It’s no secret that Google is the number one search engine, so it should come as no surprise that it can also make or break the traffic on your site. Google is extremely powerful and when a site is properly optimized traffic can reach new heights, resulting in more potential leads.

This post is part one of four part series on “Googlefying Your Business.” First, a few easy steps to get you started on the right foot.

1.    Websitegrader.com – Measure the marketing effectiveness of your site. This free tool by HubSpot will review your on-page SEO, Google Page Rank, indexed pages, traffic rank, inbound links, and blog grade to name a few. Great place to get started.

Websitegrader.com homepage

2.    Google Webmaster Tools – Create an account and verify your site. The tool will allow you to monitor and test your site’s performance.

• Test crawler access
• Submit your Sitemap
• Research top search queries and keywords, links to your site, RSS subscriber stats, internal links
• Detect crawl errors and malware
• Review HTML suggestions

3.    Add your site’s URL to Google – Help Google index your site. While Google adds new sites to its index every time it crawls the Web, this will help accelerate the process.
4.    Submit your Sitemap – This also helps Google index your site faster and more accurately. According to search engine optimization (SEO) guru Chuck Reynolds of rYnoweb, every site should use one.
5.    Add Google Analytics – Analyze traffic data, test and track campaigns, customize reports and charts, and determine how to best target and reach your audience.

What tools have you used to optimize your Web site and bolster its marketing effectiveness? Leave a comment with any suggestions you might have. Stay tuned for more on this topic.

For the audio interview click the play button below, and for the video podcast visit JetPack Radio.

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It’s no secret the holidays are the optimum time to market your business. Consumers are prepared to spend (even this year, albeit not as much) and if you capture their attention you could lay the foundation for a long-term relationship or at the very least a sale. Beyond the holiday sales, some companies have figured out interesting ways to garner that attention.

Giving back
Get creative with giving back. Villa La Paws Pet Resort and Spa created an “Operation Home for the Holidays” program in an effort to connect deployed military and their family through real-time video chats, and videotaped holiday greetings.

Another example is Urban Burn Boot Camp, which offered 21 days of unlimited boot camp workouts in exchange for a toy for their toy drive.

Outrageous traditions
Little did AZ88 know when they commissioned a local artist to design a Christmas tree installation in 1992 they would be starting a tradition. Each year locals make it a point to see the new outrageous design, which has included Barbie dolls, electrostatic balls, crushed gas cans, and this year, $1 bills.

AZ88 Tree - courtesy of recklessbrother on Flickr

Coach House - courtesy of chris.shutter on Flickr

Similarly, the Coach House, a small, traditionally laid-back dive bar goes over the top with lights and ostentatious decorations. Loads of tinsel, wrapping paper, lights, metallic ornaments, candy canes – and the list goes on – attracts viewers every year.

Surely you’ve heard of the infamous Neiman Marcus holiday catalogue. These often outrageous gifts garner tons of media exposure. CNNMoney.com, the Wall Street Journal, countless blogs and a few national TV networks had a heyday with this cupcake go-cart. Though the go-cart is beyond the financial means of the vast majority, it gets them looking at other, more affordable merchandise in the catalogue.

Neiman Marcus Cupcake Go-Cart

12 Days of Christmas
Ok so there’s nothing new about promotions, but these have some creativity. Boon Inc., a baby product manufacturer, created an interactive 12 Day Holiday Giveaway that draws people to their Facebook page daily for a chance to win one of their products.

Meanwhile Gary Vaynerchuck of Wine Library offers free shipping and reduced prices on wine during his 12 Days of Xmas promotion. And Buddy Stubbs Harley Davidson, with a similar 12 Days promotion, offers discounts and a customer appreciation holiday party.

The options are endless. Take notice of what others are doing and think about what you can do differently next year, and start preparing now. Let me know what you think. Have you come across any interesting tactics or are you implementing any yourself?

What is the driving force behind your business?

Sure market research, smart marketing and operations, a good product, and hard work are all essential components of success, but I’m talking about the one thing that keeps you doing what you do, day in and day out.

Hopefully it’s passion.

Passion is the one common denominator among thriving entrepreneurs, strong businesses and great leaders. Of course successful businesses get by without it, but those with true passion at the core often grow faster and stronger, and outlast their counterparts. More importantly, people want to interact with impassioned businesses and leaders.

At the Blogworld and New Media Expo in October, I spoke with C.C. Chapman, marketer and creator of the Managing the Gray podcast, the Advance Guard (now Campfire) and Digital Dads, to name a few, spoke about leveraging passion.

Everyone has a passion, but why is it so important in business, social media and life in general? How do you learn to leverage it?

“It is really important, if you are creating content, whether it’s blogs, or podcasts or anything, that you are creating content you are passionate about,” Chapman said. “It might be a hobby, it might be your family, it might be a topic, but whatever it is, if you’re not writing about it from a passionate perspective then why would the readers connect with you?”

He said with so much content being produced it’s imperative to have passion behind your delivery. Consumers naturally gravitate towards the people who are creating content they feel passionate about. Once you’ve tapped into your passion, leveraging it to earn a living takes hard work and persistence.

“Just having a passion isn’t enough. You have to work really hard. Keep improving your skills. Do everything you can do to make your passion better. Something small and keep building on it. When you get to the point where you’re earning a paycheck from what you love doing, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

“Everybody is passionate about something.”

Thank you C.C. Chapman for the great interview and thank you for the podcast about passion that gave me the extra nudge I needed to pursue mine.

Was your business sparked by a passion? If so, I want to hear about it. Please leave a comment.

Also here are a few motivating resources I’ve come across:

• Entrepreneur magazine: Finding your passion
• The Huffington Post: How do I find my passion?
• Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• Book: Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life by Donald Trump (Ok, so I haven’t read this one, but the title alone is motivating.)

For the audio interview click the play button below, and for the video podcast visit JetPack Radio.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.