Have you ever had this experience? You read a great blog post and decided to write out a long, thoughtful comment. Then you arrived at the CAPTCHA, a mangled fuzz of letters. You accidentally entered the letters wrong and bam, your comment was erased and there was no way you were going to write out that comment again! That blogger just lost a new commentator and potentially even a regular reader.

The aim of all SEOs, online business owners, and bloggers is to attract quality traffic to their sites and increase conversions. But many websites feature CAPTCHAs (Completely Automatic Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) to prevent spam. In solving one problem, are webmasters creating another?

The CAPTCHA Debate

Nowadays CAPTCHAs are so common that many people don’t even think twice about commenting on a blog or registering for a forum if there is a CAPTCHA. However, sometimes the CAPTCHAS can be near impossible to decipher and if a visitor doesn’t get it right the first time around, they are most likely not going to stick around to try a second or third time. So it’s possible that webmasters, bloggers, and marketers are losing business because they are making it harder for their prospects and clients to make contact.

The key to increasing sales conversions online is making it easier for people to convert but CAPTCHAs certainly aren’t helping in that regard. Nonetheless, there are several benefits to using CAPTCHAs. Not only does it help you get rid of spam, it deters commentators who aren’t serious about making a valid contribution to discussions going on in the comment section of your blog or wherever else.

CAPTCHAS: The Epitome of User-Unfriendly

The usability/accessibility of your website definitely takes a hit when CAPTCHAs are part of the equation. CAPTCHAs make your website visitors pay for the actions of spammers. There are other methods of stopping spam out there such as human moderation and spam comment-blocking services such as Akismet. It might be acceptable to use CAPTCHAs on large websites that require user registration but otherwise webmasters may want to resort to other methods of blocking spam.

One way to look at it is that CAPTCHAs could possibly save you money and help your business. Moderating comments and filtering spam manually can be a very time-consuming process and anyone in this business knows that time is money. As a result, using a CAPTCHA may be a good idea because it will save you time and in the long run, money.

If you absolutely must include CAPTCHAs on your website, avoid the ones that make users identify very obscure text. These CAPTCHAs are difficult to decipher and very frustrating for users, potentially causing you to lose business. Instead, use simple CAPTCHAs such as easy math questions and image identification. The more entertaining and enjoyable the CAPTCHA is the better.

The bottom line is that CAPTCHAs are not user-friendly and if at all possible, they should be avoided. As long as you do away with the difficult CAPTCHAs that make visitors feel as if they are trying to crack the Da Vinci Code, you should be okay but try to apply other spam-blocking methods when you can. Otherwise, your CAPTCHAs could potentially lead to lost sales.

Labels: blogging, website_development

Unfortunately, many people who don’t know any better have fallen for the tricks of internet marketers who sell the “secrets” of SEO for $79.95 plus shipping. As much as these SEO snake oil salesmen would love to have everyone believe that SEO requires secret knowledge, the truth is that there is nothing mystical or secretive about SEO at all. Effective SEO techniques are clearly defined and readily reproduced around the web. The key to SEO success is giving up on finding overnight solutions to your SEO problems and separating fact from myth. Here are some of the most common myths about SEO, debunked.

SEO Myth #1 - In order to optimize a website, you must use a complicated scientific method.

There is a science to SEO but it is not as complicated as you think. The scientific method in SEO is simple and straightforward. The main gist of the scientific method in SEO is to determine the needs of the client, develop methods to meet those needs, test out those methods, repeat the tests, and then report the results. It’s a good idea to apply this scientific method on every SEO campaign if possible in order to get the best results.

SEO Myth #2 - You have to achieve certain prerequisites on authority prior to being able to rank on the first page of any search engine.

While it’s certain that big companies have it easier when it comes to ranking on the first page, it doesn’t mean that the little guys have no hope. Big companies tend to rank highly because they are in demand and more people expect to see them in the search results. However, that doesn’t mean that a new, small business cannot rank higher than a big, established company in the same niche. The search engines place more emphasis on relevancy than brand so if a small business’ site is more relevant to a particular search term, it could rank number one, even over a big brand competitor. This tends to happen mostly with long tail search terms. It can happen with generic search terms as well but it is rare.

SEO Myth #3 – You must use a secret formula to analyze and optimize websites.

SEO formulas are far from being secrets. While they can be complicated, they are not mystical or impossible for a layman to understand. The analysis of both on-page and off-page SEO factors is actually quite scientific. SEO methodologies are based on readily quantifiable factors and specific rules. As the search engine algorithms change, so do the methodologies.

With time, effort, and research, anyone could learn the formulas that even the best SEOs use. However, it’s not necessary to lock yourself up in a room for the next five years to learn and understand the formulas of the best SEOs. There are several tools and applications that allow webmasters to apply basic optimization techniques to their sites. Nevertheless, such tools are never a replacement for the skill and experience of a qualified SEO professional.

When you buy SEO services, you’re not buying magic. If anyone is trying to sell you SEO services or secrets with a shady “Dear Friend” sales letter, you should probably take off running in the other direction. Myths about SEO abound so if you want to start off on the right foot, quit searching for overnight solutions, educate yourself, and find out what SEO is and what it isn’t.

Labels: seo_guide, seo_tips

The true route to SEO for Google is through building up your website’s trust and authority. A website achieves authority when it becomes a trusted source of expert advice. Google determines how trustworthy a website is based on a variety of factors but mostly the amount and "value" of your backlinks, relevance of the content and domain registration details seems to be adding a good deal of trust. It is believed that trust and authority essentially determine Google rank. So how can you go about building Google authority and getting a coveted spot on Google’s trusted list?

What NOT to Do If You Want to Build Google Authority

If you want to build your site’s authority, first there are a few things you should definitely avoid doing such as buying and selling links for PR manipulation, stealing content from other sources and comment spamming. Don’t expect to last long on the search engines if you are buying and selling links only to increase your PR, links should always be relevant to your site and provide a useful source for the people visiting the linking page. You will also see your website’s ranking drop if you only use "stolen" content, a good percentage of your content should be as unique as possible and always related to your website niche. Other factors that could be detrimental to your Google authority include lack of link diversity, spam over optimized content, and unnatural link growth patterns.

Factors that Influence Your Google Authority

Incoming links, the content on your site, domain information and traffic will all determine your website’s authority. Google is becoming really good at measuring the quantity, growth, and consistency of traffic to your site which is apparently helping to measure its authority. While we know that Google measures click-throughs from search results to your website, it’s possible that they also use analytical tools to measure your site’s overall traffic. If your traffic is growing organically and consistently, you’re probably good to go.

Backlinks sources that have Google’s trust include directories such as Yahoo and Dmoz, reputable websites, blogs, social media and news sites. Links that come from new domains with low PR that are easier to acquire aren’t valued as much as links from websites such as .gov/.edu domains and big institutional sites. Other factors that come into play are the variety of anchor text, and the diversity of domains.

Lately domain registration details also seem to play an important role in determining website authority. Older domains with an impeccable ownership that has never owned a spam or banned domain, that are constantly updated and linked to, usually earn trust simply because they’ve been around longer and have maintain a constant growth. The length of time your domain has been registered for seems to becoming more and more important since it is a common sign that "proves" your site is going to be around tomorrow. The website itself has to be easily navigable and feature plenty of top-quality content that is targeted towards people, not search engines. You should also include a privacy polity, terms of use, complete contact and company information on your website to build trust among your site visitors.

Take a good look at your website and ask yourself whether it appears trustworthy and authoritative. Google will judge your site based on one question: does it add value to the worldwide web? Make sure your website gives something back to visitors and consider all of common white hat SEO factors to ensure that your website conveys the right message to Google. To prevent any kind of penalization by Google, make sure your website evolves as naturally as possible.

Labels: google, seo_guide, seo_tips

Your website landing pages will make or break your online presence. If you want your website to grab people’s attention and convert prospects into customers, your website copy needs to be top-notch. The right words will make the difference between a sale and a fail. Here are 7 steps you can take to optimize your website and landing pages to keep your goals on target and continually improve results. Evaluate and improve upon these factors one at a time in order to make your copy the best that it can be.

1. Tweak your headlines and sub-headlines.

Headlines and sub-headlines are critical to the success of your website. Headlines are what your prospects see first so they must grab their attention and allow them to determine whether the page is relevant to their needs. Visitors to your site will skim the headline and sub-headlines to decide whether they want to continue reading more of your copy. A headline that is worded well will entice visitors to go deeper.

2. Make sure the first mental image your copy gives off is powerful.

The first mental image of copy is generally a combination of the headline and the first few lines of the copy. Sometimes a picture or image may come into play in the first paragraph. Your copy will create a powerful mental image that converts visitors in just a few seconds if you choose the words and perspective.

3. Tell visitors what’s in it for them.

The backbone of any copy is its ability to communicate benefits. Put yourself in the shoes of your prospect, read your copy, and ask yourself, “What’s in it for me?” Make sure you talk to your readers about something that truly matters to them and speak in their language.

4. Take out the I, we, me, my

Make sure your copy is focused on your customers and not on you. If you use your own name too much or say “we” too many times, you risk coming across as self-centered. Simply replacing the “we” with “you” to make your copy customer-focused can increase your conversion rates dramatically.

5. Make your copy easy to digest

Avoid big blobs of text. People have very short attention spans online and tend to skim so make sure your content can be skimmed easily. Use plenty of short paragraphs and bullet points. Keep your copy concise. One question you should always ask yourself is, “Could I have said the same thing in a third of the words?”

6. Establish trust and credibility.

Why should your readers believe you anyway? Make sure you provide some credentials, examples of your achievements, and/or testimonials so readers have good reason to trust you and believe you.

7. Ensure that your calls to action are clear.

Your readers should know exactly what they are supposed to do after they read your copy so make sure there’s nothing left up in the air. Use persuasive wording to develop your calls to action.

Compelling landing pages are ultimately what will convert your prospects into customers. Even if you have droves of traffic arriving at your site, it means nothing if you can’t get them to complete the desired action. Consider all of these steps and apply them to the best of your abilities to create copy that gets your point across and increases conversions.

Labels: blogging, social_media

So you’ve taken the plunge and decided to hire SEO services. Congratulations! You’re taking a big step towards boosting your online presence and attracting more clientele in an increasingly digital age. Prior to selecting which SEO company to go with, you need to understand the nature of SEO, outline your goals, and determine your needs and budget.

The Nature of SEO Services

SEO services are essentially hit or miss because unlike traditional advertising, placement cannot be guaranteed – it is completely up to the search engines. The more in tune an SEO company is with the criteria of search engines the more likely they are to achieve a good search ranking for your site. There is no way an SEO company can purchase a placement because it must be earned through a strategic process. The ultimate aim of using SEO services is to increase exposure to your website. It is the job of the SEO service to measure the level and value of that exposure.

Determining Your Goals

What do you hope to get from an SEO service? SEO services can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per month depending on service offerings. Prior to deciding on what kind of SEO services to get, you need to understand what your ultimate goals are and how you can accomplish those goals. Perhaps you are hoping to increase your registered members or maybe you want to increase conversion rates for a specific product. The SEO services you require will vary depending on what your ultimate goals are.

You’ll know that an SEO company is doing its job if there is increased traffic to your site, the return is worth the investment, and conversion rates are good. If you find a reputable SEO company that can complete these tasks efficiently, SEO can be the most cost-effective way to market your business. If you learn to maintain your rankings a steady flow of traffic will arrive at your site for years after the initial investment you make in SEO services.

Price Considerations

You get what you pay for in SEO. The types of services you get will ultimately depend on your needs and budget. If you would like to hire an SEO company that provides conversion metrics and evaluation of visitor behavior, you should expect to pay more. Such services provide a more holistic approach to SEO that places a heavy emphasis on marketing while other SEO companies offer services that focus more on providing high rankings.

The cost of your services will also depend on how competitive your niche is. The more competitive your target keywords are, the more services your site will require. It is much easier to rank for competitive keywords if you run an established, reputable website.

Basic SEO services that most websites initially require are the addition of keyword-targeted content, link-building, and altering of site structure to make it crawlable for search engines. If you are in a competitive niche, your site will most likely require ongoing services in order to measure visitor behavior, continually build/buy links, etc. SEO companies typically charge a monthly fee for ongoing services.

When hiring an SEO company, make sure to find one that you trust, that is ranking in the search engines for their targeted keywords and can provide proof of their knowledge

Labels: seo_services

One marketing technique that will never die is the use of catchy headlines. Catchy headlines grab people’s attention and compel them to read your content. In the online world, headlines also serve as title tags for each page of your website so they also have SEO value when they include your target keyword terms.

In this digital age, people’s attention spans are severely limited. We are bombarded with marketing messages on a constant basis so for us to pay attention to any piece of content online, it must feature an enticing headline that grabs our attention and makes us want to know more about what the content contains.

The 3 Types of Headlines

Successful headlines generally fall under three categories: news, teaser, and benefits-oriented headlines. News headlines work because humans constantly want to learn about what is new and different. An example of a news headline is: “New Software Program Cuts Paper Usage by 60%.” Teaser headlines are designed to captivate readers and “tease” them into reading an article. Teaser headlines are a gamble to use because they give no information about what the article contains so it’s possible that they’ll fail to entice readers. An example of a teaser headline is: “Give It a Boost.” Does this headline give you any clue as to what the article contains? - Probably not. It might make people want to read your article but then again it might not.

Benefits-oriented headlines tend to be the most successful because they express a benefit to the reader and give readers a gist of the main message of the content. An example of a benefits-oriented headline is: “How to Get Rid of Acne in 3 Easy Steps.” This type of headline stands a better chance of getting your readers’ attention because it clearly expresses what they will get out of reading your content.

Headlines for SEO

Since headlines for your site’s content are likely to become your title tags, it’s necessary to include your target keyword terms in them. Moreover, research has shown that title tags that contain target keyword terms are more likely to get clicked among search results. If your site is in the first three search engine rankings for a particular term, you’re probably good to go but otherwise headlines will play a big role in attracting more clicks and visitors. Make sure to include the headline at the top of your page so visitors are certain that they clicked on the right link.

Tips for Coming Up with Great Headlines on the Spot

There are some easy techniques you can use to come up with compelling headlines for your web content in a short amount of time. Some of these include providing helpful advice (Tips for Preventing Migraines), using the “how to” headline (How to Lose 30 Pounds in 30 Days), and using numbered headlines (10 Tips for Taking a Frugal Family Vacation). Use these formulas to quickly generate headline ideas for your content.

Headlines are a powerful tool for bringing more traffic to your site and getting more social media attention. Give your website an edge with headlines that compel, attract, and entertain. Studies in online advertising show that readers respond to headlines more than any other element, including design. Make sure to give your headlines the oomph they need to grab attention and encourage more people to click!

Labels: blogging, website_development

According to statistics, a blog is born every half second. Blogging is a great way to market yourself online, get your opinions read, and increase traffic to your site but since the blogosphere is saturated, it clearly takes some marketing savvy to get your blog noticed. Here are some specific strategies that will help you get some recognition in the ever-expanding world of blogging.

1. Encourage Comments

Each comment your blog receives is essentially a crawlable piece of unique content, meaning that blog comments are SEO-friendly. Furthermore, readers like blogs where they feel welcome making comments. Generally the more controversial a post is the more comments it will receive. Don’t be afraid of occasionally tackling divisive topics on your blog because such posts could attract many passionate commentators on both sides of the argument. You can also ask readers what they think at the end of your posts to encourage them to comment.

2. Write Guest Posts

One of the tried and true ways to market yourself as a blogger is to write guest blog posts for reputable blogs in your niche. It’s free to write guest posts but it will require a substantial investment of time. However, the increase in traffic and recognition you will receive are well worth the investment.

3. Leave Useful Comments on Popular Blogs

Which blogs in your niche are the most popular? They are probably crowded with commentators so join in and comment along with the pack but make sure your comments actually contribute to the conversation. People around the blogosphere will start to notice the blogger (you!) making all of those interesting comments, which will help you drive traffic to your site and increase readership.

4. Link Out to Other Bloggers

Some bloggers may feel weary about linking out to other blogs on their site because it drives traffic away but building community and sharing link love is what blogging is all about. Important bloggers are more likely to take notice of you if you link out to their posts and include them in your blogroll.

5. Reply to Comments on Your Blog

New people poking their head around on your blog are probably going to be too shy to comment intially. Make your blog a welcoming place for commentators by responding to comments when you can. Responding to comments helps you build rapport with readers and puts new visitors at ease because it makes you seem approachable.

6. Use Twitter

Twitter is an excellent marketing tool for bloggers because it helps you drive traffic to your website, build your “brand” as a blogger, and connect with people who have similar interests. Share your blog posts with your Twitter followers and find new people to follow by using the search tool to find tweets that are relevant to your niche.

7. Network Offline

While social media sites obviously play a prominent role in marketing and networking yourself as a blogger, don’t dismiss offline networking either. Offline networking consists of attending conferences and trade shows or simply meeting up with your fellow bloggers face-to-face. Networking offline is a great way to make important contacts that can potentially expose you to new opportunities down the line.

Labels: blogging, social_media

The imminent death of SEO has been a hot topic amongst SEO professionals for quite some time now. Some SEO professionals worry that their careers are in jeopardy since search engines are continually making improvements to their technologies. Search engines are in the process of completely revamping their ranking strategies to fight spammers and improve user experience. For example, Google is currently improving intent and behavior-based search in order to provide more relevant search results. So what does this all mean for the future of SEO? Is the death of SEO an inevitable outcome of the advancement of search engines?

People have been predicting the end of SEO since the very beginning. While it’s certain that things on the SEO front are always changing and that search engines are getting smarter, SEOs will continually adapt to these changes just as they have in the past. As long as search engines list websites without requiring the websites to pay a fee, SEO will exist.

Google’s Improvements and What They Mean for the Future of SEO

In the quest to fight spam and improve user experience, Google is in the process of implementing a series of changes in behavior and intent-based search. Every person who conducts a search for a particular term will have different results based on their location and search history. As a result of these changes, search engine optimization have to switch from only targeting keywords to focus more on increasing traffic and conversions. A possibility is that link building will become far less important in the future of SEO because Google will determine the value of a website based on how visitors engage with it. The ultimate goal of websites will be to provide compelling content that entices visitors to read, share, bookmark, and so on.

Social input through voting is another feature that search engines are tinkering with in order to provide user-controlled rankings. Search engine users might have the chance to vote for sites they like and sites will get ranked based on such votes. The model will be similar what’s seen on social voting sites like Digg and Reddit. Of course, search engines will have to find a way to ensure that votes are made naturally in order to prevent black hat SEOs from fooling the search engine bots.

Google and other search engines are raising the bar in SEO. Initially, this will make it harder for SEO professionals to do their job but the end result is positive. Spammers and black hat SEOs will have more difficulty succeeding in their unscrupulous efforts and search engine users will be provided with content that is more relevant.

Humans, Not Machines

As always, the aim of webmasters and SEO professionals should be to appeal to humans. People spend so much time trying to trick the search engines that they forget who they are ultimately serving: people! Your site should be optimized but your priority should always be to fulfill needs and provide solutions. Considering the direction that SEO is going, human actions and behavior will ultimately determine rankings. Your SEO success depends on your ability to engage people through great content and social media marketing.

Labels: google, search_engines, seo_tips

Want your local business to thrive online? There is an abundance of information about how to target local search terms and become an online leader in your local area and niche but it’s easy to experience information overload with all the advice that’s available out there. Here are the 5 essential components of local search that will help you rank and dominate in your local market.

1. Add Geographical Information to Your Page Titles

Make sure to use both your target keyword term and location name in your page titles. This allows search engines to determine easily what your site is about and search engine users are more likely to click on your site if it contains relevant geographical information and keywords.

2. Get Your Business Listed on Prominent Websites Directories

Google Maps, Yahoo Local, and MSN Live Local are all websites where you can have your business listed in order to make it easier for potential customers to find you. By claiming ownership of your business listings on these prominent sites, you allow both search engines and potential customers to get correct information about your business. Sometimes unscrupulous competitors may claim your listing on these sites to undermine you. Make sure you’re the first one to claim your listings in order to build trust between you, the search engines, and potential customers. There are also several local search directories that get significant traffic where you can claim your listings. Click2connect.com and Citysquares.com are examples of local search directories with good traffic.

3. Provide Plenty of Information about Your Business in Your Listings

When search engine users stumble upon your website through clicking on your business listing, you want to be sure that you give them as much information as possible about your service. In addition to including the basics such as your address, contact information, and operation hours give potential customers plenty of reasons why they ought to choose you over your competitors. For example, mention exactly which towns and neighborhoods you service, what credit cards you accept, what your guarantees are, and anything else that is pertinent.

4. Use Your Target Keyword Phrases as Anchor Text in Your Hyperlinks

Link reputation is an integral component of search engine algorithms. When possible, make sure that the links pointing back to your site use your best target keyword phrase and variations of your location as anchor text. Your internal links also contribute to link reputation so be sure to link to pages within your site using good link text. This link text can be used in your site navigation, HTML sitemap, and links within your content.

5. Monitor Reviews about Your Business Online

Thanks to the internet, consumers can submit online reviews of businesses to customer-controlled review sites like Yelp and share their experiences, whether good or bad. This could be highly beneficial to your business if it gets great reviews but it could also hurt you if you get some bad reviews. Monitor the reviews your business receives on a regular basis so you can spot bad reviews when they arise and dispute them if necessary. Sometimes customers don’t always give fair reviews so make that if you do get bad reviews that are unjustified, the potential customers who see them can get both sides of the story at the very least. Using Google Alerts is a convenient way to keep track of what is being said about your business online.

Focus on these 5 strategies in local search to boost your business’ online presence. There are several tactics you can use to increase targeted traffic to your business’ website and improve its ranking but these are some of the most effective ways to give your business a solid footing in local search.

Labels: seo_guide, seo_tips

When it comes to link-building, big businesses certainly hold a number of advantages over small businesses. Big businesses have big budgets and brand awareness at their disposal while the little guys have to fend for themselves with bare-bones budgets. Big businesses don’t have to try too hard to attract links either since they are already well-known in their respective markets.

Nevertheless, just because your budget is limited does not mean that your links have to be. It’s possible for small businesses to build awesome links without breaking bank although it requires a significant investment of time.

Cover the Basics

The basics of link-building that all small businesses must cover include getting listed in related directories, industry verticals, and local business organizations. Determine which sites are at the top in your industry and try to get a link on them by writing articles for them or offering them something other product/service in return. You can use a tool such as backlinkwatch.com to find out which sites are linking to your competitors and perhaps determine how your competitors are getting those links so you can do the same thing.

Another effective way to build links is through submitting online press releases whenever you have a newsworthy announcement to make. The key is to accumulate quality backlinks. It doesn’t take an excessive amount of quality backlinks to achieve good rankings as long as you aren’t in a highly competitive niche.

Make Your Site Link-Worthy

If your site is purely commercial, you may have trouble attracting links. If this is the case, you can develop a strategy that will allow you to publish content that is apart from the commercial area of your site or you can try creating a separate site altogether. It is much easier to attract links to a section of your website that does more than just sell a product or service. Some great tools to create for the purpose of attracting links include blogs, wikis, industry news sites, and review sites. In the case you take the long road and create a different site, once the site builds up some link equity, you can advertise your main website there or link back to it.

Take some time to think about what you can do to make your site link-worthy. Offer something that sets you apart from your competitors. Think about the problems and needs your customers may have and try to provide solutions. Remember to give other websites a good reason to link back to you. One thing you could do is write favorable reviews of businesses that are not your direct competitors in order to attract attention to your site and perhaps score some links in return.

One of the advantages small businesses have over big businesses in regards to link-building is the fact that they can get the ball rolling a lot more quickly. Big businesses have to deal with a lot of red tape before they can make changes or start new projects. Small businesses typically only have a couple decision makers on board so they can put decisions into motion quickly. Acting swiftly certainly has its advantages in online PR, particularly if it would be of advantage to your business to break relevant news and trends before your competitors.

Offer Freebies

People love free stuff and a tried and true method of building links is through hosting giveaways. Whether you give away a blog template, e-report, or widget, make sure to include a link back to your site in every giveaway. Giving away free stuff has the potential to attract massive amounts of traffic to your website in addition to building your links. You can also head over to deals websites to give away coupons and drop your link.

Another easy way to get great links through giving is by donating to charity. Not only will you be doing your part to make the world a better place, having links on well-known charity websites will definitely improve your ranking. You could also provide a service to a charity organization rather than make a donation. Charity organizations are often in need of services such as web design, marketing, and writing.

These are just a sampling of the several things you can do when building links for your small business’ website. A small budget doesn’t have to equal small results. You can get big results if you stand out from your competitors and dedicate the time and effort necessary to building quality links.

Labels: link_building, seo_services

Quality content, link-building, social media, and on-page optimization – these are just a sampling of the many aspects of SEO. Depending on who you ask, you will get a different answer about which aspect of SEO is most important. You may feel overwhelmed with the SEO tasks ahead of you but you can prioritize your duties by following these simple steps.

Determine Your Goals

Want to know how to prioritize your SEO efforts? Start out by defining your goals. Whether you want to sell products or services, build brand image, or increase site traffic, you need to determine what your priority is and focus on the aspects of SEO that will help you achieve that goal. Once you figure out what your top priorities are, create key performance indicators, or KPIs. The more specific your KPIs are the better. When you have specific KPIs, you can easily determine whether you are meeting or missing your goals. Some examples of KPIs include the goals to get 1000 new newsletter subscribers in one month, sell 10 information products in one week, or rank in the top ten Google results for a specific keyword term.

When you outline your goals and create KPIs, you will know what strategies are required in order for you to meet your goals. The tactic you use will depend on the goal in question. For example, if you want to rank in the top 10 results for “dog shampoo,” one of the steps you'll want to focus on is link-building with anchor text containing that keyword. If you are trying to increase the number of subscribers to your newsletter, you may spend a lot of time creating and marketing killer web content that targets your particular demographic.

Decide Whether You Need to Focus on Quality Content or Link-Building

You may have heard that the most important aspect of SEO is link-building. This holds true more for new websites than old, established websites. Sure, links remain important no matter what but older sites that have already built up sufficient link authority can get pages ranked simply by adding new content and linking to it internally. On the other hand, if your website is relatively new, your on-page tweaking efforts will have minimal effects until you build link authority. Your basic on-page SEO factors such as optimized content, optimized title tags, crawlability, internal linking, and flat site architecture should be taken care of but your primary focus should be on link-building after that.

Spend Time on the Most Critical Aspects of SEO

Determining your goals and focus is important but no matter what your ultimate aim is, you should always keep the big picture. Pay attention to the most critical aspects of SEO, which are links, interesting content that is optimized for target keywords, crawlability, site structure and optimized title tags.

If you are in the early stages of SEO, focus your efforts on forging relationships with other people online in order to build links and attract traffic. Whether you are a newbie or a seasoned webpreneur, use target keywords in your title tags and make your site accessible for humans and search engines for better crawlability. And don’t forget to provide your visitors with content worth linking to!

Take these simple steps to ensure that you head in the right direction for SEO success. Define your goals in the beginning so you can determine which strategies will give you the most “bang for your buck.” Nevertheless, don’t neglect the critical aspects of on-page and off-page SEO in your quest for achieving specific goals.

Labels: seo_guide, seo_tips

Microsites can be helpful or not-so-helpful to your main website’s search engine ranking and traffic-building efforts, depending on how you use them. In some cases, creating a new microsite instead of adding content to your main website may be more beneficial in the long run. You must take a wide range of factors into consideration before deciding whether to expand your current site or create a microsite.

There is a Time and a Place for Microsites

Many webmasters build microsites to house blog posts and content for the sake of attracting links from webmasters and bloggers, who are more likely to link to a blog or content-driven site rather than content located on a company’s website. However, that means your microsite rather than your main website is earning a diversity of backlinks. Webmasters try to remedy this by linking to their main site on their microsite with anchor text containing target keywords. In terms of SEO, this can have limited benefits because the link juice becomes a lot weaker once passed through an intermediary source. Your main website will only be earning backlinks from ONE website (your microsite), whereas your microsite will be earning backlinks from a diversity of sources. If feasible, it’s recommended to have great content hosted on your main website so it receives backlinks from several sources.

Another issue with microsites is that they cannot ride on the coattails of your main website, which is located on an aged domain and has established trust, authority, and history. A microsite on a new domain could be absent from the search engines for months. That being said however, microsites do pose a number of benefits. Depending on what niche you are in, a microsite could get a lot more link love than your main “corporate” website. Furthermore, if you are at a large company, you won’t have to worry about overcoming any legal or PR department hurdles by building a microsite apart from the main domain. In addition, microsites can be extremely helpful in generating traffic to your main website if you include links in the content.

The Benefits of Microsites for Affiliate Marketers

In the past, affiliates only had two choices for building affiliate sites: get a landing page provided by the vendor and drive traffic to it or use an affiliate tracking code. These options were not appealing because affiliate tracking codes are not SEO-friendly and because affiliates did not have control over the content with either option. Now affiliate marketers have the option of building and creating content for their very own microsites, which are very SEO-friendly.

How to Find a Domain for Your Microsite

When purchasing a domain name for your microsite, look for one that is aged and that preferably had a site running on it for a while. Then you just have to change the domain registration information slowly to prevent the website’s page rank from being reset to zero. You can also add a couple of pages of new content to the domain immediately upon purchasing it and then accumulate backlinks to those pages. This should be done as far in advance of the site’s launch as possible. Wordpress is a great content management system to use for microsites because of its powerful features.

So there you have it. Microsites have their ups and downs but all in all, they can serve as powerful tools to build search engine ranking and increase traffic if they are used correctly. If you are an affiliate marketer or you think that people would be more likely to link to your content if it was on a separate domain, consider creating a microsite for your content.

Labels: blogging, link_building, seo_guide

Where have all the good domain names gone? You may be stumped about what domain name you ought to use for your new website. After all, there are several factors you must consider when choosing a domain such as if it helps to build your brand, if it is easy to remember, and if it has SEO benefits. Prior to brainstorming about a great domain name, you must determine whether your domain is disposable or permanent.

Disposable Domains vs. Permanent Domains

If you’re an affiliate marketer trying to make quick bucks selling acai supplements for weight loss, a domain such as acai-pill-for-weight-loss.com would probably fit the bill. Such a domain is considered a disposable or throwaway domain. You probably aren’t planning to use it for an extended period so making brand-building considerations isn’t really necessary.

If you have a permanent domain name that is an integral part of your larger brand-building efforts, you should use something that is easy to remember, distinctive, and credible-sounding. Your friends and webmasters would probably feel embarrassed linking out to a website with a domain such as acai-pill-for-weight-loss.com. Remember that you will have site visitors coming from several sources, not just search engines. A site domain that doesn’t look trashy is far more likely to get linked to on social media sites and beyond. Moreover, a site domain that is easy to remember will allow you to enjoy the advantages of word of mouth and score more return visitors.

Tips for Choosing a Brand-Worthy Domain Name

Great domain names are becoming scarce these days. That’s why when you get your hands on one it becomes an asset. So what defines brand anyway? A brand consists of experiences and associations that are connected to a person, company, or service. Think of a big brand like Nike for example. What do you associate Nike with? Perhaps you think of athleticism, victory, and self-confidence. Nike has successfully built a respectable brand image over the years. But what about small businesses who don’t have millions of dollars to spend building brand image? The little guys can come up with a memorable domain name through the soft branding technique, which consists of tweaking a concept already in existence rather than coming up with a completely “meaningless” name to represent your brand. Hotmail is an example of soft branding since people already understand the concept of “mail.” Google.com is an example of a “meaningless” domain name. People now associate the name Google with innovation, the future, and technology but when Google got its start, its name was little more than gibberish to most.

SEO Considerations when Choosing Domain Names

Some argue that it’s best to use a generic domain name that includes a target keyword because people are more likely to click on a URL that matches their search term. There is evidence which suggests that Google takes this factor into consideration when weighing the value of a website but different SEOs seem to have different opinions on the matter.

It can be difficult to include target keywords in your domain name if you want a brand-worthy domain that is unique and catchy. If you find that adding a target keyword would conflict with your domain name’s brand-building efforts, consider adding a byline. A byline describes what you do and contains your target keywords. Bylines become an important part of your brand as well. For example, if you sell curtains but your domain name is precision123.com, you could add a byline that says, “Window treatments in Philadelphia,” to give more details about your service.

Now that you are armed with this information, explore your options carefully when deciding on a domain name for your website. If you are looking to build a permanent domain that reflects your brand, by all means avoid cringe-worthy, hyphenated URLs and brainstorm to come up with something worthy of building your brand image upon. The key to success is coming up with a domain name that is memorable and distinctive and if possible, a name that hints at what product or service you offer.

Labels: on_site_seo, website_development