The “Profiles in New Business Leadership” series will be a new and ongoing feature at the Content Rich blog featuring interviews with social media experts, SEO gurus and content marketing strategists.  Get ready to learn from the brightest minds in business today!  We begin with Rich Brooks of flyte new media.

Rich Brooks is founder and president of flyte new media, a Web design and Internet marketing firm in Portland, Maine. His monthly flyte Log email newsletter and company blog focus on Web marketing topics such as search engine optimization, blogs, social media, email marketing, and building Web sites that sell. Rich is currently an Expert Blogger at FastCompany.com and a Featured Blogger at MaineBusiness.com.  He is a co-founder of Social Media FTW, an organization putting on conferences and events to educate small businesses and non-profits about the power of social media marketing.  He is a nationally recognized speaker on Web marketing topics such as search engine optimization, blogging, social media, email marketing and analytics and the “tech guru” on WCSH Channel 6’s evening news show.  He also teaches a Web marketing course for entrepreneurs at the University of Southern Maine’s Center for Continuing Education.

How is flyte driving better results for companies (vs. other SEM’s)? Well, we don’t see SEO as an end all and be all. SEO is part of a larger Web marketing package that includes blogging, email marketing, social media and having a Web site that converts. If you’re not firing on all cylinders, you’re being left behind.

Whats the latest in the SEO world? What are people talking about and whats hot? Search is splintering; depending on your location, whether you’re logged in or not, and your previous search history, you may get different results for the same search than I do. Search on mobile devices and soon in cars makes it even a crazier landscape. SEO will always be important, but it’s just one distribution channel these days. You also have to get your message out via blogs, email newsletters, social media, teleclasses, webinars, whatever! Use the tools and the channels your audience uses and you’ll succeed.

Why do so many web designers not know SEO? What advice would you give companies when they look for a web design company? Search and design are two completely different disciplines. That being said, designers would be smart to have a basic understanding of SEO so they could build search engine friendlier sites. They could still hire an outside consultant to help them with the nitty gritty, like keyword analysis, SEO copywriting and link building, or anything else they didn’t want to do. For companies who are in need of a new web site, I think it’s important to start with your goals. If your goal is to get more quality leads to your site and convert them, a pretty web site will only help so much. If attracting new prospects is a strategy to achieve your business goals, you’re going to need to hire someone who knows SEO, blogging, and these days, social media. Social Media Optimization is the new SEO.

Local Search: do you see more companies contacting you for these services?  Whats happening with local search right now? We’re not seeing companies contact us specifically for local search, but we bring it up if we feel local is where they need to be. It’s obviously important if you’re geographically challenged, like a doctor or a pizzeria or a massage therapist, as well as if you’re a store or B&B in a tourist town. It’s most important to claim your listing in the local search engines, and then you can go in an tweak your listings, add photos, video, and information about your company. It’s also essential to get customers to write reviews of your business on a regular basis. If you want to do better in local search, check out GetListed.org…it’s an amazing resource.

Which email marketing vendors do you like and why? There are quite a few ones out there, but we’re partial to Constant Contact. I like how we can really customize the look and feel of our clients’ email newsletters so the branding from their Web site and blog is carried over. The only thing missing from Constant Contact is a/b split testing. You hear me, CC?

How important is content and content strategy to the overall online game? It’s all about content strategy. You can’t succeed on the Web unless you are talking about what your customers are interested in and searching for, and using the language they use. First you need to know what they’re interested in, then you need to use the distribution channels they’re comfortable with: Web site, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.

Thank you Rich for your insight into current business trends.  We look forward to hearing more from you in the upcoming months!

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