Archive for February, 2010
Friday, February 12th, 2010
Early this year Google engineer Steve Baker blogged about the positive results of incorporating synonyms for keywords into websites. According to Baker, 70% of Google searches are affected by the use of synonyms, and out of every 50 inquiries where synonyms were pulled as part of the results, only one unrelated synonym was part of those results. Since synonyms/acronyms have such an impact on queries, Google now displays them in bold type. Traditionally, only keywords and close variations of those keywords, such as plural forms, were displayed in bold.
Synonyms are words that can be swapped for the same meaning, such as “Las Vegas” and “Sin City” or “internet” and “cyberspace”. Acronyms are words created from initials of a term, such as “cpu” for “central processing unit”. As users have become more comfortable with manipulating their queries to better represent the information they are searching for, it is important that businesses stay on top of keyword synonyms and acronyms that users may potentially use. Also, synonyms and acronyms are useful in creating content that is interesting, and not unbearably repetitive. In the screenshot below, we did a search for “SF hotels” and returned results on the first page with the words “San Francisco”. It’s interesting to see that none of the organic results on the first page actually include the keyword phrase “SF hotels”.
A great tool to use for researching keyword variations is the free Google Keywords Tool. In regards to using synonyms/acronyms it is important to be aware of the context you use them in. Google decides on these variations based on the accompanying words in the phrase, so that unrelated words do not show up in bold, for example “AAA” could mean “American Automobile Association” or “American Accounting Association”.
Tags: acronyms in google, snynonyms in google Posted in Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »
Friday, February 5th, 2010
Conversion rates from website visits to actual phone calls could be anywhere from 0% to 50%. Other than asking clients how they heard about your business, how can you narrow down these numbers and more accurately identify where you lie in the spectrum? The answer: Phone number tracking systems. That’s right, a system that takes guess work out of the equation, and lets you track which marketing effort, i.e. banner ads, pay-per-click, search engine, etc., is converting into phone calls.
These systems work by assigning each of your internet marketing channels a specific phone number (these calls are routed to your main business number so that you won’t have multiple phone numbers to worry about), making it possible to track which specific channel is working best. Many phone number tracking systems also allow you to:
- record calls for analysis: how the call is handled, & what your customers need
- provide detailed call information: length of call & geographic location of caller
- integrate data into Google Analytics
An awesome feature is being able to assign phone numbers to keywords and referrals through links in order to track conversions from SEO! Tracking both online and phone traffic from your website will allow you to more accurately determine your ROI.
Tags: website conversion rates, website to phone call conversion Posted in Google Adwords, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Like graphics, your website’s content is a reflection of your brand. You don’t want customers to get the wrong idea about your company because your pages are filled with poor grammar, irrelevant subjects, and downright long, monotonous articles. Since content can affect your SEO, conversion and stickiness, it should be searchable, relevant, interesting and fresh with regular updates. Here are a few tips to reviving your content:
- Focus on your audience. Put yourself in their shoes by asking:
- What would they like to know?
- How will this (product, service) benefit them?
- Use keywords, but only where they are relevant. Avoid keyword stuffing, it not only makes for an unpleasant reading experience, but search engines may penalize or ban your site.
- Keep customers coming back by keeping your content fresh. Update regularly by:
- Posting new products, along with new ways to use them.
- Post seasonal promotions, this is a great way to get your customers to keep checking back.
- Post a blog offering service/help information instead of strictly sales.
- Make it interesting by:
- Making the first sentence an attention grabber.
- Keep it short and simple
- If possible, use tone and show character so it’s not like reading a textbook, especially if it’s for a blog.
- Format paragraphs so they are easy to read.
- Use bullet points lists
- Break up long paragraphs into short, concise ideas
- Use subheadings
- Check grammar and spelling
Given that the average time spent on a site is 56 seconds, make the most of your content by ensuring that when a potential customer visits your site, your message is crystal clear.
Tags: seo, website content Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Website Design | No Comments »
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