Search engines are sophisticated and can determine when a page has been “stuffed” with keyword rich content and “black hat methods” to try and trick a search engine. It is very hard for a new website to rank well in search engines, and approaching this correctly the first time will help prevent future pitfalls.

Seven ways to boost your on-site optimization:

• Use keyword(s) at least once in the H1 tags on your website.
• Write relevant and useful content using keyword(s) at least 3 times throughout the content body. Using the keywords in different phrase variations works best. Just make sure the content makes sense and doesn’t feel like you are “keyword stuffing.”
• Use the keyword in title tag of the web page (Notice how we use the term “premium” a lot?)
• Bold the keyword in the body text at least once
• Use images that relate to the keyword(s), and use an alt tag for the image description.
• The URL page structure should have all keywords in it.
• Place keyword links throughout content, navigation, footer, and anywhere else there is content that could be used to link to other pages with keyword anchors.

Question: What methods are you currently using to optimize your SEO on-site?

This post is second in a series on Premium SEO. See other posts on this topic here.

Secured distribution? Check.

Market Need? Check.

Competitive Position? Check.

Appropriate Price? Check.

Now what? Cue the first planning meeting….

Long Pause.

Well, definitely a website.

Yep, and we’ve got to have good sales collateral for the trade.

We won’t sell anything without some awareness. How ‘bout a TV spot! No, wait, radio is cheaper. Or maybe a billboard? Those digital ones might be cheap…

Yeah, yeah, let’s do that! But wait, it won’t look cheap, right? I mean, we’re more premium than the cheap stuff…

What about a sales promotion? Or a sponsorship of something cool. No, I’ve got it – a promotion that leverages a sponsorship of something cool.

Yeah, with a viral video so we don’t have to pay for it!

Yeah! You know all social media is free, so we should definitely get on Facebook and Twitter too.

But we’ve got to track everything back to sales. We can’t do that without paying for social media, can we…

If you’re reading this blog, you have probably been in that meeting more times than you can remember. The organization is ready to launch a new product, steal market share, increase margins, etc., so the marketing team gets together to brainstorm. Everything is ready to go, and everyone just has to figure out how to tell the market that we are here to serve its unmet need.

It’s exciting! The possibilities are endless, and we all know that during a brainstorm “there are no bad ideas.” It’s fun! No spreadsheets here—just a whiteboard, some unhealthy snacks, excessive caffeine intake and the group’s collective imagination. Often times several good ideas come from these sessions, and the group leaves excited about the possibilities of putting together our new campaign.

Then the questions begin:

• How much of this can we afford?
• Our brand is premium. Are we doing things that a premium brand would do?
• What will management think?
• How can we sell in the new ideas?
• What’s the ROI? Can we even measure that for everything in our plan?
• Are there other metrics besides ROI that are important this year?
• Will all of this really help us meet our objective? Really?

At Warren Douglas, our strategy team guides premium brands through a deceptively simple four step process to answer these types of questions and provide a roadmap that shows the path from objective to tactics. Without a lot of detail, the four steps are as follows:

1. Define the Core Objective
2. Identify Measurable Goals
3. Articulate Strategies
4. Align Tactics

Check back to hear how these four steps can help make a strategy work for a premium brand—perfect for the proactive brand manager.

Question of the day: What have you found to be effective in making sure tactical plans will ultimately support the larger corporate objective for the upcoming plan?

You need look no further than Apple for proof of this. When cell phones reached their zenith, Apple presented us the iPhone. After they sewed up the new smart phone landscape, they turned around and introduced an entirely new category—the iPad.  Instead of resting on their laurels and simply issuing new colors of iPods or new sizes of Mac laptops, Apple regularly blows the market away with all-new stuff. And consumers react accordingly, by buying it all up as fast as they can.

Now, you might be thinking “sure, electronics are always innovating to survive; that’s nothing new.” But in Apple’s case it’s innovation in the purest sense—completely new categories of products that work brilliantly, look terrific, and are unlike anything we’ve seen before.  That’s innovation. Not just a new and improved screen technology or faster processor, but a whole new mousetrap.

And, great innovations by premium brands aren’t limited to electronics or software. Packaged goods are getting in on the act.  A recent article in Ad Age (Oct. 25, 2010) pointed out that innovative new premium products from Estee Lauder, Lancome and Procter & Gamble have found success.  As well, new shaving innovations from Schick and Gillette helped bring a 35% increase to the shaving category. Even the most basic of brands, Kotex, hit the jackpot with a premium-priced and newly designed “U” line of products. They saw a sales boost of 13% in one category and 57% in another.

So to those who own or work with a premium brand that could use a boost (and couldn’t we all?), consider stepping out of your comfort zone and making an innovative move within the category. You could be rewarded with some very premium results.

Recent Dell ads feature the new campaign, "You can tell it's Dell."

I’m loving how Dell’s latest advertising campaign is moving away from the dross of commoditized, price-featured ads toward something more premium. This week’s Adweek article reveals the latest campaign theme by Wunderman, “You can tell it’s Dell.” The campaign features innovation and design, adding a twist of Apple-esque “That’s so cool” mojo. I’ve got to believe that playing the low-price game in this space has taken its toll on Dell, and inspiring customers to love the brand because of its innovation in the PC space is a great strategic move.

Time will tell—and so will the product releases—whether or not the Dell brand will live up to the expectations set by this latest campaign. I say this after earlier today having passed the Apple headquarters, whose address is One Infinite Loop. That’s so cool.

Case in point: a Warren Douglas client that during recent focus groups we found that, overwhelmingly, participants in our consumer groups had no earthly idea that this client’s category of products had “brands.” Nor that there were any real brands involved or worth knowing about at all. They simply assumed it was of good quality and proper specifications, and no further identification was necessary. When, in reality, many products in this category are associated with some of the most recognized brands in the world!

Many premium brands go about their business quietly, toiling away in relative obscurity. Some, like this client’s, are right out in the open, yet completely overlooked in regard to a true premium identity.  Others are hidden from our view as they perform their tasks. Items that come to mind here are things like spark plugs or oil filters or submersible pumps and the like.

What kind of brands can you think of that play a key role in your life and deliver a premium experience, but with little to no brand fanfare? I’d wager there are plenty. So keep your eyes peeled for these quiet yet essential premium performers. And if you own or market a brand that’s better than its competition in a low-interest category with low brand awareness, just think about the sales and growth opportunities a premium brand position might offer it.

Who knew that eating anything with certain “alternative” ingredients could propagate the very cancer her hormone therapy was trying to prevent? These elements, or subsidiaries of, are in almost everything we consume, and it so happens that even digesting certain “healthy” ingredients activate estrogen-like hormones, which have been known to accelerate cancer growth. For example, even the vitamins my mom took to boost her blood count during chemo contained traces of these elements. Sure enough, the lump that had been removed a year ago came back in the exact same spot, and we can only speculate whether or not her diet had a part in her cancer’s re-occurrence. Since then, her oncologist has encouraged her to read labels and avoid many popular alternatives.

Off to the grocery aisle we all go, reading labels. As cheaper alternatives to many ingredients are prevalent in almost all products, the risk of slipping up is a costly one. My immediate family is now noticing that premium groceries, which were sometimes purchased because of taste superiority, are easier to rationalize due to imminent and preventative health concerns.

As breast cancer continues to have an impact on Americans, food manufacturers have the opportunity to respond to consumers’ willingness to pay more for products made from quality, healthy ingredients. Go premium!

I am not alone in my observation. According to Andrew Hampp, writing in a recent edition of Advertising Age, “brands and ad agencies are rediscovering the power of original tunes in advertising campaigns. Over the last decade the trend was to license famous pop songs from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, instead of creating an original branded melody. Now marketers want original music for their messages.”

This makes perfect sense to me, as I’m a custom jingle lover from way back. With a custom jingle crafted solely to sing the praises of a brand, you have the opportunity to ingrain your brand attributes and identity into the minds’ of the masses–in a way that can be both pleasing and entertaining.

Think about it. Who can forget the undeniable charm and sing-along-fun of such jingle gems as Oscar Meyer’s “My Bologna Has a First Name,” or Alka Seltzer’s “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz,” or Folgers “The Best Part of Waking Up?”  These pleasant little ditties are now a part of our collective conscience, instantly remembered and still fun to sing out loud.

Talk about brand recall!

That type of brand-centric popularity is far more of a premium for a brand than simply an association with a well-known song or recording artist.  When you allow the right melody and lyrics to showcase your brand, something very special can happen.

Just ask Oscar Meyer.

Outdoor has always been a favorite media of mine, due to it’s challenging creative canvas: you basically have room for 7 words or less to make an impression that lasts mere seconds as your audience zooms by on the way to work, shop, or play.  (Unfortunately, many creatives routinely break this 7 word rule,  thinking their message or design is better than some “arcane,” old-fashioned rule. Here’s my message to them: it’s not.  Your type’s too small, your idea’s too weak and your board will fail – period.)  But I digress…

My point today is that outdoor media, when executed properly, is hot for all shapes and sizes of brands. Whether playing a supporting role to a larger media vehicle like television or radio, or as the sole media driver for a brand’s effort, outdoor is still a larger-than-life premium canvas capable of informing, entertaining and persuading tens of thousands potential customers everyday.

Take our salad dressing client BRIANNAS, for example.  Sales were lackluster in the Miami market and they needed a fast, cost-effective boost.  Outdoor to the rescue! We crafted a special outdoor-centric campaign exclusively for the Miami audience and began scoring almost immediate recognition. Why? Because the boards followed all the creative rules of premium outdoor: they were succinct, clever, entertaining and memorable.  All for pennies on the dollar compared to a broadcast effort in a major market.

What’s more, new technology has entered the outdoor arena with the advent of bright, full-color digital display boards. These incredibly vivid billboards deliver maximum “pop” and are almost impossible to ignore.  What’s more, they’re highly cost effective because there’s no paper or vinyl to produce.

So the next time your brand is feeling the heat from new competition, shrinking share or stagnant sales, consider taking your message outside with some outdoor.   For many brands, it can be a hot pick to deliver even hotter results.  Just make sure your agency or production resource is capable of delivering the right creative message for this very tricky medium!

As the inventor and marketer of revolutionary Dyson Vacuums, Mr. Dyson has cornered the market on unconventional thinking for a very conventional task–vacuuming carpets and rugs. Mr. Dyson’s fresh, new approach to the technical aspect of dust removal and collection proved that if you can invent a better mousetrap, people will beat a nice, clean path to your door. The sales success Dyson has enjoyed speaks for itself, as does the premium effectiveness of his superior design.

Now Mr. Dyson has trained his engineering curiosity and skill on another household basic–the lowly air-circulating fan. He believes a better solution exists, a premium solution if you will, to more effectively move air and cool a room. His new design doesn’t use blades. Instead it moves air via something called an “air multiplier.” Like his daring vacuum cleaner, the Dyson fan has an unconventional look and unique technological approach. And, also like a Dyson vacuum, his new fan carries a premium price tag.

Time will tell if this distinctive new direction in air movement will be a sales success. But one thing is already very clear:
exciting innovations can happen when a premium approach is applied to even the most mundane objects in our lives.

Today, bathroom advertising is as common as a highway billboard. But it seemed to usher in the beginning of an “anything goes” era of ad location and placement. Think about it. Advertising is now everywhere. On the floor of grocery stores. On your shopping cart. On your cell phone. On your Facebook page. Even on people’s faces and bodies. No space is safe and no space seems sacred from the attention of our industry.

Which brings me to this point:  tread carefully when choosing spaces for your product messaging. Especially when it involves a premium product or service. Because, as Marshall McLuhan suggested decades ago, “the medium is truly the message.” And that means your brand probably doesn’t belong on the wall of a bathroom or the stomach of a ring card girl.