I use Google’s keyword tool because other keyword tools require you to sign up as a member or limit the number of searches you can do. But there are many tools out there for you to choose from.

How to use the keyword tool

1. Before you go to the keyword tool, make a list of words that your customers might use to find your products or services
2. Now, go to the Google keyword tool and enter your search terms into the box Word or Phrase– you can add as many terms as you would like. I will add up to 10 terms before I begin searching.
3. Next select a region. This can be a little deceiving because the local search is actually on a national level – so you are not getting Ontario or Toronto trends but you are getting Canadian trends.
4. Then: select whether you want to search for broad, phrase or exact results. I’ve given you a little more detail below as to the advantages of using each level.
5. A quick tip: Consider adding a geographic location with the search – if you’re searching for “web copywriting”, search “web copywriting Toronto” or “web writing Oakville.” While we live in a global economy, people still search locally for products and services.

Different levels in search

On the left hand side of the Google keyword tool URL, you’ll see the words Match Type. Match type allows you to select the level of search that you would like to perform.

The broad search gives you search results at the widest level of search. Broad search returns the “sum of the volumes for a keyword idea.” The results generated pick up terms that do not “match” directly to the terms you have searched but have a relation to the terms at a broad, conceptual level. For example, in searching today for Boards of Directors and governance, the term leadership displayed in the results. This makes sense because leadership is one of the roles for Boards of Directors.

Using the broad search is a way to generate related keyword terms and other key words and phrases that you might not have thought about.

The phrase match gives you the “sum of the results for all searches that include the whole search phrase.”  These results show search volumes for your terms as part of a longer query (more words). These results are a more accurate reflection of the number of times per month your terms are searched in Google.

The exact match result gives you ”the search volume for that exact keyword.” An exact match result gives you the closest result to the monthly searches.

Record your keyword results. Determine which terms best describe your product or service, are used most frequently and then compare them with how your clients speak about your products and services.

Now What?

Once you have identified words and phrases that return good search engine results in your region, you can now incorporate those keywords into your titles, web copy, alternative text and images. If you’ve written your copy, review it and incorporate your new keywords.

Keywords play an important role in website and blogging. And Google AdWords Keyword Tool is a free online tool to help you start your keyword research. My last word of advice is: make sure your content still offers plenty of interesting, original content. Being found is only one piece of the search engine optimization puzzle. The other important piece is to keep your readers through compelling, informative content.

Are you using keywords? A keyword tool? Do you have a strategy? And are you happy with the results?

Cross-posted at Go WordPress

Here’s a copy of my Creating remarkable copy – one WordPress website at a time presentation. Make sure you leave any questions or comments.

Cross-posted at Go WordPress.

Mobile Marketer  and Google’s howtogomo.com (link is further down the post) offer some convincing stats on mobile usage in 2011 and mobile’s growth. You’ll find these stats among others on Mobile Marketers’ website.

Mobile Stats 2011

• Mobile social media
• 166 percent increase in Facebook Mobile users in the first half of 2011
• 103 million wireless tweets were posted each day
• 1 billion foursquare check-ins
• Mobile commerce sales 
• Predicted to reach $6.7 billion in 2011 – a 91.4% increase over 2010
• In 2012, sales will rise another 73.1% to $11.6 billion
• Mobile email  
• Open rates increased 34% in 6 months during 2011
• Open rates on iPads jumped 73%
• Mobile video  
• Consumers are spending 29 percent more time watching videos on their mobile devices

Easy and not-so-easy ways to make your website mobile friendly

1. Begin by assessing your website with Google’s How to Go Mo Initiative

Test your site for important mobile features on the GoMo Meter. This test will assess your

• Website Page load speed (should be less than 5 seconds)
• Images’ and how they appear on mobile
• Text and whether it can be read without pinching or magnifying
• Website buttons and if they are thumb friendly?)

You can take the test at Google’s How To Go Mo. 

2.  Install a WordPress Mobile Plugin

There are several plugins that you can use to adapt your WordPress website to mobile. Adding a WordPress plugin is the easiest solution to solving your mobile-unfriendly site. Here are a few options for plugins.

1. WPTouch: This plugin is the cadillac plugin for mobile. I use it on my site.  I use the WPTouch Pro version of the plugin. Prior to installing it, I was using the free version and it was giving me some difficulty. Read about WPTouch here.
2. Mobile Press: Read about it here.But WordPress.org reports that it is only compatible to version 2.8.6. I know it is being used for sites updated past 3.0
3. WP Mobile Detector: Read about it here
4. WordPress Mobile Pack: Read about it here.

3.  Take a Mobile Site Build Workshop

Another option for you is to take a course on how to build a mobile site. This course is for those of you (and perhaps not me) who are comfortable in the website development world or who are familiarizing themselves with WordPress web development. I know of one course offering in the Toronto area. Ladies Learning Code teach a weekend day class. A colleague wrote about her experience in this post.

So if 2012 is the year of Mobile, do you plan on doing anything about it?

Photo Credit for top image: Flickr – Langwitches.  Smaller stock image courtesy of Pond5.

Listening to Matt speak last night and then doing a little bit of reading about WordPress this morning, I’m reminded again about why I love WordPress (and I’m not even going to mention all the business benefits – too many to add to this post). Here’s some of the reasons I love WordPress:

WordPress is community based – For the community, by the community

The WordPress community ascribes to cooperation.  Quoting WordPress.org:

“Everything you see here, from the documentation to the code itself, was created by and for the community. WordPress is an Open Source project, which means there are hundreds of people all over the world working on it. (More than most commercial platforms.) It also means you are free to use it for anything from your cat’s home page to a Fortune 500 web site without paying anyone a license fee and a number of other important freedoms.

The WordPress Toronto community is a natural extension of WordPress worldwide. The photo that you see here is courtesy of a WordPress blogger that I met at WordCamp 2009 and see at WordPress events. Willingly and freely given.

WordPress equalises the world of publishing

As Matt pointed out to us last night, WordPress has contributed to the democratization of publishing – in other words – the little company or solopreneurs has an equally elegant and powerful platform from which to publish content to the world. The publishing playing field has been leveled.

WordPress embodies the entrepreneurial spirit

The founders saw a need (as entrepreneurs do) and sought to fulfill it. WordPress “started in 2003 with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing” (WordPress.org). By December 2011, WordPress 3.0 has been downloaded over 65 million times.  

WordPress empowers people

Open source, free, fully available and accessible to those of us who are not coders and web developers.  WordPress has opened the web world to writers and given them a platform from which to publish without the need of web techno geek knowledge.

I love you, WordPress. Can I really say that online?

Lastly, a shout-out to the Toronto WordPress MeetUp group. I appreciate you all. You embraced a simple end-user like me, entertained my (sometimes) silly, uninformed questions and treated me like an equal player in the WordPress arena.

How I use Dropbox

• Cloud Backup for my website files: I use a WordPress plugin for backing up my website files called BackupBuddy.  By syncing it to Dropbox, I have a complete copy of my website files in case something goes wrong with my server or my website.
•  I also use Dropbox to share files with clients and family and friends. It’s a convenient way to share information, files and documents without email (and we’re all in email overload, aren’t we?).

Why I like Dropbox:

• Once you drop a file into Dropbox, it will show up almost immediately on another computer that has Dropbox installed.
• Dropbox apps are available for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry.
• You can access your files from your account on the Dropbox website too.
• No need for multiple emails about web content development. You can DROP your web content files into a Dropbox file that we’ll create and share.

Join Dropbox

Send me an email ~ dawn@dawncomber.com and I’ll return an email invite. Using this method, we will both be rewarded with 250 MB of bonus space on our account.

Or if you’re in a hurry, you can just go to Dropbox.com and sign up there.

11 Steps to Dropbox heaven

1. Install Dropbox on your computer (it’s a free download) (and you can take the Dropbox tour too)
2. Create an account (You’ll be prompted to do this during installation. You’ll also see a new icon Dropbox adds to your desktop and the bottom right of your taskbar.)
3. When the installation is complete, click the taskbar icon and then select launch Dropbox website. You’ll be brought to a page with file tabs at the top of the page
4. If you don’t see these tabs, you may not be logged in. To proceed, you have to log into your account
5. For the thorough step-by-step folks: select the Getting Started tab and go through the steps to ensure that you’ve done everything to make your Dropbox service work for you.
6. For those who don’t want the step-by-step: If you want to skip the Getting Started tab, create a folder. Give your folder a clear, meaningful name. If you plan to use this file with me, use your business name or your name to the folder.  
7. Hover your mouse over the new folder and you will see a little arrow appear on the right side. Click on the arrow and a drop down list will appear. From the list select invite to folder.
8. Click invite to folder and a share window will popup.
9. Enter the email addresses of those you want to share the folder with. Send a note with the email to give more info to the email recipient.
10. If you’re sharing with me, include my address on your email list (dawn@dawncomber.com).  I’ll receive a notification that you’ve invited me to share your folder.
11. When I accept your invitation, I’ll have access to the folder and we can begin sharing!

If you want to start sharing with me, don’t forget to send me an email at dawn@dawncomber.com

Not quite clear enough? Watch this Dropbox in plain English video.

Like my image? It’s a stock photo courtesy of .

The tale (tail?) of Air Canada

But wait for it … the first leg of my trip is with (are you ready) – Air Canada!!  I have been passed from pillar to post, from one customer relations rep to another – all the time feeling totally powerless to the “flying gods.”

Knowing there was a strike coming on Wednesday (Tuesday midnight), I knew my goal – get someone – anyone to help me get to Australia.

I’ve spent the last 3 days on the phone with Air Canada, Air New Zealand and various customer reps with Red Tag Vacations.  I’ve experienced empathy, coldness, irritation and rudeness. I have worked to be polite in all my dealings with each person. I do understand that these people are not the problem.

One of my creative solutions was to get myself to San Fran on my own dime and make the second leg of the flight. BUT – that was not possible (according to Air New Zealand). Air NZ wanted to charge extra fees and penalties for me to solve my own problem. More on that later.

So what have I learned? (far from an exhaustive list)

1. Listen carefully to your customer: Listen closely to what your customer is saying. If they are having difficulty expressing what they want/need, help them to articulate it. When they are clear about what they want; you can serve them more effectively
2. Listen with empathy: If the particular problem is one that you cannot solve, empathize with the difficult situation someone is in. For example, when I told my story to Air Canada, the customer rep was cold and uncaring. Saying he was sorry for my difficulty would not have hurt him – in fact it might have helped him. Another customer rep empathized and my frustration level reduced because even if they were not solving my problem, they were relating to me as a human. I was not merely a financial transaction to him/her.
3. Try to problem solve creatively: Work with your customer/client to find a solution to their problem.
4. Be authentic: Don’t pay lip service to people. If you can’t/won’t help them, don’t pretend that you are. You will get found out eventually and your reputation will be damaged. Some social media savvy people can do some damage to your reputation (remember the guitar story?).
5. Make your policies flexible: I suggested to Air New Zealand that I would get to my first destination (San Fran) on my own dime. They blew me away when they said that I had to use my ticket from the first point of departure or I would be considered a “no show”.  Classic inflexibility.

The Air Canada strike has emphasized a lesson that we all learned a long time ago and that is …

Put your customer first.

Your customers have many places to go to buy products or services similar to yours. If you don’t meet their expectations or exceed them: believe me they will look somewhere else!

[Update] I’d just like to give online kudos to Red Tag Vacations. From the President (who did give me a personal call and asked staff to find a solution) to the manager of online bookings (Gina) to a customer rep (Christina) who both called me to let me know that the strike was averted. These people and their actions stand out above all the other customer reps because they cared enough to inform me that the strike was over. No one else did that and believe me, I’ve talked to a lot of people in the last 3 days.

Were you affected by the Air Canada strike or some other service disruption?  What did you learn about customer relations as a result?

Photo Credit