or 800-WEB-5421

Are More Keywords Better for SEO?

October 25th, 2011

This post is brought to you by an actual conversation I had this past week:

“If I add all related keywords related to my site, why do I need to do anything else?”

Unfortunately, many people have this same point of view when it comes to how online organic SEO works. Search engine optimization is a constant process that needs to be updated to the changing industry and search engine algorithms. But it can be confusing when you ask yourself why it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it process once you add as many keywords that you can possibly think of.

As we can’t emphasize enough, accurate and detailed keyword research is vital to any successful SEO campaign. Search engine and search users are more sophisticated than most people think!

The Google Keyword Tool is an effective and free way to research:

Which keywords to use: lawyer or attorney, expert or professional, best or great, shop or store, sofa or couch? Check the data and you’ll see that some phrases that you think are similar have much different search data.

Search competition: Do you want to rank well for a phrase that has half a million + competitors? This will require an aggressive plan that takes place over a course of many months. In the mean time, you can conquer other phrases with less competition by using the right long tail keywords.

Long tail keywords: These will usually run from 2 to 5 words and are usually descriptive adjectives that help better describe your product/service. Affordable hotel room, luxury day spa etc.

Search volume: There’s no point in ranking well for a phrase that no one is searching for! And with what we’ve mentioned about competition, it isn’t so effective to go after competitive keywords that get the most search volume. You’ll want to find a middle ground that matches your SEO manpower and monthly budget.

SEO involves more than just throwing together a page, adding all “relevant” keywords and calling it a day. The keywords you choose should be about quality and not quantity because let’s face it… choosing the right keywords is an art in itself. But it’s how you use them, afterwords. Check out this oldie-but-goodie resource by Rand Fishkin on how to “perfectly” optimize a page.

Tags: Keyword phrases, keyword research, keyword tools, organic seo, seo
Posted in search engine optimization | No Comments »

Learn About SEO CMS

October 21st, 2011

Before creating a website it is important to know and understand what you want out of it. Many people approach the Internet in way that makes it a lot more complicated than it needs to be. There are plenty of easy content management systems available that can help shed light on the situation. Not only that but it is smart to think about how much traffic you want to generate towards your website. If you are interested in finding clients through you website it is a smart idea to look into seo cms because that way you can be ranked higher.

Ultimately, you need to know what you want out of your website, but also you should upgrade your system in a way that allows you to have an easy cms that functions great. Having a cms that is accessible for all your employees to work with is key to a great website or blog upgrade. You do not want to be spending an unnecessary amount of money on a cms and website design that you will not be able to change easily. Time passes quickly on the internet, be sure to find a system that can change as quickly and easily.

Posted in blogging, content marketing | Comments Off

What to Look for in a PPC Company

October 21st, 2011

Before you hire a PPC company or consultant, you should be comfortable and have a general sense of what you want from paid search. Choosing any type of online marketing for your company means that you are making an investment, so do you research ahead of time. Here are a few factors that you’ll want to look into before choosing someone to handle your pay per click campaigns:

Experience – How long have you been handling paid search campaigns? What type of customers or industries are you familiar with? Are you an Adwords qualified company? These are all important questions to think about. Every industry is different and for many small businesses, the sectors can be competitive. When it comes down to keeping on budget for a price per click on a daily basis, experience counts.

Costs and Budget – Someone who is inexperienced in handling different types of paid search budgets can easily make a mistake. These oversights can add up really quickly and get expensive real fast. That’s why it’s helpful to have a company who is dedicated to monitoring your PPC account throughout the day and ensure that you won’t go over budget. You might have a set amount that you’re willing to go over budget if you’re getting good, relevant clicks/calls. These are all crucial things to discuss with your PPC manager.

Keyword Research – Choosing the right keywords is SO important in PPC campaigns. You can’t just throw around broad and general terms that you might incorporate into your organic campaign. If your keywords aren’t relevant and your ads get a lot of impressions but few clicks, this can decrease your overall quality score. Make sure to ask your PPC manager about optimization and testing for different pay per click landing pages to see which ones works best.

Communication – Don’t be afraid to ask your PPC company about their track record and what can they do to improve your campaigns. Find out if they attend any events or webinars to keep up with the changing industry. Most of all, make sure that they are ready and willing to answer any questions and comments that you have regarding your account. Search budgets can change with a moment’s notice and it’s important to have a company who is on your side.

If you have any questions about pay per click or would like to see if it can help your small business, don’t hesitate to contact us today!

Read more about PPC campaigns with these helpful articles:
25 Tips For Giving Your PPC Campaigns a Boost
Find your audience with the Google Display Network
Google +1 Is Changing the Face of PPC. Are You Ready?

Tags: internet marketing, pay per click, pay per click search, PPC
Posted in paid search | 1 Comment »

Google Fail?

October 20th, 2011

Google fail January 15, 2012 is officially Doomsday. More specifically for Google Buzz, Code Search, iGoogle social features, and Jaiku. In a post titled “A fall sweep”, Google officially announced that these services would no longer exist.

Have you taken a look at all the Google Products? Maybe it was just about time that they took a look around and cleaned up shop on the products that weren’t doing so well. While many are anticipating more products to go (ahem Google Wave), I think it’s interesting how Google chose to announce this news – in a very nonchalant and informal manner.

But after all, maybe Google was trying to keep attention away from the online audience about the shutdown of Google Buzz. Remember early last year? Google was hit with a huge class action lawsuit claiming that they violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Many people were also upset over privacy issues and other bugs that were initially present when Buzz first launched. Overall, I don’t think it’s a product that will missed very much.

Do you think the shutdown of these services means failure for Google or is it just paving way for new and better features?

After all, it was Albert Einstein who said, “You never fail until you stop trying.”

Tags: business ideas, fail, Google, google buzz, inspiration
Posted in Google | No Comments »

What are the Benefits of a SEO Friendly CMS?

October 18th, 2011

Now more than ever, good content is a critical part of effective search engine optimization. Having a content management system (CMS) will help make this process easier – meaning that you can update your site more often with relevant content.

From a user standpoint, a CMS is very user-friendly and easy to use. But it’s time to look behind the scenes and see just how you can find the right SEO friendly CMS to help your search efforts.

Custom URLS – It’s important that you choose a CMS that gives you the option to create your own URL. SEO friendly URLs are tailored towards users and are more likely to have a higher click through rate. Sometimes, dynamic URLs can look spammy or relevant and lead to more problems in the future, especially if you are dealing with a website redesign.

Custom meta elements – An effective CMS should give you easy fields where you can fill out fields for title, description and keyword tags. Each page should have a unique Title tag that accurately reflects the content on that page. Did you know that aside from the content itself, page titles are (arguably) considered the most important element? Beware of a CMS that duplicates meta elements on each new page if you don’t customize it. I’ve come across sites that have hundreds of pages with of duplicate meta elements – not a good thing in Google’s eyes!

Speed and Usability – The main reason for using a CMS is that it is easy to use and that you can do it yourself if you need to. Older content management systems aren’t as user-friendly or practical to use. I recently had to use a CMS that took at least 5 minutes to save before you could view your edits. And of course, if you need to make more changes, that’s another 5 minutes just to preview! A CMS is meant to save you time and hassle, not make a bigger mess for you to deal with!

Affordability – When you have a website, there are multiple aspects that you have to consider including: web design, web copywriting, paid and organic search. Choosing the right CMS also means that you should see how it fits into your budget. If you “splurge” on a fancy/expensive CMS that you never have time to use, what’s the point? It could also take up the majority of your resources so that you don’t have anything left over to devote to a truly effective campaign.

A SEO CMS can help make website management an easier process and your organic search campaign more effective. Feel free to comment or give us a call (323) 340-4010 if you have any questions on a CMS for your small business.

Tags: content management system, content marketing, organic search, seo cms, seo keywords
Posted in search engine optimization | No Comments »

Simple Content Management Systems

October 14th, 2011

As a business that is trying to keep up with the times it is important to do research and see what type of content management systems are out there. There are plenty of complicated cms, but ultimately finding a simple content management system is best because that way your entire employee’s will be able to use it. If you browse through the Internet, you can see there are many websites that look horrible and do not change with the times. This is probably because they were sold on a complicated cms and don’t have the time or money to update their system it an easy content management system. Just because it is complicated, does not mean that it is better.

Doing your research and understanding how you want to be perceived on the Internet is a great idea too. This is because there are many reasons why someone is browsing the Internet. If you are using your website to pull in customers, there are seo cms that would work great. Knowing exactly what you want is half the battle. Everything changes so quickly that it is important to always know what you want. Keeping your idea steady will allow your customers to see that you are a constant force they can trust.

Posted in content marketing | Comments Off

Diaspora – Your Next Alternative to Social Networking?

October 14th, 2011

Privacy concerns about Facebook and Google+ are growing. Just check out this infographic about Facebook security. As Facebook announced its new Timeline, many people feel that these features are too stalker-ish. Do you really need or want to know your friends’ timeline of events from the day that they were born? New privacy features enable all friends to see all your activity – this means your boss, client, mom, professor or whoever else you happen to be friends with. Although Mark Zuckerberg made it seem so good, this “frictionless sharing” is what a lot of people are afraid of. This problem also carries on over to Google+ accounts, which seems to made even more for public search than Facebook.

While Facebook and Google + seem to want you to open up more to the public, it’s hard to see how you can socialize AND keep your privacy. But the answer you’re looking for may come in the form of Diaspora. The selling point of this relatively new social network is that it is secure – you can share WHAT you want, with WHOM you want. Another great thing is that you own the pictures you upload. There’s none of this nonsense where you give the company consent to use your pictures however they please, ahem.. Twitpic.

I admit that I’ve had my Diaspora account for sometime, I haven’t been making full use of it. I’m pretty sure that my non-internet marketing friends and family are even aware of what Diaspora is. Which is part of their problem… some early reviews say that the profiles are too plain and that there needs to be more features. Also, Diaspora needs a helping hand when it comes to monetary funds and have been asking for donations to help further their project. Sometimes, simplicity is best and I’d like to see where Diaspora takes things.

What do you think? Are you worried about social networking privacy features of other mainstream sites and would you look into using alternatives like Diaspora?

Tags: diaspora, facebook, Google, privacy, social media, social networking
Posted in social media | No Comments »

What Do Facebook Fans Want from Your Brand?

October 10th, 2011

Do you sometimes feel unsure of what Facebook fans want after they Like your brand? That’s why studies about Facebook consumer behavior are so helpful in guiding businesses on what to expect from their customers and how to fulfill those needs.

An eMarketer study shows that the top reason that customers Like a brand is that they want to gain access to exclusive content. 58% of users feel this way for a reason – they want to be special! With the holidays just around the corner, fans want to access coupons, sales and more. Next up, fans want to hear about updates about your company. Hearing about people and company events is a great way to encourage brand awareness and give fans a break from updates about services and products.

Different media uploads will help your updates get more clicks. 47% of fans expect posts, photo and video updates. These posts are more likely to get read and will add a more interesting touch to an otherwise plain text update. People are visual and would rather much SEE something than read it.

28% of fans want to interact with a person or brand. Check out Dr. Mike Dow and CareerBuilder for some examples of the different types of conversation that fans want to engage in. Next, 27% of fans want the company to have access to their public profile and information. Even with all the talk of privacy concerns, people are still willing to share their demographic information and interests with interesting brands that they trust.

The one thing that seems slightly confusing is that 37% of users “do not expect anything to happen” after Liking a company. I guess these people are also the 37% who also want the name of the company to show on up their profile. This endorsement is not a bad thing but the hard part is keeping up with the work to retain their interest in your brand.

Let us know what you think about this study and if it reflects why you associate with brands on Facebook. You can also read our related blog post on how Facebook Likes affect retail businesses.

Tags: dr. mike dow, facebook fans, facebook likes, facebook statistics, social media goals
Posted in social media | No Comments »

Our Core Services

Subscribe

Recent Posts

Archives

TwitterCounter

Meta

More Info on Content Management Systems