Saturday, December 15, 2012

SEO: 8 Easy Steps to Rank Better on Search Engines

Search Engine Optimization companies are making a fortune by doing the menial work that is overlooked by many designers. It is ridiculously easy to do most of the work done by most SEO companies, all you have to do is create good habits.

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There are 8 main points you should focus on:

• Keywords
• URL Text
• Description, Meta tags
• Title tags
• Image Names
• ALT tags
• Content
• Hyperlinks

The focus of these 8 steps is to load your pages with as many "keywords" as possible.



Keywords:
Keywords are the most important aspect of good SEO, this is where you tell the Search Engines what your site is about. Search Engines use an algorithm to determine the "Keyword Density" of your site. Therefore, choose keywords that best relate to the information, products or services that you are offering. For instance, if I am designing a site about "Cloud Transformation Services", I want my site to include the words "Cloud Transformation" as many times as possible.

However, most people don't just search for just one word, they type phrases, so you should consider the phrases that best suit your sites target market. For example, if I am creating a site about "Web Design" in Los Angeles, I would include "Los Angeles web design" in my keywords. Another way around this is to not separate my keywords with commas, just use spaces, and the Search Engines will make the phrases for you.

The most important thing to remember is that the content of each page is different, so only use keywords pertaining to that page.


URL Text:
When you name a new page you have the option to call it anything you could possibly think of, why not use a keyword? After all, the URL address is the first things a search engine comes across when indexing your pages. You have to remember content doesn't come easy to everyone, so you gotta slip in your keywords when the process gives you an easy one.


Description / Meta tags:
These tags are dwindling in importance since Search Engines are now looking at content, but every little bit counts. Optimize your meta tags to match your content, products, and services, and the Search Engines that still look at meta data will reward your efforts.


Title Tags:
Title tags are the tags that tell the Search Engine the title, or formal description of the document or page. This is the word or phrase that is seen at the top of the browser window. The most important rule about title tags is, "don't put anything in the title tags but keywords". Once again this is an easy time to slip in your keywords, so don't miss out.


Image Names:
As I said before, content doesn't come easy to everyone, so slip in your keywords whenever possible, this applies to image names. If you are saving a picture of an "iPad running Microsoft office" for your web site offering BYOD solution, don't call it "image009.jpg", call it "ipad_running_microsoft_windows_office.jpg" or "run_microsoft_office_on_ipad.jpg". The Search engine will look at the code for the site and see the image pertains to the content of the site and this will be another relevant element on that particular page. You have to take the easy ones when you are given a chance.


ALT tags:
Alt tags are keywords that you can attach to images, giving more weight to the image since Search Engines can't analyze the content of the image itself. Here is a chance to slip in more keywords without writing great content - so always try to use it.


Content:
As every expert will tell you, "Content is the King." Each web page should have at least 350-500 words on it, and the more the better, but keep in mind the formula for keyword density. You don't want to fill a page with 1500 words of jibba-jabba and only 5 keywords in it. Some people get hung-up on how browsers display text, and use images with text in them because they want a cool font, but browsers can't read the text embedded in images, so this content adds no weight to the page in a Search Engines eyes.

"Linkbaiting" is the new trend among high ranking sites. Linkbaiting means writing quality content, or articles that other web sites can display on their pages as long as they give credit, and a link to your site.

You don't have to be an expert content writer to write good web content, just be thoughtful of how you word things and incorporate your keywords.


Hyperlinks:
Hyperlinks aka. anchor tags are text links to other pages on your site. The rules of SEO and hyperlinks are easy:

• Use hyperlinks so the Search Engine will have a text link to follow to the next page
• Don't use one word links, use long link phrases, preferably keyword phrases
• Make sure that the other page your are linking a keyword phrase to, contains that particular keyword in the title and/or page content.

Keep these 8 aspects in mind when designing a site, and you are sure to have a leg up on the competition.



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Sunday, October 28, 2012

What is the Best Time to Send Emails

Boost Your Campaign's Opens and Click-Throughs - [Infographic]

 

To find out what times during the day are best for email opens and click-throughs, email marketing software provider GetResponse analyzed 21 million messages sent from US accounts during the first quarter of 2012.

The study found that 23.63% of all email opens occur within the first hour after delivery. Within the second hour after delivery, the results drop by half.

The top engagement times for email are as follows: in the mornings, 8 AM to 9 AM both for opens and click-throughs; and in the afternoons, 3 PM to 8 PM for opens, and 3 PM and 4 PM for click-throughs.

Time zones are also a consideration: Email marketers should keep in mind local times and work routines around the world, and stagger their mailings accordingly, keeping in mind the best times of day for engagement, according to GetResponse.

Check out the following infographic for more results from this study:

What is the Best Time to Send Emails

Questions? Leave them in the comment box.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

How to increase your website's Google Page Rank

Google PageRank (PR) is a measure from 0 to 10 of how important Google thinks a webpage is. Google's search engine, [www.google.com], uses a variety of methods to determine which pages are displayed first in the results. Though their exact formula is a secret, but there are a few things you can do to improve your positioning. The term for this is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

SEO is not a rocket science, just need to focus on certain elements on/off your webpage. Let's be realistic, the following tips may not make your website the first one to appear in the list, but they will definitely help you move up a little in Google search results:

#1: Page Content: Focus on quality over quantity

Most online marketers talk about using blogs to increase the number of pages indexed in Google. And while it still holds true that more pages indexed for a given search term gives you a better chance of achieving a high Google rank, it isn’t enough just to publish text optimized for keywords. The quality of the content is now a key factor.

Since the Panda update, Google has attempted to screen out those publishing high-volume, low-quality content. Now, in the eyes of Google, it’s better to have fewer high-quality pages then lots of low-quality pages.

Blogging is still one of the best ways to move up the search engine rankings as it is a good way to add high-quality information to a website. However, web pages or blog posts offering little of value can now negatively impact a website. Removing these pages might actually help a website move up the rankings or recover from a drop in ranking.

Also, not to mentioned that tuning-up your webpage's meta tags (i.e. title, description, keyword, alt, etc.) will also help gaining a better ranking in search results.
 
#2: Single Word vs. Keyword Phrases

Instead of focusing on a single word, try adding a few words to make a keyword phrase. If you were searching for your own website, what keyword phrase would you type into Google for each page? Would you look for super fast widgets? Would you look for cooking with widgets? It may be helpful to get a different perspective [in fact, a prospect's perspective].

Try to stick to one subject per page, and stick to one keyword phrase per page. That doesn't mean you should write stilted text or use odd phrases. Clear writing is both easier to search and easier to read

#3: Keyword Density

One of the things Google looks for when it catalogs pages is the density of the keyword usage. In other words, how often the keyword occurs. Use natural phrasing. Don't try to trick the search engine by repeating the same word over and over or making text "invisible." Frankly, it doesn't work. In fact, some of that behavior even get your website banned. [Warning!]

#4: Quality Links

Incoming links have always looked good in the eyes of Google. As a result, one way to move a site up the search engine rankings was to generate a high number of incoming links all pointing to a given web page.

Many online marketers suggest that press releases were a good way to generate incoming links because distribution services often generated back-links as articles were placed on various press release syndication websites. This link-building strategy has also changed post-Panda update, as these links are not as highly valued as they once were. However, a well-written press release can still be very effective when picked up and reported by a journalist or major publication.

Bottom-line is: Focus on getting high-quality links from high-quality websites.

#5: Submit Your Site to the Right Directories

Submit your website to the open directory project, if possible. Google considers this directory to be an important link. 

Note: Submit your site to specialized directories. For example, a work at home mother owned business (WAHM) should submit her site to WAHM directories. A site on butterflies should be sent to biology or entomology directories.

Don't get too submission happy, though. Google, in an effort to combat click fraud, often filters out websites linked from link farms, or pages with nothing but links to other websites. This is one reason why free services to register your website may hurt you. Stick to specialized directories and organizations. They're more likely to help and not hurt your rankings.

#6: Social Sharing and Social Search

Social networking sites can be a good way to promote a site, but not all of them will affect your rank directly. Digg and Del.icio.us are social linking sites that could potentially have the most impact. 



Do not forget that efforts made on SEO take 3-6 months in order to show their ideal results. Therefore, patience is the key [do not keep modifying the page every day or week]. Ignore spam and websites that offer to submit your website to hundreds of search engines. At best these are wastes of time or money and at worst they can actually hurt your ranking.

Good Luck!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Do you know what Social Media is?

Everyone’s buzzing, Social Media this, Social Media that. What is social media and what’s the deal? Can you be using it in your business? Should you be using it in your business?

I will answer all of these questions by the end of this article, and while I can’t tell you whether or not it’s for your business, certainly I can help you get a pretty good idea.

To understand exactly how Social Media came to be such a driving force in the business industry, you must understand how it started changing over time, both how Social Media adapted to people and people to Social Media.

What Is Social Media?

Social Media in its simplest form, refers to a platform for people to discuss and participate socially with one another. In fact when Social Media started it had almost no business applications at all. Social Media sites mainly started up in order to allow friends to better communicate with friends over the Internet.

Websites like MySpace and Facebook quickly became popular among friends and social groups alike and started setting the pace for what is social media as we know it today. At first it was just friends and people talking with friends and people online. But eventually businesses and other organizations realized that they could get some of the action and greatly benefit from it.

As a result companies started building Facebook pages. This was (and is) brilliant, because it gave companies a lot of flexibility and options when it came to getting customer feedback and adapting their business strategy to better meet customer needs. For example NBC could create a Facebook page for some popular sitcom, and then leave a post saying “Did you like last night’s episode of such and such?” Instant feedback.

Some companies are able to take it a step further than that, not only getting feedback but using that feedback to craft perfectly matched marketing messages. For example a pizza parlor could easily set up a Facebook page, and then make a post saying “What is your favorite pizza?” and then using the results (say people voted that pepperoni was their favorite) make the following post “Use this coupon code in order to get a %10 discount on your next pepperoni pizza.” Instant cashflow.

Some companies are able to take it even another step further. Say you’re in the golf market; you could make a post asking “What is the one thing about Golf that frustrates you the most?” Say a majority of people come back saying “developing a consistent swing” you could then go and create an information product that serves that need, perhaps a video course or an EBook about developing a consistent golf swing and sell it online from your website.

When it comes to Social Media the possibilities are nearly endless, if your company could benefit from being able to better communicate with your prospects (and what company wouldn’t?) as well as being able to gather quick and useful data in order to make educated decisions, then your company can be benefiting from Social Media.

By now you should have a good idea of what is social media, so go sign up and make an account on Twitter and Facebook. If you are nervous when it comes to actually using these platforms, then watch and see how some other organizations use it and then try to follow in their footsteps and emulate their success.


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