To a lot of us, it feels like SEO has been around forever. Even so, it is a fairly new concept when you compare it with other forms of traditional marketing. Some may mistakenly believe that their companies are doing fine without it, but even if you currently have strong sales, you can still benefit from SEO.
To understand how SEO can help your business, ask yourself these questions: (more…)
“Show, don’t tell.” It’s a rule writers know by heart; specifics make your writing more persuasive and compelling. And that lesson doesn’t just apply to copywriting – details count when it comes to keywords, too.
Keywords generally fall into two categories: short-tail and long-tail, also known as broad and narrow keywords. Short-tail keywords are single words or short phrases that generally describe a topic, such as “Web design.” Long-tail keywords are longer phrases (typically between three and six words) that provide more specifics, such as “Chicago website design.” (more…)
Google is always evolving. Admittedly, some of my favorite innovations from the search engine giant are the interactive logos that appear every so often (did you see the zipper Google created last month in honor of Gideon Sundback’s birthday?).
Logo design aside, the company is trying constantly to create ways to search better, faster and more efficiently. There’s no stronger evidence of this inventive spirit than Knowledge Graph, Google’s latest and greatest in search result delivery. (more…)
Many companies are spending time and money to create customized websites that show off their products and services, and what makes them unique. Once you get customers on your website, it helps to offer content that adds extra value. Even if clients don’t want a personal relationship with your company, they want to know you understand their needs. (more…)
One pill a day is guaranteed to make you drop pounds fast without diet or exercise – at least, that’s what those slick banner ads want you to believe. You know the ones – a hot mom in a bikini, a tape measure wrapped around her whittled waist, vaguely alarming side effects listed in the fine print underneath her.
Thanks to common sense (and high school health class), most of us realize that downing a cocktail of questionable-sounding chemicals won’t guarantee weight loss. Yet some marketing companies lure in prospects with an equally dubious promise:
“Your site will be in the first page of search engine rankings if you hire us for search engine optimization, guaranteed.”
If an agency says this to you, run. Anyone who promises you a specific ranking is, well, lying.
Without a doubt, SEO is a valuable tool that you can and should use to boost your website’s rankings on Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines. SEO is not the magic bullet some agencies want you to believe it is, however.
First of all, it’s impossible to crack the codes that search engines use to generate their rankings. They’re complex, fiercely guarded and constantly changing. Google, for example, uses more than 200 factors to rank pages – and unless you’re Matt Cutts, there’s no way to know the exact formula. While you can take cues from what’s worked in the past, how can you be sure you’re going to win the rankings game when you don’t even know what the rules are?
In addition, traditional SEO techniques, such as incorporating keywords and inbound links into a site, are just part of the puzzle when it comes to nabbing a high search ranking. When Google revamped its ranking formula last year, the Internet giant revealed that the way users interact with a website would factor into the site’s search rankings. The search engine also considers whether a site’s content is trustworthy, substantive and grammatically correct when assessing its rank, according to this blog.
The lesson? Companies need to have quality content on their site, and they need to update it often to keep visitors coming back. It’s not enough to pepper your site with keywords once – giving your readers valuable and timely information, whether it’s a how-to article on your blog or posting a newsletter, is essential for breaking the first-page ranking ceiling. Of course, you also need to incorporate appropriate keywords into that quality content and review your keywords regularly to make sure they’re still relevant.
Sound difficult to you? Maybe, but it’s the best way to land and maintain a high search ranking. Instead of thinking of SEO as a magic pill – one that guarantees you that coveted top spot in the rankings – think of it as part of your overall diet and exercise regimen. With some time and effort, you’ll get the results you want.
Google recently announced the beta release of its new social media network, Google+, to a wave of speculation and curiosity. In addition to those seeking to link with friends and family in a new way, there undoubtedly will be those seeking to place a new skill in their social media marketing toolkits. It should be mentioned that businesses aren’t allowed to have profiles yet and that there is no timeline for when it will be opened to them (or the general public, for that matter). I managed to score an invite the night it was announced (not to brag or anything…) and have come up with a few examples of how Google+ might alter the social media landscape from a marketing perspective (at least in its current incarnation – the site is still in beta testing and is likely to continue to evolve).
Up first? Google+’s potential effect on your online rankings.
SEO: Will Google consider your Google+ profile in its SEO equation? Almost certainly – Google’s SEO rankings already include content posted across various social media channels (although using the same content across all channels only counts once). Early word is that Google will weigh a Google+ profile fairly and evenly against profiles on social media rivals Facebook and Twitter, but Google would be within its rights to rank it higher in its own proprietary equation (especially since it doesn’t have to tell anyone what that formula is).
Google Places: Similar to SEO, a robust Google+ profile with your address, phone number, fax number and multiple email addresses might raise your Google Places rank above other similarly qualified entries without that information. Appearing higher in these rankings would be a tremendous boon to companies that are being searched for under terms such as “Chicago construction.” Google+ could easily add a Places feature with tags to function as a sort of secondary SEO content tool.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s entry – Google+ as a transmission tool.
For those who think loading up their website content with SEO keywords is their golden ticket to the top of Google’s Web rankings, the search engine has some bad news.
Google announced late last week that it was revamping its rules for ranking Web pages, according to this article by the Wall Street Journal. The search engine says it developed the new rules to keep websites with content that’s ripped from other sites or doesn’t provide much value from landing in the coveted top spots for Google searches. Though Google fiercely guards its top-secret formula for Web rankings, it did divulge that it has added several new criteria for the rankings, including how users interact with a site.
While savvy marketers know that search engine optimization, such as incorporating keywords and inbound links, are an important part of designing a site that will rank highly in a search, Google’s new formula is a stern reminder that SEO isn’t everything. The key takeaway here? Quality counts.
Make sure your website offers relevant information that visitors will actually want, whether it’s in the form of a frequently updated blog, in-depth white papers or a search tool to connect people with your organization’s members. Sparkling writing never hurts either. Then sit back and watch your Google rankings rise.
Dawn, Lee and I recently listened to a Webinar about free online SEO tools. We already use many of the tools discussed, and have a few that we would add to the list. For some fundamental SEO knowledge, check out our latest Simons Scoop, and read on for our favorite free SEO tools.