Music Marketing - Meet SEO

I spend a great deal of time working up proposals and talking to bands, musicians and creative types about blogging, Social Media, Myspace and all these other great tools that can help you create an online brand, get people talking about you and creating a Google search for your band name that you can not only be proud of, but be truly and completely informational to your fans, labels, prospective business partners or anyone else typing into the world's most famous search bar.

Recently Aaron Wall, one of the most respected SEO guru's around announced that he was taking open interviews, where you could ask him questions about search marketing and his experience in the business. Problem was, there were a few guidelines and my blog failed one of them (it's hosted with blogger and not on my own domain, something I need to do anyway).

Luckily, a blogger friend and fellow internet music marketer, Eric Hebert of Evolvor Media, met the criteria and jumped at the chance to talk with the master of SEO and author of SEO Book.

Here is a quick look at the interview:

Eric: A lot of my time is wasted explaining the pros of having a optimized website versus a real flashy one (which many, many bands and acts have). The flash heads always argue that you have to be “interactive”, and they do so with all kinds of moving objects, sounds, and other nonsense. Could you elaborate on what YOU think works on a website as far as interaction is concerned?

Aaron: If you are marketing art or music you at least need to have some static links to text pages on the site if you want to use text to connect with readers. The homepage can still be mostly flash but it helps to have at least a few text rich pages so people can buy your concert tickets on your site, buy posters from you, buy cds from you, and subscribe to your newsletter as well.

As the search marketing world is coming more and more into the mainstream, and the music industry becomes even more flooded with acts and competition, these artists are going to have to take a look at SEO and Social Media Marketing as part of their complete package. You know the saying content is king, well in the music business, great songs are king. The problem is that a great song that no one hears is as good as a tree falling in a deserted forest.

Head on over to Eric's post and if you want to know more about SEO, subscribe to Aaron Wall's blog and learn something or 2. I promise that it is worth your time.

One last sentence from the interview:

Every artist who wants exposure is either a promoter or a failure.

-Greg Rollett

Oh and Eric did just name me and this blog one of the top 7 blogs that every musician should be reading. Thanks man!