Archive for the ‘Search Engine Optimization’ Category
Monday, April 12th, 2010
More Americans are turning to the web for news and information, beating out printed newspapers, magazines and radio according a study by Pew Research Center this year. What does this mean for businesses? Well, if you regularly write and submit press releases, it’s a good time to consider whether the traditional format is effective online. Writing for the web presents issues and opportunities different from traditional print media, such as SEO, sharing capabilities, content links, subscription links, video and images, ensuring the heading fits into Twitters 140 character box, 120 if you want a re-tweet, then there’s wire distribution and tagging. Below are some tips to help modernize and optimize your traditional press release for online distribution:
- Write newsworthy press releases
- One subject per press release
- Write for the customer, instead of the media outlet
- Write about topics that are interesting to your customer, not too much of a sales pitch
- Use Keywords
- Use Google’s free Keyword tool to find popular variations of your keyword/phrase
- Refrain from keyword stuffing, you want an article that your readers will be able to read and find interesting.
- Include backlinks to your site where appropriate
- Don’t be afraid to be conversational and interactive
- Allow users to leave comments and share the release
- Include a call to action
- Use Anchor text links
- Homepage
- Product/Service Page related to your press release
- Research wire services for distribution
- Try to use legit distribution sites, not ones that are known for spamming
- Measure views and traffic
Tags: online press release, optimize press releases Posted in Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »
Monday, March 8th, 2010
U.S. and European Union regulators recently approved a 10-year Search Alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo. According to the agreement, Microsoft will manage search queries as well as paid advertising made on Yahoo. Technology from Microsoft’s search engine Bing will control organic searches while Microsoft’s Advertising adCenter will serve as the platform for paid ads.
Although both Bing.com and Yahoo.com are planning on retaining their individual branding, Yahoo search results will display a “powered by Bing” message. As Microsoft manages Yahoo’s search queries, Yahoo will be accountable for landing and supporting premium advertisers, of which Microsoft will keep roughly 12% of revenues. What does this mean for users and advertisers?
According to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer “Together, Microsoft and Yahoo will promote more choice, better value and greater innovation to our customers”. However, users reportedly won’t experience much of a change, with the exception of Microsoft providing both organic and paid search results. Advertisers, on the other hand are promised access to a larger worldwide audience, and customized service where Yahoo will exclusively support premier advertisers and agencies, while Microsoft assists self-service advertisers.
While the transition is said to be completed in the U.S. by the end of 2010, it is evident that the alliance is an effort to gain a bigger piece of search engine volume currently dominated by industry leader Google. The search engine giant continues to control search engine volume in 2010 with reports of up to 70% of the volume followed by Yahoo! at 17% and Bing at 13%.
Tags: microsoft yahoo alliance Posted in Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »
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 »
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Your website should be more than just pretty, it should deliver results. Here are a few factors to consider:
1. Determine your site’s goal: what do you want your site to do? For example:
- Sell products (ex: amazon.com, Etsy.com, theawesomer.com)
- Pre-qualify & Produce Leads (ex: car dealership sites, real estate sites)
- Provide information (ex: petfinder.com, webMD, treehugger.com)
- Customer Support (ex: help.com, apple support)
2. Design
- Great design (professional, innovative) helps establish credibility
- Harmony & flow. Everything should work together to create one clear message
- Organize pages so they make sense to the first-time user
- Colors & graphics should reflect your message, and fonts should be easy to read
- Create a call to action- what do you want visitors to do on your site? Make a purchase, fill out a contact box, leave a comment, etc.
3. Usability
- Easy to navigate
- Loads quickly- be wary of lengthy flash intros- although pretty, they take a while to load and many times are irrelevant to the message of the site, contributing only to the aesthetics. You don’t want your clients to go to another site simply because your site takes too long to get to the stuff they are looking for. Also search engine bots don’t read flash.
- Keep content simple, easy to understand and concise.
- Make it easy for visitors to participate in your call to action with features such as a contact box on every page.
4. Stickiness
- Maintain repeat visitors by keeping your site fresh with regular updates & new info/products.
- Encourage visitors to join or subscribe to your social networks, consider giving them an incentive such as a coupon.
5. Tracking & Searching
- Use Google Analytics (it’s free!) to track your site’s performance. With this info, you can see which pages retain traffic and which ones need to be revamped.
- Make your site easy to find with either PPC or SEO. Since only 28% of users bother to go beyond the first page of search engine results, if you rank on page two or three you might as well be on page 65.
Tags: ppc, seo, Website Design, website tracking, website usability Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Website Design | No Comments »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Google Caffeine, Google’s newly revamped search engine, has many of us wondering what effect it will have on our websites SEO. Many studies, including an impressive 9,000 keyword research conducted by Summit Media, found that although search rankings are not highly affected, Caffeine favors sites that have new and timely content, especially for generic searches. Unlike long tail searches that are more specific, generic searches will bring up results that are real time oriented in order to give the user a more current scope of results. Here are a few ideas to consider about Caffeine’s effect on your site:
- With Caffeine showing a bias towards updated sites, consider integrating features onto your website that will keep it fresh and dynamic, such as a blog.
- Caffeine is said to boost real-time results, you may want to amp up your social media by contributing regularly to Twitter, blogs, etc.
- Since Caffeine will deliver more relevant search results, focus on keywords and use relevant, high quality links. Get rid of broken and irrelevant links and make sure your site loads quickly.
If you have experienced Caffeine, please feel free to share your findings or any user tips.
Tags: Google Caffeine, social media Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
According to Netcraft, as of December 2009 there were over 230 million websites! In an environment where the term “stiff competition” is an understatement, how can you tell if your website is effective? By analyzing every single page! Yes, were talking hard core analysis with charts and statistics provided for free and packaged beautifully by Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is a user friendly service that basically tracks your website’s performance, reporting how visitors found your site and what they did once they found it. Created for marketers, Google Analytics is uncomplicated with straightforward directions devoid of confusing techie lingo. To get started, copy and paste the html tracking code into pages you want tracked. From visitor tracking and loyalty, to source conversion, Google Analytics offers over 80 customizable reports.
Here are a few tips on how you can use this data to get better conversion rates:
- Pages with high bounce rates should be reviewed. This could mean optimizing for usability. Consider shortening and simplifying lengthy text with bulleted lists or adding a video.
- Having the ability to see the path your visitors take- which page they just came from and which page they went to next- tells you if your customers are following the path you have created for them. Your site should be deliberately constructed to direct your customer into some form of action.
- Recognizing which external sources drive traffic to your site, especially if you are paying for them, allows you to focus on successful sources rather than wasting time and resources on ones that bomb. If you notice a large portion of your traffic comes from social media sites, you may want to implement or invest more time blogging, optimizing videos, or creating a facebook app.
- Identifying keywords used to drive traffic to a page helps SEO with both successful and negative words (keywords you do not want to come up for in a search). For example, a high end retailer may not want to come up in a search for “cheap or free”.
To maximize the benefits of Goggle Analytics, stay on top of reports with consistent review. This way you can learn about patterns, effective pages and sources, and ways to get a better return on your investment.
Tags: google analytics data Posted in Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Social media marketing, using social networking sites for business marketing purposes, is a fun and effective way to bring your brand to life. With two way communication and features such as video and event invites, businesses can now show consumers their brand personality.
Brand personality, according to wiki “includes all the tangible and intangible traits of a brand, say beliefs, values, prejudices, features, interests, and heritage…seen as a valuable factor in increasing brand engagement and brand attachment, in much the same way as people relate and bind to other people.” Generally, a brand name is associated directly to a product or service, i.e., Nike equals athletic gear. Social media marketing transforms the association people have with a brand from a lifeless item/product/service to something relatable, significant, and relevant. For example, on Facebook, Nike is no longer just an athletic shoe company, their page is a source for like-minded athletes, it’s engaging and motivational. Nike’s Ballers Network on Facebook allows users to set up pick-up games around the world! To its users, Nike is more than just an athletic gear company, it’s the brand that brings them together.
With social media marketing, you have the ability to give your brand a face, a cause, a personality that your consumers can form an association with and support. The hope is that you create a connection with your audience, they relate and recommend it to their friends, who pass it on to their friends, and their friends, and you get the point.
Here are some tips on getting started:
- Decide on the best social networking site for your company based on your niche. (Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, Twitter, YouTube, Flicker, Digg, etc)
- Design a page that showcases the personality of your brand. If possible, include interactive features and applications.
- Setup blog content to feed into your page. Do not hard sell on your blog or page.
- Maintain your page with frequent content updates so your friends keep checking up on your site. Remember, Search Engines love new content!
Have fun being creative with your brand! We will provide more information on the different Social Networking sites in upcoming blogs.
Tags: Social Media Marketing Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »
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