White page syndrome can strike even the most seasoned wordsmiths, and when it does, it paralyzes. Suddenly creative minds draw blanks, the cursor flashes incessantly at the top of what should be an easy-peasy piece of content and ideas simply refuse to materialize.

It’s no fun when this happens, we know this. And if you’re a person who would rather have small shards of glass removed from the bottom of their feet than actually write a blog post, this happens a lot. In fact, most people just don’t enjoy writing at all, they only do it if they’re forced to.

But you can do this, and all you need to do is break it all down to smaller parts and to remember that you are the expert on your subject. You may not consider the fact that nobody knows as much about skin care, or taming tresses, or the wonders of massage and its therapeutic benefits as you do, but you do.

You are trained to know your stuff. Your salon or spa or massage practice is what you do, which gives you limitless insight and a deep well of material from which to pull article ideas.

Think ‘small pieces’, and then let your brain go to town. Blog posts are a way to share snippets of information with your audience in digestible (read ‘NOT huge’) chunks. Think ‘Preventing Flyaway Winter Hair’ vs ‘The History of Hairstyles in the 20th Century’ when it comes to topics. Think ‘Three Tips for Cool Weather Skin Care’ vs ‘The Importance of Balanced Nutrition In the Ongoing Pursuit of Gorgeous Skin’. Think ‘The Power of the Breath’ vs ‘A Treatise on Massage Modalities, 1717-2013’.

You get my point.

A targeted, concise (which I could use practice with, right?) paragraph or two will go a long way. You’ll have crafted a helpful article that your blog readers will want to read. The good news is once you’ve established your groove, you’ll enjoy visitors who come back again and again to see what you have to say.

Another bonus of writing blog articles? They help your ranking when it comes to being found on the web. Search engines love regular, fresh content, so you’ll be rewarded over time with ranking as well.

So, have fun with this, and know if you ever get stuck for ideas or just a little nudge in the right direction, we’re right here to help!

SEO is huge, and the rules continually change. We’ve created a series of pointers to help you along the SEO path, with the first in the series being a checklist.  Starting with a checklist is a great way to review the things that need improvement. Since there’s no exact formula for these things, the following list is presented in a VERY ROUGH order according to importance (which varies based on many other factors):

Basic SEO Checklist

• My front page includes all of the terms I’d like to show up in searches for, presented in clear well formatted text (bonus for repetition of terms).
• My front page includes geographic landmarks that relate to your location (neighborhood names, local landmarks, parks, etc).
• My site has completed listings on getlisted.org for the major search engines (bonus for more).
• My site has page titles that include a concise and keyword-rich description of my site (no more than 70 characters).
• My site’s pages include a keyword-rich, page specific description.
• My Google+ page features multiple reviews and is claimed, maintained, and linked to by my website.
• My website features an actively maintained blog and includes excerpts of my blogs on my front page.
• My website is regularly updated with new content such as blogs, events, updated page content, new pages, etc.
• My website pages have ONE and only ONE main headline (h1) on each page that describes the page’s content (multiple smaller headlines are ok).

OKAY I GET IT, LET’S ROCK!!!

Now I know you’re excited to get started but there’s one crucial step here that is not in the list above, but is crucial to assist you through this process. If you don’t already have a Google Analytics account go get one now. I’ll still be here. You’re done and back? Great! Now wait a week and come back. No, you can keep reading, but it’s going to take a while for Google to collect enough data to be useful to you. If you already have a Google account, that’s excellent. You may want to open it up and look at some of your search statistics and mull over them while you read this. Now back to our regularly scheduled content….

Remembering that your website is often your audience’s first encounter with your business will help you refine yours to make the best possible impression. There are aesthetic elements, practical components, and mechanisms behind the scenes that all contribute to a successful website. Let’s start with the aesthetic.

Beauty isn’t just skin deep, as we all know, but having your website reflect your brand in terms of look and feel is important. Your logo, your colors, your ambiance in terms of whether your business imparts a serene feeling, a hip and edgy look and feel, is cozy and intimate or larger and more open in feel, all of these matter when it comes to your site. It really comes down to matching your actual location’s style with your website’s style. You want your audience to get a feel for your setting well before they arrive for a spa or salon service. Setting the expectation from the outset establishes a sense of trust that you’ll be able to reinforce once that client walks through your door.

After the overall tone you set, you need to include the nuts and bolts of what people are seeking when they visit you. Your contact information should be prominent (above the fold) on every page on your site. Your hours should also be prominently displayed and current. If you expand your hours in the Summer, be sure your website reflects that so you capture the attention of the crowd who enjoys a nice after work massage or soothing hair appointment. Include your menu, too. What do you offer? We could include menu in the first section, because it reflects how you serve up your services, but it also serves up important details about your offerings. If you are a serene spa providing seaweed wraps and cucumber facials, you’re consistent from an offering standpoint, which, again, ensures the expectation set is the right one for everyone. Mostly, you need to tell them what you offer, and your service menu is a great way to do that.

As far as the mechanisms behind the scenes are concerned, we’re referring to those that help with local search. You are a local business being sought out by people within your community. Using the terms in your content, in natural language, that reflect who you are and what you wish to be known for will help a lot. You also need to be certain to have all of your local online listings current. All of them. Take time to go out and search CitySearch, Google+ and any other directories in your community to update your business information. People find you in many ways, mostly online, so no matter where they land they need consistent, current info on your business to conduct business with you. Reviews, and their display on your website, are also important. More people make decisions based on what others have experienced with your business than you might imagine. Embrace that tendency, and dedicate a section of your website just to reviews.

Many many of your visitors will find you using a mobile device, which means your website needs to look good no matter what they’re using. Responsive Website Design ensures what they see fits their device and offers up your key information. The last thing you want is a mini, vs appropriately adjusted version of your website for mobile devices. Ideally you’ll use one system that handles both your website and the mobile version – otherwise you will end up paying for two services and having to maintain two websites, essentially, which is  time consuming and expensive.

You also want people to come back. If someone has found your website, invite them to join your newsletter list. This will keep them in your news loop, and will allow you to create specials and interesting promotions that will entice them back for more visits. Using your social media will also provide a way to garner attention and begin conversations with your audience as well as offer up a way to promote to a receptive and engaged group.

Creating a great website isn’t rocket science, but it does require managing the key components we’ve outlined. Feel stuck or in need of ideas? We’re always here, and happy to help you refine and optimize your online ‘face’. Give us a call, we’re happy to help!