, my wife turned to me and said "remind me never to use them for any concrete work."

This event made me think about the power a blog can have when distributed effectively, and how people really do believe what they read. I can almost guarantee that my wife is not the only one to have made that comment, and that the entire surrounding neighbourhood will never use the services of I.C.E. Construction Group for any of ther concrete needs. But what if that message on the piece of cardboard was seen by 1,000 people or 10,000? At that point the angry voice of an unsatisfied customer turns into thousands of lost dollars. What happens if you have no way of protecting what is written about you across the net?

A good recent example of this would be Furnasman One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning. Just search the term "furnaces winnipeg" or "furnace repair winnipeg" and see for yourself.

With blogging across the internet, your brand is open to anyone and everyone.

Winnipeg buiness - what are you doing to protect yourself online?

Winnipeg Business Tees off with the Chamber

Yesterday, I attended the 19th annual Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament at Pine Ridge Golf and Country Club. The course was in beautiful shape, the drinks were flowing and, despite moments of rain, the event was a great success.

As can be expected, much schmoozing was going on amongst the many Winnipeg business owners and other organizational leaders. As much as the event is to help network and give back to a worthy charity - this year being the Winnipeg Human Society - much like in my high school days, there is curiosity amongst all that attend as to who is mingling with who.

Yes, despite being over a decade since walking the halls of River East Collegiate, I still feel that same sense of "who's hot and who's not" that happened when identifying the "cool" kids from the popularity challenged. Each handshake carrying with it either a label of "in the know" vs "no need to know." "Why his he golfing with them?" or "Where is so and so this year?"

As much as things change, they just stay the same.

The mixture of booze and fatigue always lead to a slip or two of the tongue, and its no different at this event as I witnessed when within earshot of one very example - though no further details will be found on this blog. Point being that no matter the title on the business card or the level of education, it seems at heart we are creatures motivated by acceptance and driven by curiosity, mixed with a healthy dose of drama. As the world turns, these are the days of our lives in business in Winnipeg.

Manitoba Moose Downtown Party

I'm calling all Winnipeg business and Winnipeggers to flood our downtown for a massive street party to cheer on the Manitoba Moose when they win the Calder Cup Trophy. I have vivid memories of the craziness that ensued in downtown Winnipeg after the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series back in 1992. Everyone poured into the streets, fanatic that a Canadian team was able to capture the crown of best in baseball. The Manitoba Moose are Canada's hockey team now, and let's show the country and the continent how much we love our home town teams.

Considering most Winnipeggers would rather eat fish out of the Red River than support anything based in Toronto, it would be a disgrace to our beloved Moose if we didn't honor them by taping off the downtown and filling the TV screens with everything Moose.

So... I encourage all fans of the Moose, all fans of sports in Manitoba and all fans of good times in general to flood the streets of downtown when the Moose raise the Calder Cup. Bringing Manitobans our first title in too many years to mention is worth getting the police out to watch us as we party and celebrate our rightful place at the top.

First drinks on me!

CentrePort Canada - Bridging Commerce to the North

The effects of global warming are heating up opportunities for business in Canada's North. CentrePort Canada realizes this opportunity and is using the Port of Churchill as further fuel in selling the world the benefits of doing business at the future site of Winnipeg's inland port.

The selling point for CentrePort Canada has been location, location, location. The changing seascape in the Artic has opened the opportunity to shorten shipping routes, open new trade avenues for Manitoba and Canada with international partners through Canada's only major international Arctic Seaport at the Port of Churchill. The "Arctic Bridge" as its being called connects with the Port of Murmansk, Russia, allowing for trade opportunities that were unavailable only years ago. Further development will also lead to increased commerce opportunities for those communities located in the both Arctic regions.

Further development of the marine link between Russia and Manitoba is being planned from establishing working groups, doing test flights and shipments, and continuing to improve communications amongst all industry stakeholders.