Rankings – An Inexact Science For Business Colleges And Blogs

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In the Indianapolis Business Journal a couple of weeks ago, a small item caught my eye, “Vaunted Program Hits Turbulence”. Apparently Ball State University’s entrepreneurship program hadn’t made the list in the U.S. News & World Report 2007 rankings of graduate programs in business, while its undergraduate program was taken down a couple of ranking notches.  Meanwhile, Indiana University’s entrepreneurship undergrad program shot up to second place in the rankings, and its graduate program up to sixth.
Rod Davis, interim dean of Ball State’s Miller College of Business, had this to say about his school’s slide in U.S. News & World Report:  “Rankings in themselves are an inexact science.”  This might sound to you like a “sour grapes” sort of reaction, but I must say that remark rings all too true with me, based on my experience with a different kind of ranking.
Blogging on the Internet is all about moving up in the rankings. As a professional ghost blogger, what I’m hired to help my clients do is “win” search engine rankings.  That means that when someone is online searching for information about a topic or a product related to your business, you want your blog to be on Page One of Google, Yahoo, or MSN.  Each search engine has its own “algorithms” for judging the merits of blogs and hence how that blog is ranked.
We do know certain things about search engine rankings.  For example, we know there are four general keys to success: posting often, continuing to post, building up “equity” through cumulative posting, and providing original, relevant content. But no one knows of an exact formula that, on any given day, is guaranteed to “win search”. As Rod Davis  so aptly (and ruefully) pointed out, “Rankings in themselves are an inexact science.”
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You May Be A Finder, Binder, Minder, Or Grinder – But Are You A Writer?

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In Financial Planning Magazine, Stephanie Bogan talks to financial planners who are thinking ahead towards retirement and trying to recruit younger planners who can be trained to take over their practices.  Bogan explains that, in any business, there are four distinct roles that must be filled in order for the business to succeed.  It’s very rare, she points out, to find any one person who is comfortable and skilled in all four of the following roles:
Finders develop new business – they’re the rainmakers.
Binders have the presentation skills to consummate the relationship with the new client.
Minders are relationship managers, and they provide client service.
Grinders provide the office and administrative services that free up the professional’s time.
The point of the article is that these roles require different strengths, and not every recruit is going to be strong in all the areas.  Of Minders and Grinders, for example, Bogan remarks bluntly: “You can try to force them to become rainmakers, but it’ll be a bit like trying to teach a pig French – it won’t work and it will frustrate the pig.”
As a professional ghost blogger working with business owners, I can appreciate the truth in Bogan’s insights.  Most entrepreneurs are aware that blogging is fast becoming an indispensable part of any business tool kit. The only problem is that their efforts are devoted to being Finders and Binders (in fact, out of necessity some need to be the Minders and Grinders as well!), with no time left to compose blogs.  Since so many professionals and business owners lack the time and inclination (and sometimes, as my clients readily admit, the talent) to write, that’s where a ghost blogger enters the picture – rather, behind the picture!
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For Success In Blogging, Take The “So What?” Test

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So you’re now a “regular”, frequently posting content on your blog.  People searching the Web are starting to find you, because what they’re looking for relates to something you know about, something you sell, or a service you provide.  You’ve got yourself potential customers who are reading about your business or professional practice.  Now it’s crunch time – are those readers going to “bounce” away from your blog and keep looking?  It all depends on whether your blog engages their interest.
I just read a wonderful article.  The article wasn’t intended for business bloggers, but it provides a great tip for bloggers who want to hold their readers’ interest and keep those browsers clicking through to their business’ websites to learn more. In the September issue of FPA Practice Management, I found a wonderful article that precisely pertains to my work as professional ghost blogger. (I’m a retired financial planner, you’ll recall; in order to keep up my knowledge in that field, I read professional journals and marketing materials about money matters.)  The article’s called “You Can Stand Out In A Crowded Market”, and it offers wonderful advice for financial planners who want to gain both community recognition and new clients. I think this is great advice for all business bloggers.
Here’s what the article says:
The average investor hears the same messages from every practitioner.  “We provide good client service.” “We have a planning process.”  “We care about you.” All of these are important statements to make, but how are they different?  “The missed step here is thinking hard about what you do differently and then amplifying that in every way possible.”  The writer recommends several steps:
a. List the things that you believe make your services different from what everyone else is offering.
b. Methodically work through the list, asking yourself, “So what?”
c. Be tough on yourself in order to get to the real answers to the “So what?” question.
d. Keep only those items that meet the test.
You need to pack each of your blogs with just enough material to show searchers they’re on track to find what they need.  But before including anything in a blog, put it through the “So what?” test.
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One Vote Per Person After Bloggers And Lobbyists Have Their Say

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On the radio talk show “Abdul In The Morning”, a caller was railing about political lobbyists, saying the usual things about how big money interests unduly influence lawmakers.  A lively discussion ensured.  I thought Abdul’s response related to the world of business blogging: “Lobbyists are professionals”, Abdul stated, going on to point out that, just as you would take your car to a mechanic or visit a physician, each of whom has expertise that can be beneficial to you, a lobbyist can provide a useful function. voting
A lobbyist knows how government works, knows when the time is opportune to visit a legislator, and what approach might be most in tune with each legislator’s areas of focus.  And here’s what Abdul brought out that I think is so apropos to my work as a professional ghost blogger: “At the end of the day, lobbyists and legislators have the same number of votes as you and I do – ONE!”  Blogging, like lobbying, is simply a tool – a very effective tool –  in getting a message to a target audience.
Business blogging works to drive traffic to websites.  Many business owners would like to get on board with this marketing tool, but simply lack the time to generate the “recency and frequency” that can bring the desired results.  That’s where a professional ghost blogger becomes a “lobbyist”, bringing experience and expertise to the task of creating the “trade show booth” online.
At the end of the day, each potential customer browsing the web for information about something you sell, something you do, or something you know a lot about, will have one vote (to click to your website or to go on browsing).  Those potential customers find you because of your blog, and can “elect” to move further.  From there, those customers will vote – with their dollars!
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Developers Of Blogs And Strip Malls – Both Out To Save Their Spot

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The Marketplace is filling up. In “The Commercial Real Estate Quarterly” of the Indianapolis Business Journal, Tom Dickey, Vice President of Duke Realty, explained why.  The housing slump has hurt retail shopping strip centers, and Duke’s projects have felt the pinch along with all the other developers.  But, says Dickey, “We’re getting retailers to commit and come to our projects even in this down economy, when their numbers might not work out.”  And then he went on to explain why:  “They want to save their spot.”
Although I’m certainly no expert in the field of real estate, as a professional ghost blogger I really understood the tie-in between Dickey’s observation about the retailers and how search engine indexing works for my blogging clients.  Different businesses may each provide content on the Web through blogging.  Those that post blogs more frequently rank higher on Google or other search engines than those businesses that post only occasionally.  Recent blogs rank higher than old content.  But what’s so important to understand is that the system values cumulative content.  A business that has blogged for a year will rank higher than a competitor who’s just begun to blog.
So, to continue my real estate analogy, blogging has an element to it of building “equity” in a property, saving a spot.  Remember that the whole idea behind business blogging is to move your business’ name higher in the rankings on search engines (when someone is online searching for information or product related to your business, you want your name to come up on Page One of the search engine.)
In blogging, recency counts.  Frequency counts.  But now, cumulative blogging – that’s what saves your spot!
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