Auction Marketing White Paper

AUCTION MARKETING

A white paper from the National Auctioneers Association

8880 BallentineOverland Park, KS 66214(913) 541-8084www.auctioneers.org

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ..................................................................................... II

Auction proposals .......................................................................... 1

Social media marketing .............................................................. 6

Auction marketing on a shoestring budget .......................14

Search-engine optimization ......................................................21

i©National Auctioneers Association 2013 | www.auctioneers.org

Au ct i o n M A r k e t i n g

INTRODUCTION

www.auctioneers.org | ©National Auctioneers Association 2013ii


Thank you for downloading “Auction Marketing,” the latest white paper from the National Auctioneers Association.

This free report offers insight on four key components of auction marketing: 1) Proposals; 2) Social media; 3) Promotions; and 4) Search-engine optimization.

Learn about the following:

• How to boost your company’s image

• The steps for social media marketing campaigns

• Easy and inexpensive promotional tools

• Best practices to improve website page rankings

This complimentary white paper is available to all auction professionals. For more information, please visit www.auctioneers.org.

1 ©National Auctioneers Association 2013 | www.auctioneers.org


Four things every auction proposal should say

Even if you haven’t watched reality TV or romantic comedy movies, you know some of the standard visual and verbal

ingredients of a marriage proposal. There’s a guy (or sometimes a gal) on one knee. At some point, he goes through an awkward narrative around the following four basic points:

1. “I love you.”2. “I want to spend my life with you.”3. “I got you this ring.” (usually nonverbally communicated)4. “Will you marry me?”

These steps prove so common, they smell of cliché, but there aren’t too many ways around that outline. That’s just how marriage proposals work.

Believe it or not, those same four steps work well for business proposals, especially auction proposals given to sellers.

“I love you”Translation: “I value what you bring to this relationship.”

Sellers know we want a commission and that we wouldn’t be offering our services without a price tag. What they’re hoping is that we care about their assets — and not just another pay check — and that we’ll handle their sale with the care we would give our own sale.

One way to communicate this is to discuss the attributes of their assets that will interest buyers — what makes them unique

Auction proposals

Ryan George, through Biplane Productions, has helped Auction-eers market more than 2,300 auctions across 43 states. For the past five years, George has built an average of more than 1,000 print ads and more than 600 pages of direct mail each year, in addition to consulting, writing news releases, building propos-als and coordinating online marketing. George has written articles for multiple publications, including trade magazines, lifestyle tabloids and newspa-pers. In 2004, he published his first book and began speaking at Auctioneer events on the state and national stage. Since March 2007, he has published a biweekly article related to auction and/or small business market-ing. The articles are distributed to hundreds of subscribers via e-mail.

Connect with Ryan at the following:

Facebook.com/BiplaneProductionsTwitter.com/[email protected]

By Ryan George

www.auctioneers.org | ©National Auctioneers Association 20132


or valuable. Follow this with explaining what part of your plan is connected to these attributes. Here are some examples:

“Due to the location of your property, signs will be more critical to the advertising campaign than our typical campaign. We recommend spending a higher percentage of the budget on banners that cover your building to attract attention.”

“Because of how new your restaurant equipment is, we will reach out to our list of restaurant chain developers in addition to our recent bidder lists of three similar restaurant auctions that we held last year.”

“Not all auctions are newsworthy, but with your recent interstate Powerball win and now famous tweet about your move to a private island, the human interest part of this auction’s story can be leveraged for maximum exposure. We’re going to bring in a public relations consultant to help us craft a press release that will attract members of the media.”

“I want to spend my life with you”Translation: “This could be an ongoing, mutually-beneficial reality.”

Clients, like spouses, crave long-term security. Sellers want to know that we’ll stay attentive to their project amidst our others during the marketing campaign — especially for absolute/no-reserve auctions.

Put them at ease by describing all the expectations to which

Auction proposals



you’re willing to be held. Show them a detailed timeline of what you’ll do and when. Note when or how often you will communicate with them about market response and the progress of the campaign. Explain specific actions you will take to make their situation less stressful, less complicated or less prolonged.Empathy is huge for trust. That means letting people know that we realize that this is their treasured collection, their lifetime achievement or their financial security that’s at stake. Each situation will determine what is professionally appropriate to say. This doesn’t have to be a verbose section of a proposal, but intentionally moving into this perspective for even one sentence can be enough to separate ourselves from the competition.

“I got you this ring”Translation: “Here’s my indicative deposit on good things to come.”

I remember a guy in college going room to room in our dorm building, asking for donations to help him buy a $500 engagement ring. He must have gotten enough donations. She said, “Yes,” and he’s still married to her more than a decade later. But it wasn’t the ring that sold her on life with him. Sometimes, we get the auction despite the proposal.

If our proposals look like cheap and easy templates — especially Word documents with a few variable data mentions bolded like a mail merge letter — we communicate to sellers that they are just a number, a transaction. The amount of time and effort and even financial investment our proposal connotes (whether real or assumed) reflects on the level of individuality, creativity and professionalism we’ll bring to marketing their assets.

Auction proposals



One sentence that regularly makes its way into my clients’ proposals reads something along the lines of “We hope this proposal illustrates our level of commitment not only to book your auction but also to get you the most bidders and highest sale proceeds possible for your asset.” Would you be confident enough to make that statement in your cover letter?

“Will you marry me?”Translation: “Does this look like a good deal to you?”

A difficult reality of business proposals is that we’re asking a seller to marry us on a first, second, or even blind date. Because a history with us can’t inform the future with us, we need to build the case that it will be a good deal. By using graphs of past results, samples of advertising from similar auctions and quotes from people you have served in the past, you can establish a track record that casts for them a vision for the future.

Unlike a résumé, though, this all needs to be framed for their benefit. Only a fool would drop to his knee and tell his girlfriend, “I was voted ‘Least Likely to Divorce’ in high school. I graduated from college with both academic and humanitarian honors and got the lone internship offered by Mark Zuckerberg this year. I have written over 450 love letters in my dating career and have attended the Certified Lover Institute. I’m a member of the National Association of Romantic Beaus. You can trust your married life in my hands.”

How many times do auction proposals read like that?

If we talk about what we bring to the table, we need to do so

Auction proposals



in a way that gives them more confidence than it gives us. For instance: “Our membership in (national franchise/alliance/affiliate network) connects us with more industrial real estate investors and the collaboration of multiple Auctioneers who have sold paper production plants like yours.” Or: “Our hundreds of state and national marketing awards mean that our sellers get the best advertising available. We want our clients not only to get the biggest possible settlement checks but also to be proud of how their assets are shown to their peers and the general public.”

Yes, all of this means more work, but that extra work on this end might just be the difference between you getting the work on the other end of the proposal.

Auction proposals


Au ct i o n M A r k e t i n gSocial media marketing

Strategy is key in social media marketing

It’s back to basics when it comes to social media marketing.

That might seem counterintuitive in a world bombarded with social media platforms, never-ending status updates and hundreds of thousands of smartphone applications, but those who are able to cut through the clutter might find it to be true.

In fact, arguably one of the best ways to reach new auction clients today, decades or even centuries ago — word-of-mouth — might be just as viable a method online as it is offline.

“What we’ve always known is that word-of-mouth is the most trusted form of marketing,” says Justin Goldsborough, Vice President for the Consumer Group at Fleishman-Hillard, Kansas City, Mo.

“Social media is a great way to a) watch that in action or b) put a little fuel to the fire and hopefully give people an opportunity to be talking about your (company).”

One thing that might provide auction professionals even more reassurance is the idea that they don’t have to use more than one or two of the social networks crowding the Internet.

Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter are emerging from the pack, which means auction companies can conduct effective marketing campaigns using only those they’re most familiar with, according to social media professionals.



The challenge is in doing things right.

Social marketing

One of the first things to keep in mind, Goldsborough says, is social media is just another tool in an auction marketer’s toolbox. It’s part of an overall communications mix — including traditional print and email marketing — that should help Auctioneers directly target buyers wherever they are.

Social media marketing should focus on brand building, engagement and creating loyal clients, says Valerie Jennings, CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing, Overland Park, Kan. Then, auction marketers have the opportunity to monetize customer interactions.

A marketing campaign might follow this approach:

1) Evaluate - Jennings says it’s important to first locate where on the Internet an auction company’s customers are hanging out, which most likely will be Facebook. She recommends marketers closely analyze their competition during this step.

2) Strategize - Search-engine optimization is just as important in social media marketing as it is for a company website. Jennings recommends auction professionals check out Google Keyword Tool to get a report on popular keywords that might drive traffic to social media properties or spark content ideas. Auction companies should know whether they want to get “likes,” page views or customer data from their marketing efforts.

Social media marketing



3) Plan - For social media, Jennings says it’s important to build up a content library of posts and information that might last an auction company a few months. Marketers should curate content — gather and redistribute news from other sources — as well as produce original work that might appeal to customers. It’s important to develop timelines or editorial calendars to keep the plan in motion. She also recommends online press releases as part of the marketing mix.

4) Analyze - As a campaign is in progress, Jennings recommends regular monitoring of performance metrics using Google Analytics, Facebook Insights or another third-party analytics tool.

Tips from the pros

Jennings notes that research shows 80 percent of consumers follow companies or brands via social media in search of deals, offers or promotions. This might be a boon for auction firms.

A lot of buzz now centers on Facebook contests or promotions, but those might only be in the best interests of companies with a minimum of 5,000 “likes” in order to be the most effective campaigns, Jennings says.

A request for user-generated content, she says, is more appropriate for companies with tens of thousands of followers.


80% of consumers follow

companies or brands

via social media in

search of deals, offers

or promotions.



Plus, Facebook and other social media platforms have more stringent rules than in the past. For example, Facebook stipulates that promotions must use third-party apps, and the “like” button cannot be used as a voting mechanism.

Facebook will pull a company’s page from its platform if it does not follow Facebook rules for contests and promotions.

Auction marketers must respect the people in their communities, too, as consumers are now more attentive to online scams and spam, Jennings says.

“Social media is no longer the wild, wild West,” she says. “There are some strong parameters, and there is a culture that consumers and users have demanded.

“There are still a lot of options, and you have a lot of leeway, but there are some cultural norms that brands and businesses need to abide by before they take advantage of moving into that last monetization piece.”

Monitor conversations

Probably one of the most important functions of social media platforms is the opportunity they provide companies to monitor what’s being said about them, says Fleishman-Hillard’s Goldsborough.


Social media is no longer the wild, wild West. There are some strong parameters, and there is a culture that consumers and users have demanded.”Valerie JenningsCEO of Jennings Social Media MarketingOverland Park, Kan.



“That sounds so basic and fundamental, and I’ve been saying that ever since I started working in social media,” he says. “But there are still so many brands that do not do that, and they just look at it as a straight-up marketing tool.”

Also, he says only about 20 percent of people who “like” a business’ page on Facebook actually see posts on their newsfeeds from that company. It’s all based on the algorithms Facebook uses to deliver content that it believes is most appealing to its users.

“People don’t go to brand pages on Facebook very often, if ever,” Goldsborough says. “But people do spend a lot of time on Facebook in the newsfeed.”

Goldsborough and Jennings are proponents of targeted Facebook advertising, which drives users directly to a company’s webpage or promotional page within Facebook.

Social advertising

Satellite ProLink Inc., Lakeland, Fla., specializes in social media advertising services for its auction company clients.

Julie Carter, CAI, describes the pay-per-click efforts as “event marketing.” The company focuses on attracting buyers to its clients’ auctions.

20% of people who “like”

a business’ page on

Facebook actually

see posts on their

newsfeeds.




“We’re totally focused on making the auction perform,” Carter says.

On Facebook or LinkedIn, for example, Satellite targets social media users based on information they place in their profiles. So, the company can get auction advertising in front of potential buyers who might be in the market for equipment, real estate and other assets.

Advertising typically points buyers to an auction company’s website or a special event landing page.

Event advertising can run from one week to four weeks, on average, and the typical cost of such advertising is about $500 a week for optimal effectiveness, says the company’s Billie Jo Glisson, who is a certified professional in Google AdWords.

Satellite ProLink has offered pay-per-click advertising services, including search-engine ads through Google and Yahoo, for about five years. It employs many of the same proven techniques of search-engine advertising to its efforts in social media.

Engagement

Although Goldsborough says social media advertising is a good idea, he advises that the links auction marketers place in their ads take consumers to robust landing pages that have plenty of content. The pages should encourage users to get engaged and return for more.

“Facebook ad campaigns generally are the best way to drive




‘likes’ on a page, and you can really kind of try to manage and control the budget,” he says, adding that “You can’t just have a marketing plan to drive ‘likes.’

“You have to have an engagement plan, too, to continue the conversation once people get to your conversation online.”One of the best ways to get this kind of engagement, he says, is to post regular content such as photos, which receive two times the engagement of other posts on Facebook.

An effective social media marketing campaign, he says, starts with in-depth planning sessions to identify goals and strategies. Like Jennings, Goldsborough recommends the creation of editorial calendars for social media posts.

Management

When it comes to the daily management of social media accounts — in support of marketing efforts or simply for monitoring and maintenance — social media professionals offer varied perspectives.

Carter, of Satellite ProLink, says internal company representatives are more likely to understand their potential buyers and should therefore lead social media conversations. Auction professionals are able to target the people, industries and groups that are in their companies’ best interests.

Social media management toolsCheck out the resources below for social media marketing and analytics

• Offerpop (www.offerpop.com)

• Oracle Involver (www.involver.com)

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud (www.radian6.com)

• Simply Measured (simplymeasured.com)

• Spiral16 (www.spiral16.com)

• Sprout Social (sproutsocial.com)

• VerticalResponse (www.verticalresponse.com)

• Wildfire (www.wildfireapp.com)




Jennings says it’s possible to have a third-party entity manage a company’s social media presence; however, she says it’s best if an executive within the company take on the role, as he or she is a true subject-matter expert.If an auction company does choose to place social media in the hands of an outsider, Jennings recommends a lot of collaboration. She says the relationship will work if the third-party manager has a complete understanding of the business and its customers.

The biggest concern is making sure the content, which represents a company’s goals, vision and strategies, matches what is trending online.

At Fleishman-Hillard, a client’s decision to actively manage its social media presence often comes down to budget, Goldsborough says. Sometimes, Fleishman will create editorial calendars, brainstorm ideas and monitor social media, but it will leave the day-to-day conversations up to its clients.



Au ct i o n M A r k e t i n gAuction marketing on a shoestring budget

10 marketing tactics that won’t break the bank

Many auction firms today can’t afford $20,000 or more in marketing campaigns to establish a name for themselves —

or earn new business — in their communities.

The good thing: they don’t have to.

Today’s marketing opportunities are often inexpensive and effective. The use of several low-cost marketing techniques will probably produce similar results as pricey promotions, such as public relations campaigns and TV advertising.

Whether you’re running a multi million-dollar auction company, a small business or even a part-time operation, consider these marketing ideas:

1. Get your name out there

Business cards might be among the oldest marketing tricks in the book; however, they still work. And with online business card production and printing as low as $10, to start, through companies like Vistaprint.com, they’re a great value.

Another thing to consider as a business card is a similar-sized magnet, as these giveaways are often valued by customers who place them on their refrigerators.

If your business vehicle features advertising for your auction company, it’s not a bad idea to stick about 10 “giveaway” magnets on it. Park your truck in a public parking lot for an hour or so —


Au ct i o n M A r k e t i n g Auction marketing on a shoestring budget

with magnets on the tailgate — and you might be able to pick up a few new consignors.

Also, don’t underestimate the value of inexpensive stickers to give out to auction attendees or buyers at checkout.

2. Make online connections

Many customers these days, especially those who are not familiar with your community, are probably finding auction professionals through online search.

The higher your page rank, the more likely you’ll be to earn buyers and sellers. Create a blog, add maps, use social networks and consider descriptive URLs to attract customers.

Also, consider creating an online forum on your website just for your customers. Answer their questions and let them provide feedback through a portal controlled by you or a member of your auction staff.

Other inexpensive ways to market your business include auction calendars and electronic newsletters. Members of the National Auctioneers Association can post their auctions to the NAA Auction Calendar for free, and members also receive generous discounts on Constant Contact email marketing software.

3. Establish a referral network

Members of the NAA and state Auctioneer associations already know the value of professional affiliations; however, don’t


Au ct i o n M A r k e t i n gAuction marketing on a shoestring budget

forget to stay involved in groups that represent, or reside in, your local community.

These might include chambers of commerce, political groups, churches or charitable organizations. Volunteer your time to groups that provide speaking opportunities or that agree to recognize you or your company for your service.

4. Connect with the community

It also might be a good idea to purchase a booth at local trade shows and state fairs. Don’t look at these opportunities as chances to place pamphlets and advertisements in front of attendees. Rather, provide education on the auction business, offer free bid-calling lessons or display some popular items coming up for auction.

Consider “cause marketing,” a campaign that supports a charitable cause while at the same time promotes your auction services and increases awareness and loyalty among community members.

Some ways to connect with your community include sponsoring children’s sports teams and making other donations to charitable causes. You can always conduct fundraising auctions at your facility.

Whatever you do, be sure to write news releases after the events and send them to local publications, radio stations and TV affiliates.



5. Look professional

It’s not too difficult to stand out in a crowd given some of the cost-effective technologies available on the Internet. Consider

do-it-yourself logo creators, toll-free numbers and virtual offices.

Some popular logo creation sites include Logotournament.com, Logomaker.com, Elance.com, Hatchwise.com, 48hourslogo.com and 99designs.com.

Services like Evoice.com get you started with free trials of telephone numbers, and Regus.com provides an opportunity to set up virtual offices.

6. Reward loyal customers

Have you ever considered a loyalty card? It could be a great low-tech way to keep customers

coming back, similar to those cards used by grocery stores, sandwich shops and gas stations. Consider a 10-percent discount for every $100 spent, or, offer to drop the buyer’s premium every 10th purchase (up to a certain dollar amount).

One thing auction professionals could offer loyal buyers is a gift card program. Encourage your buyers to purchase $10, $20, even $30 gift cards and suggest they give them to friends and family as gifts. It would be a great way to get new buyers to your auctions, and it’s a potential way to encourage higher bids.

Logo creation websitesCheck out these resources for establishing a brand for your business

• LogoTournament (www.logotournament.com)

• LogoMaker (www.logomaker.com)

• Elance (www.elance.com)

• Hatch Wise (www.hatchwise.com)

• 48 Hours Logo (www.48hourslogo.com)

• 99 Designs (www.99designs.com)

Auction marketing on a shoestring budget



7. Advertise auctions onsite

At registration and at checkout, be sure to display flyers and postcards for upcoming auctions. If it’s an estate sale, then it might be a good idea to promote the same type of event, but don’t limit your marketing to auction type. An attendee who just purchased $100 in coins also might be interested, or might know someone who is interested, in farm equipment at next week’s auction.

Also, harness the power of email marketing. Be sure to ask attendees to opt-in to your company’s email lists at registration and at checkout.

8. Educate the community

On non-auction nights or an hour before an auction begins, consider offering free bid-calling classes to members of your community. Encourage them to have fun by teaching them tongue twisters and the basics of the auction chant. Encourage them to return week after week with the promise of advanced training or time at the microphone through amateur bid-calling contests.

You also can teach attendees about the basics of buying and selling at auction at open houses throughout the week. Give people a tour of your auction facility so that first-time buyers and consignors feel less overwhelmed with the auction process.




9. Make the news

Local media outlets are always looking for news into which they don’t have to put a lot of work. Send news releases about upcoming auctions and completed auctions on a regular basis, and be sure to include these elements:

• The story behind the sellers and/or individual auction items• Details about the event, including its type and when and

where it is taking/took place• Results or expected results of the auction, such as the

number of attendees, the number of lots and prices• High-resolution photos and, if possible, video

In your news releases, be sure to avoid comments on the weather such as “On a bright and sunny October day,” as well as analysis of people’s moods, such as “A good time was had by all.”

In addition, consider promoting yourself as a thought-leader in your community by sending regular columns to local editors. Even if you don’t write about your auction business, your regular presence in local publications will certainly bring good name recognition.

10. Ask for testimonials

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of a positive testimonial about you, your auction business or an employee. Attach comment sheets to buyer and seller forms, and be sure to ask satisfied customers for permission to post their reviews on your website, in advertising and in company newsletters.




Encourage loyal customers to submit reviews of your auction business on websites such as Yelp.com. Also, place testimonials on you company’s social media platforms, especially LinkedIn and Facebook.

From Facebook

On Facebook, auction professionals were asked “What inexpensive forms of marketing have you found effective for promoting your auctions or auction business?” They offered these additional tips:

• Public radio (auction advice)• Craigslist• Signage• Telephone marketing




10 ways to increase traffic to your website

If SEO — search-engine optimization — sounds scary, it shouldn’t.

Sure, some steps may seem daunting, and others are certainly for the experts, but the basic rules of getting your auction website to rank higher in search-engine results aren’t that overwhelming.

For example, consistent navigation, good blog posts and some simple rules for properly naming the components of a website will get you a long way.

While some parts of search-engine optimization require basic knowledge of HTML, most of today’s website-building programs provide SEO-friendly fields or templates to which you can add content that will be indexed by search engines.

Even if you don’t manage your company’s website — or for that matter have no idea what people are referring to when they mention SEO — it’s good to have basic knowledge of the subject.

Whether you maintain your website yourself, outsource the work or have employees manage it in-house, get as much search-engine traffic as possible with these best practices:

1. Navigate your way to the top

Search engines are happy when websites are designed to make things easier for their users. So, it’s important that visitors can easily find what they’re looking for.

Start with making sure a menu navigation bar, similar to what’s

10 ways to improve SEO



found at www.auctioneers.org, is consistent throughout the pages of your website. For example, the National Auctioneers Association’s homepage has the NAA logo in the top left, and seven tabs run across the top of the page.

No matter which of the tabs a user clicks, all content above the orange line at www.auctioneers.org stays consistent, and this optimizes user experience. Visitors who want to go back to the homepage can simply click the NAA logo at any time.

Another important thing to note is the footer of the NAA’s website also stays the same no matter which page a user clicks on. This also should remain consistent throughout.

2. Come up with quality content

Search engines pay a lot of attention to websites with new and constantly updated content. Your website will certainly have some static pages — contact forms, about us, services, etc. — but engaging resources for readers should come in the form of new web pages or blog posts with stories, photos and video.

Some content ideas for an auction business include the following:

• How to buy at auction• How to sell at auction• The top myths about auctions• Fun facts about auctions or Auctioneers• A list of the highest prices ever paid for your company’s

auction items• A list of auction results from recent sales




• A history of your company or a story about your auction career

• Blog posts about current events in the auction world

Try to add at least one new piece of original content to your auction company’s website per week.

3. Use phrases for links

Throughout a website, auction companies have the opportunity to prompt their users to other pages, forms or articles that provide further information. It’s better for users and search engines if your linked text is descriptive, as it will help users make better decisions before clicking, as well as help search engines understand the content of the linked page.

For example, a company’s “about us” page might include the call to action, “Click here to check out our services section to learn how we can help you.” It’s better to embed a link to the services section in the phrase “check out our services section” than it is to embed the link in “Click here.”

4. Pay attention to page titles

Title tags are some of the most important elements toward achieving optimal SEO for your website. The tags are displayed at the top of a website browser, such as Firefox or Internet Explorer.

For example, if you go to EdibleArrangements.com, at the top of the browser is “Edible Arrangements Fruit Baskets & Bouquets,




Chocolate Strawberries.” If you conduct a Google search for “Edible Arrangements,” the same description comes up in search results.

So, for your auction company’s website, make sure your title tag doesn’t say something like “XYZ Auctions | Home.” Instead, provide detailed title tags that help search engines out, such as “XYZ Auctions, Auctioneer in Oklahoma – Auctions, Real Estate, Art Auctions, Estate Auctions.”

Title tags are in HTML, so they’re easy to change; however, don’t replicate your title tags across all pages of your website. Each page should have unique tags, such as this for a “services” page: “XYZ Auctions | Auctioneer in Oklahoma | Auctions | Real Estate | Services.”

5. Make time for meta tags

Although recent reports say Google no longer pays attention to meta tags for keywords, it’s still a good idea to get meta tag descriptions as accurate as possible. Other search engines might still place weight on keywords in meta tags.

Meta tags are summaries of your website pages that use easy-to-read, compelling language.

For example, an auction company’s homepage meta tag might be the following:

“XYZ Auctions provides professional auction services for clients in the Kansas City Metro Area. Our auction professionals are




highly educated in the auction business and have combined experience of more than 50 years. They specialize in estate auctions, livestock auctions, antiques and collectibles. XYZ’s Auctioneers are members of the National Auctioneers Association.”

Again, as with page titles, make sure every website page uses unique meta tag summaries.

6. Use your URLs wisely

Search engines are more likely to pay attention to document pages that have easily understandable structures. Make them relevant for search engines and website visitors.

It’s a pretty simple idea, but an auction company’s “about us” page is much more effective if it’s structured like this: www.example.com/about-us.html. A page called www.example.com/Page3.html provides search engines and visitors little help.

Another thing to note is dashes are more effective between the words that describe pages. Avoid capitalization, underscores, spaces or no spaces. So www.example.com/xyz-auction-history.html is best for SEO.

7. Provide hierarchy with headings

In HTML, heading tags provide cues to readers regarding the importance of what they’re reading. They come in six sizes: <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5> and <h6>.




Web browsers display headings as larger text on a website. So, going down a “services” page, an auction company might use these three headings (with body copy below each):

<h1> Auction Services in Chicago …

<h2> Ready to buy or sell?…

<h3> Our terms and conditions…

This hierarchy makes the page easier to follow for the reader, and search engines place importance on the headings. The most important keywords should be in the <h1> tags, so avoid using multiple uses of the tags on single pages. Also, don’t use heading tags for body copy.

8. Describe images with alt tags

It’s important to embed into the source code of your images an alt tag, which offers a brief description of the subject of the photo. Search engines pick up on alt tags to determine what a web page is all about, and they sometimes will be indexed in search results for images.

In addition to providing content for search engines, alt tags help visitors understand what’s inside image placeholders when pages don’t display them properly. This is especially important when visitors come to a website using a mobile device.




Avoid generic tags like DSC107.jpg. Pictures on an auction company’s website might have alt tags such as “Auctioneer calls

bids at estate sale.”

9. Get a Google Webmaster account

An easy way to track the effectiveness of your website and keep it functioning properly is to sign up for a free Google Webmaster account at google.com/webmasters.

More than a resource center, Google’s tool identifies website problems, suggests areas for improvement, records search inquiries that drive traffic to your site and reveals external web pages that link to your site.

10. Increase inbound links

Probably one of the most important but difficult steps toward achieving good SEO is in getting

other websites to link to your auction company’s web pages.

Search engines will place more trust in a site that has multiple inbound links from other websites, as this alerts Google and other search engines to the popularity of a site.

Building inbound links takes a lot of time and effort. Start with interesting content, and then let consumers and other professionals know about the resources available at your website. Encourage them to link to your content from their websites and social media platforms.

For even better SEO, consider these additional tips:• Create a Google map that points

people to the physical location of your business

• Monitor visitors with a statistical program such as Google Analytics

• Use a social network, such as Face-book, to bring traffic to your site

• Place links in your company’s email newsletter to your website

• Purchase pay-per-click advertising

• Include a sitemap

• Use custom 404 pages


• Thelargestnetworkofauctionprofessionals

• Auctioneermagazine

• AuctionEnews,theNAA’sofficiale-newsletter

• AlistingintheNAA’smemberdatabase

• TheopportunitytopostauctionsontheNAAwebsite

• DiscountsonNAAeducationandConferenceandShow

• AccesstotheNAAForum

• TheNAACreditCardandFreeCheckRecoveryProgram

• Thechancetoearnprofessionaldesignations

• Discountsonemailmarketingservices

• UseoftheNAAlogo

• TheonlineBuyer’sGuide

For more than 60 years, the NAA has provided the auction industry with information,

education, networking and resources necessary for auction professionals to be successful.

We encourage you to make the most of your membership by visiting www.auctioneers.org

to see all the benefits, resources and tools that are available.

Why join theNATIONAL AUCTIONEERS ASSOCIATION?

MEMBER BENEFITS:

NETWORKING EDUCATION INFORMATION DISCOUNTS

(913)541-8084•8880Ballentine,OverlandPark,KS66214•[email protected]•www.auctioneers.org

MISSIONNAA exists to provide critical resources to auction professionals that will constantly enhance their skills and success.

VISIONNAA members will be the preferred auction professionals used in the marketplace.

Auction Marketing White Paper

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Transcript of Auction Marketing White Paper