It has been a long time since I posted, but this is important, so I thought a quick post was in order.
I created my first micro site today.
Micro sites are small sites that point back to your main site. I know some supposed SEO experts that say they are a good idea. The theory being the more links to your site the better. That is pure BUNK.
The search engines are getting very good at detecting when they are being manipulated. But even if search engines didn’t detect that these sites were all owned by the same person, their value is still questionable. They are either low value sites with little content that pass no ‘link juice’ or high value sites with great content that only pass some of their ‘link juice’. Why not put all those great content on the main site and get all the ‘link juice’.
So when do you use a Micro Site?
Here is my situation.
I just signed a client, Section 8 Snowsport. They are busily getting ready for a major ski and snowboarding trade show in London. ( Who knew the UK was home to skiing trade shows? ) With very little time to generate any buzz, I am trying an ‘end run.
I registered the name www.section8atmetrosnow.com and made a ‘quick and dirty’ page from content found on the main website. There is very little competition for the shows name ‘Metro Snow’, so hopefully I can get some traction in the search engines before the show is over.
These are my rules for using a micro site.
- Short duration – just until the show closes
- Keyword rich URL
- Low production costs
Don’t Fail the Truth Test
This week my wife and I had a short get-away. There are so many great spots to visit on Vancouver Island, and most are within a two or three hour drive of where we live. For this get-away we chose to go to Port Hardy at the north end of Vancouver Island. And, based largely on their website, we chose to stay at the the Glen Lyon Inn.
Unfortunately, we didn’t book ahead, and they were full by the time we got there.
We May Have Dodged A Bullet
We went back to the Glen Lyon Inn for dinner. The photo of their restaurant http://www.glenlyoninn.com/dining.html) on the website showed a relatively ‘up scale’ restaurant, with fine china and men in suites and women in dresses. We were concerned there may have been a dress code, but it was our anniversary and we wanted something a little special, so we decided to try it. We needn’t have worried!!
The restaurant was nothing like the picture
No table cloths, no high back chairs, no fine china, and nothing on the menu that came close to the meal depicted in their picture. Certainly, no dress code. In fact, the image is from Getty Images and appears on a number of websites. ( I wonder if they paid to use the image? )
Marketing Take Away
While it is OK to show your business in its best light on your website. Don’t be misleading.
In the age of Yelp, TriAdvisor and Facebook you will be found out. By trying to deceive me with there restaurant picture, they have gotten a bad review on Yelp (one of two bad reviews), Google and Trip Advisor, plus this blog post.
Show your business in its best light – but don’t cross the line and try and deceive your potential customers.
Never piss off a web designer – especially on his anniversary
BTW: A “shout out” to Tiny Eye for finding the copies of the image online.