Client expectations are a funny thing when it comes to creating a new website. I remember a client once who wanted a website completed on 1st January so she could start taking telephone bookings the next day - we never actually finished that one after that comment.

I tend to be quite pessimistic with a new website. Firstly, from to my experiences, and more so now because the web is getting more competitive everyday, thus, it’s getting harder. It sets expectation at an appropriate level and, of course, no one wants to hear that.

No one wants to hear that it may take six months to start getting decent levels of organic traffic and it may also take hard work adding new content and gaining attention.

Yes, you get the odd ’story of success’ and ‘how I built 10,000 users in 20 days’ kind of thing and those guys work tirelessly to make that happen - usually only once. You also have to ask yourself - how long does that last? How real and sustainable is that traffic, and how relevant?

With billions of web pages out there - what makes you so special? And, how relevant are you?

By focusing on adding value to your website audience you are starting a mating ritual, you are showing that you give a damn and that you may well be the company to solve their problem in exchange for cash. But, if it’s all just sell, sell, sell… it will be bye, bye, bye.

Interesting interview here by Manish Pandey at SEOMegaCorp with Jeff Quipp.

Just as SEO has hit the streets - more and more people seem to be in the ‘know’ - the focus has moved back to a more generalized marketing approach, which is where it should be.

As the search market becomes more mature (and more saturated) it’s gonna get harder unless you take a longer-term approach. Look at e-commerce: Now the high street big boys have woken up, they are beginning to dominate the middle ground; and that’s on top of Amazon.

Unfortunately, too many people I speak to at the moment are looking for quick fix in terms of what they want from their web results - especially the harder B2B service market.

No pain no gain - it’s effort versus reward. It’s like going on a diet. You can quick fix in the short-term but the only way for long term success is to change your whole approach to food and excercise.

If you think about it, the rules of marketing have changed immensely with the web. As a business, no longer can you tell people how great you are without backing it up. People can review you (like I just did to a hotel I visited last week).

Which is why social media is becoming more important to marketers. Who are you more likely to believe - a company, or your friend’s review?

Tools like Facebook are bringing peers together and they can share their purchasing experiences quicker and easier than ever before.

So surely, pure marketing therefore comes from how good you actually are - from you customers perspective!

They just need a quality search portal and you can imagine that Facebook may become the crucial first point of entry for many people on the web.

I just logged on and started chatting with a pal…

I’ve just written an article on The Escape website - How to appeal to vertical and niche markets online.

While I was writing it I was reminded of a small piece on website I did about four years ago - since long forgotten - about niche marketing a holiday home.

I believe this approach works better than ever, but ultimately includes some extra work in the short-term. I do think it offers better value though long-term.

Haven’t read this Viral marketing document yet from Facebook but if you are using facebook pages, you may well be interested in the Facebook Pages Insider Guide to Viral Marketing.

Your meta title and meta description are quite important aspects of your web page and can help you make better web pages.

A specific Title tag and Description tag for each important web page is essential. Not only for optimization, but also for what displays in the search results. Your Title and Description effectively work as an advert - yes, you have been found and your listing still comes up but there nine other natural search listings and up to 11 paid for adverts - you need to stand out.

It’s something I always wondered about and often had to refine some tags a month in after they had listed and I knew what they looked like.

But now, some guys I work with have created a neat tool for checking how your meta title and description will look in a search engine…

It’s simple and cute but does the business.

So, I had a few people moaning about how they won’t read my book online, so Mark gave me the heads up on Lulu.

You can now buy the seo book as a proper paperback directly online for just £9.99

Lulu is a great website. Upload your print-ready PDF, chose a format and decide on your price.

So, as you may have guessed, I think content is important on your website. What you say and how you say it relating to what you are selling is important.

Another area of content generation that is just as important is when you post something, especially relevant with Blogging and news websites.

Google seem to becoming more focussed on time based results. I have found when Blogging, my posts are very searchable in Google within hours then tail off after about a week. They are even looking at future based search.

It seems like an extra chore to creating topical content, but with a little bit of focus on keyword relevant articles, you can create the opportunity for traffic. Don’t put it off though, you may just miss the boat.