Blogging for Business

Last night I had a beer with a friend and we talked shop. See, my friend is in Direct Sales just like me. Only it's not all all 'just' like me ~ the obvious difference is she doesn't sell adult sex toys to her friends. Another is that she makes more money in one sale than I do selling a hundred battery operated toys. I didn't say she makes more money, period. My friend is a loan officer and procuring one loan is more of a process than selling a single vibrator.

Ultimately though, how we put ourselves 'out there' in order to build a strong and wide customer base is one and the same thing. The secret of ANY business' success in today's Social Media driven society is effective social networking and search engine optimization.

Over the last 18 months of amateur blogging I've become somewhat Google savvy. I've stumbled upon (no pun intended) a few tips for building page rank and I at least know what SEO stands for. But it didn't really matter on Go Momma. Page hits were merely a way to measure my popularity ~ a boost to my ego if you will. I wasn't a business blogger until now. Suddenly increasing my page ranking and statistics is of great import. It is crucial to the success of my Passion Parties business. Page hits mean potential clients, which means more parties on the books and growth of my team.

If I want customers to find me, first Mr Google has to like me. In my optimal business world, typing keywords such as Josie Bisett, Passion Parties, vibrator or adult sex toy party into Google should lead potential clients straight to me. My links should be at the top of that first results page.

I don't have a very common name but I do have to compete with a Hollywood actress. Not really fair. In spite of the spelling difference (only one 'S' in Bisett folks!) there are a million more people searching for Josie B the Melrose Place actress than Josie B the Passion Parties consultant. One day, Miss Bissett.... One day..!

My friend and I Googled my name last night, and once we'd gotten around the 'only one 's' in Bisett issue' there I was, right on the first page. I'm mightily chuffed about that. However, Feel the Vibe and Passion Parties by Josie were nowhere to be seen. Surprisingly my (only ever used once when I created it) Pinterest profile topped the ranks, followed by (sporadically used) Twitter, and only then my Go Momma blog! No sign of (obsessively used) Facebook or LinkedIn... huh!?

I obviously have some work to do on my Social Media platforms.

The exercise gave me great food for thought. You may notice a slight shift in my blogging as I flagrantly and shamelessly work towards a higher page ranking and better SEO. Here are two new blogging goals:

1. Keep posts between 300-500 words.
2. Use keywords and phrases like 'Vibrators' and 'Passion Parties by Josie' often.

(Words: 497)