SCOUT Corporate Blogging Services

September 2006

Things to keep in mind as you work with the media.

In a recent post to the Schwartz Middleware blog titled The Golden Rule Applies to Media Interviews, experienced PR counselor (and new PR blogger) John Moran offers up some great advice for CEO's and Marketing VPs who want to work with the media to gain coverage.

I mention this post to you for a few reasons. First, to make a prediction that John Moran's blog will become a great point of insight for marketing and PR executives in the software industry. I'm already a big fan (envious) of John’s efficient, light and witty blogging style.

The second reason is to get in this shameless plug... Scout is currently working closely with Schwartz Communications (the 8th largest PR firm in the US) to develop a series of blogs focused on Schwartz's eleven areas of high tech PR expertise. To date we have launched three industry blogs -- the IT Security Blog Authored by Chuck Tanowitz, Healthcare IT Blog Authored by Shawn Whalen, and the Middleware Blog. There are also a few more industry blogs in the pipeline for later this fall. Stay tuned.

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Filed under: PR Tips

Is there SEO value in owning a stable of domain names?

A client of mine recently asked me a good question and I’d like to share with you my response to her …

    "Hi Steve, Quick question…we own about 50 domain names. Right now, some of them point back to our website and some are just parked. And some of them are up for renewal in the next few months. So, I want make better use of these by directing them to our website. My question is this…we have some domains like www.johnsmith.com and www.jsmith.com, etc. and I’m wondering if these are valuable or not. Should we keep these? Is it always better to have as many domains that point to your site as possible or are names like these worthless in the web/SEO world? Any insights would be appreciated."

Hi, Good question. Empty domain link pointers are worthless in terms of SEO. Search engines only credit inbound links from real websites. The only value in a pointer is if someone types that address into a browser and your site pops up. In that respect there IS a traffic driving value in a domain name that contains a popular industry phase like realestate.com. I would also add that if domains point to the main site, they should do so using a 301 redirect.  If they don't, there is always a chance somebody will link to them and cause duplicate content and not pass page rank to the main site.

Just in case you're wondering, I would not advise using the domains to create some phantom websites just on the premise of creating a real link into your site. That ship has sailed. It's a very spammy thing to do and it's not worth the effort.
 
I'm not going to advise you to sell or keep domains because you may want to maintain possession for competitive reasons or possible future use. The bottom line is, It's probably going to cost you anywhere from $300 - $600 per year to maintain ownership of those domain names. If you think a domain could be valuable to your business or someone else like a competitor in the future -- hang on to it as a speculative investment. It's ok to park it or point it to your site.

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Filed under: Search Engine Optimization

CEO Blogger Remembering 9/11

Driving into work on 9/11/06, I listed to an NPR report that asked random children ages 5 to 7 to talk about what they know about 9/11. Hearing these children talk about it was extremely heartrending and cathartic for me.

Maybe it was the reminiscent brightness and blueness of the AM sky; maybe it was the buildup of media reports about the five year anniversary, maybe it was just the innocent words of the children. As I drove listening to these children, the surrealism of seeing the twin towers collapse on TV and all the images of despair, violence, terror and war that came form that day changed into something more real, sadder and even harder to comprehend. Their words also gave me hope.

I was inspired to share these thoughts with you because today I stumbled across this post called Remembering 9/11 by Adrian Courtenay the Publisher and CEO of DM News. He also contributes to the company blog on a regular basis. In the context of corporate blogging, I think this CEO is someone who embraces the idea that a blog post does not always have to be so formal. It can be personal, raw and emotional - simply human.

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New Blogging Book: What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting

Here’s a new must have book for the corporate blogging and podcasting section of your corporate library. Ted Demopoulos, co author of Blogging for Business,  has released a new book about social media called What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting: Real-Life Advice from 101 People who Leverage the Power of The Blogosphere. Some of the "101 People” referred to in the title are well known leaders in the marketing and technology community (like Seth Godin and Gy Kawasaki) and some of them are “people” like (me).

When Ted told me about the book last year, I thought to myself “what a great concept”, then I broke into a cold sweat when I realized that he wanted me to actually write a few pages. I can’t wait to receive my copy to see what all the contributors said and how Ted and the publisher put it all together.

I called Ted today and asked him if he could do a quick inteview about the book.

Stephen Turcotte: So what are some of the most interesting or surprising insights you picked up in the process of writing this book?

Ted Demopoulos:  The most interesting thing was realizing that people have started using blogs and podcasts in the most interesting ways that I would have never thought of. This is probably just the beginning of a very empowering time for many people in terms of how they leverage blogs and podcasts in their daily business life. For example… A friend of mine is a career sales guy. He doesn’t blog, probably never will. He’s a really good salesman though -- the type that you want selling you something when you’re actually interested in buying. He started using blogs as part of his pre meeting research. There’s no way he will go to a client meeting without searching the blogs for news. I would have never thought of that.

Ted Demopoulos:  Another example… There's a company called Rightlook Automotive. They sell high end automotive reconditioning training and equipment. When the president figured out what podcasting was 8 - 12 months ago, he thought 'this is perfect for my business'. Not the first business you would think of as being ripe for ROI from podcasting right? But think about it, Rightlook’s average new order is $25k - $35k. This is somebody starting a detailing business. They want as much information as possible. He started a reconditioning business podcast on subjects like Industry Opportunities and Professionalism in the Trade. Today He'll get calls in the morning with big orders from prospects who spent the night listening to his podcasts. I would have never thought of that.

Ted Demopoulos:  The thing is great bloggers and podcasters can come from the most unexpected places. One guy who is one of the best writers I've ever run across is an unemployed factory worker.

Stephen Turcotte:  Thanks Ted.

The book now available for presale on Amazon, B&N & 800ceoread and will be "on the shelves" by Nov 1st.

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Filed under: Blogging Tips