In This Issue
The Clayman Blog
Is Your Marketing Tone Deaf?

During the holiday season, I saw a lot of television commercials for Pür Water Filters. The ads portray how terrible it is to have a little lead in your drinking water. Meanwhile, Flint citizens haven't been able to drink their water at all for two years. The ad strikes me as a little tone deaf. How can you avoid these situations, and what do you do if you run into trouble? Read more here
How Going Viral Went Viral

There are lots of "gurus" out there who promise companies 1,000 new followers, top position on Google, and even "going viral." It all sounds good, but what's the real scoop? Read our take here
My Way of Working is Fine, and So is Yours

It's easy to judge people who don't do things the exact way you do. Really, though, if your way works for you and other ways work for other people, what does it matter? As long as everybody is productive in their own ways, we don't really need to point fingers, right? Read more  here


Welcome to 2017! Ok, it's already been around for a few days, but that's not really the point, right? This is OUR first time seeing you. We hope you had a great holiday season and that the first week of the year has treated you ok. 

This week we have an article for you about double-checking your raw material suppliers. On our blog we talked about misleading mavens, tone deaf advertising, and doing things YOUR way. We also thought we should start the year with some cute animal videos to lull you into a false sense of security.

Have a great weekend!
Running Your Business
Do You Know What's In Your Products?

The SEC has discovered over the last three years that many multinational companies have no idea from where their raw materials come. That means they have no idea if their suppliers are playing above board, and they can't know for sure whether their products are conflict-free. Are you on top of your raw materials? Learn more here

The Coming of Age of SEO
 
It was just 5 years ago that we begged and pleaded with our small to medium-sized B2B clients to spend money on SEO. Some of them needed us to define what the acronym stood for. Some of them asked us why we felt it was so important.  Some of them just wanted us to help improve their websites (not understanding that the two were linked), and some of them got it.

For the clients that got it, we jumped on it. In many cases, we were ahead of the curve. Even many of their much larger competitors were not spending money in the SEO game, feeling that they could live off of their good name and let it go at that. We got great results for our clients. It wasn't that hard to move the needle. Using proven SEO techniques when nobody is playing defense makes it pretty easy to score.

But now, things have changed. I was just visiting with a company yesterday when the subject of SEO came up in the conversation. I asked him how important he feels solid SEO is to his success and he stated unequivocally, "To me, SEO is EVERYTHING!"

That's when I said to myself, "Larry, we are not in 2012 anymore." 

Today clients get it. That's the good news. The bad news is that today, clients get it. That means everybody is on the bandwagon and competition for search position is fierce. Today, moving the needle takes a large wrench and a lot of might.

Many people believe the key is spending money with Google on AdWords and other Google money machines. They swear that spending money with Google equals improved organic search results. Google swears this is not true. I don't know the answer, but I will say that even the supposition that this could be true is putting more money in Google's coffers. Clearly, they don't mind that many believe this to be true.

The bottom line is this. SEO is a war but a war that must be waged. If you are in e-commerce, it is a war that must be won if you are to survive. But be forewarned. This battle is not won with guns, knives, bombs or even hand to hand combat. This battle is a battle of knowledge, expertise, technique and insight. Only the strong will survive.


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The Casual Corner
Are Your Kids In The Band?

Kids who get involved in their school band should be applauded, without doubt. However, it's slightly possible you might understand where this dog is coming from. Check out this fun video.  
The Lazy Days of Winter

Here in Marietta we have gotten our first noticeable snowfall, and it's colder than...something that's really really cold. Take a cue from these animals and relax to the max this weekend! Watch the video here
Clayman & Associates, LLC | 740.376.1470 | mclayman@claymanandassociates.com | http://www.claymanandassociates.com
27811 State Route 7 | Marietta, OH 45750