Website Design Tips
16 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Web Design & Usability Tags: building websites, web design tips, website design
Designing a new site must be a carefully thought out process. From design & layout to content & navigation, every step you take is critical to the user’s experience on your site. Most importantly, your website speaks to your customers. It is the face of your company and most often the first piece of marketing collateral prospects come across. You have 3-5 seconds to grab a users attention – better make the most of it.
Here are some tips to get you started:
A Guide to Google Places
29 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Google, Local Marketing, Search Marketing Strategies Tags: google places, local listings, seo
Most of us are now familiar with local listings on Google. We have all at one time been subjected to the “7 push-pin” map that often appears in search results for pretty much any search that can return local results. Furthermore, with search results being more personalized it is not even necessary to append your search with a geographic location.
Google knows where you are and will return local results they feel are most relevant to your query. The importance of having a local listing for your business goes without saying. So let’s get started creating your local listing, getting ranked in local results and cover a few important features available on Google Places.
Optimizing PDF’s for Search Engines
17 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Marketing Strategies Tags: PDF, PDF optimization, seo
When it comes to optimizing the pages on your website, PDF’s should not be overlooked. Engines do crawl them and quite often they show up very high in organic search results. Many companies have a plethora of content assets that come in the form of PDF’s. From marketing brochures, white papers, technical bulletins to press releases, and each of them should be optimized for engines before its placed on your site.
Here are a few tips to optimize your PDF’s for search engines.
Google Instant: The Scoop & SEO, PPC, Search Behavior Impacts
09 Sep 2010 2 Comments
in Google, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Marketing Strategies Tags: google instant, ppc, seo
They’ve done it again….Google has released yet another breakthrough as to how results are displayed on the SERP’s (Search Engine Results Pages). This time it comes in the form of instant, predictive search results. Meaning, as you type a search query the search results below will change automatically.
Some find this a major annoyance, others love it. There is also a lot of buzz about how this will affect SEO, PPC and search behavior in general. Either way, this is just more proof of how rapidly the art of SEM changes and how we constantly have to relearn our techniques and adjust.
Yahoo/Bing Search Alliance: Organic Optimization Tips
01 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Marketing Strategies Tags: bing, search engine optimization, seo, yahoo
On August 24, 2010 Yahoo organic results began being powered by Bing as part of the Yahoo/Bing Search Alliance in the US (other markets to follow, with complete transition by 2012). If you receive traffic from Yahoo organic listings now, especially if the Yahoo traffic is higher than Bing organic traffic, this switch could impact your overall organic traffic values.
Every engine has different algorithms, and thus different optimization techniques. Since listings will be displayed for approximately 30% of search queries after this change (according to comScore), it’s important to take a look at how well your site is optimized for Bing. Here are a few tips:
Preparing Our Clients for the Yahoo/Bing Search Alliance
20 Aug 2010 1 Comment
in Search Marketing Strategies
As some of you may (or may not) know, by late August/early September the Search Alliance between Yahoo! and Microsoft will take place. For those of you who receive a decent portion of traffic from Yahoo organic or who run paid ads in Yahoo, this change is significant.
This month, we have been solely focused on further optimizing websites for Bing and transitioning Yahoo paid search accounts to Bing’s adCenter. This is a very important merger and since most of you do have a significant portion of traffic coming to your site from Yahoo, we need to plan accordingly.
Here is what this transition means from both an organic (SEO) and PPC (paid ad) perspective.
Link Building Tip Basics
19 Aug 2010 1 Comment
in Link Building, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Marketing Strategies Tags: back links, inbound links, internal links, link exchange, link farms, one way links, PageRank, PR, reciprocal links
Beginner Level
Inbound links to your site can help increase Google Page Rank and are a VERY important cornerstone to your SEO strategy. Simply put, the more websites that link to ou the higher your organic rank can be. However, these links should always reflect quality, not quantity.
There are two primary types of inbound links:
Reciprocal Links: Reciprocal links are simply links you are exchanging with other websites. Think of it as a you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours philosophy. Just be careful not to get carried away. Once you begin, you will be getting tons of link exchange solicitations. Carefully choose link partners who have a good website whose content and audience are relevant to your own.
One-Way Links: one-way links are just as they sound, one website which links to your site without you having to post a link in exchange. These are often considered more “valuable”. The trick to one-way links is creating insightful content on your site that other sites will want to link to. You can also achieve these by linking from blog posts, press releases and even placing links on social media sites and in online directories.
So now you know what inbound links are here are a few tips to define your strategy:
