Archive for July, 2008

Author: April Hall

SEO Copywriter

We all know the basic drill of writing a blog entry:

1. Brainstorm a clever, interesting topic
2. Write the entry, using appropriate link strategies and keyword usage
3. Choose your blog entry’s categories
   
4. Create a title that summarizes the entry, perhaps using some common industry keywords

Did you know that this basic blog writing formula could, in fact, be detrimental to the success of your business blog? Can you guess what is missing from this otherwise perfectly appropriate writing process? Keyword Research on your Blog Titles!

I’ve read (and written!) a lot of instructive pages about how to create interesting content that attracts readers through SEO strategies, and then holds them to the page using pertinent content. All of these suggestions are great; but unless your blog entries show up on search engine results pages, you may never find those new readers that are so important to your blog’s readership.

To increase the number of new readers who may stumble upon your blog entries, make sure to use the Google keyword research tool, or another similar tool, to discover how popular your title’s keywords are before you publish your entries. You will probably find that by simply “tweaking” the keywords that you choose for your blogs, you can capture much more “accidental” traffic that comes from making your way up the search engine results page.

Should you use this keyword research tool with every entry? Yes! Do I remember to use this tools every time I write an entry? Umm… No… It isn’t the end of the world to neglect this step, and sometimes your blog entry simply is too unique to have too many popular keywords associate with it. There are also times that the most appropriate keywords for your entry are ones that are too broad to be much help. For example, with this particular entry, I searched for keyword suggestions, and found that “keyword research” was the best choice; however, if I had gone with “keyword research tool”, I may have benefited from more targeted searches.

Driving up readership for your blog is really a matter of balancing SEO strategies with really great content. How have the rest of your found a way to address both of these goals?

Bookmark to:
         

Author: April Hall

Copywriter

Last week, I got a call that would scare anyone: my father was having unexpected open-heart surgery and I needed to drive home right away. In end, everything worked out fine, and my dad will eventually be as strong as before, but it was definitely a very frightening few days. One of the reasons he is doing so well is that he had spent many years keeping healthy and staying active, so his heart is strong and his body is able to recover quickly. Being prepared helped to make this difficult experience as smooth as possible.

What exactly does a quadruple bypass have to do with internet marketing? Quite a lot-if you allow for a bit of creative license! Success after an emergency, whether it be physical or business in nature, relies on how prepared you are for the unexpected. In business, a slow season,during which you experience a period of decreased business, as well as an unusually active business season can cause your employees stress. Dealing with a plethora of demanding customers is as much, if not more so, of a headache as dealing with a rising mountain of unpaid operating expenses bills.

What type of measures should your business take when it comes to internet marketing strategies? Consider implementing the following marketing practices:

• Diversify your marketing strategies: No matter how successful your web marketing company is, there will be times when your sites simply experience less traffic and fewer orders. Perhaps current events drive traffic to other sites; or maybe your industry as a while is experiencing a downturn. Whatever the reason, it is wise to diversify your marketing and include other mediums, including print media and perhaps even television advertising.
• Develop a smart advertising campaign strategy. It takes more than a skilled web development company to make your campaign successful. It takes a company that will work with you to make the most of your advertising dollars. A clear map for your advertising budget and some measurable goals for success are absolutely vital to create a strategy that works.

As I sit in the waiting room, thankful for the success of my own father’s procedures, I look around and feel sympathy for the others in the room whose experiences have not been nearly as positive as mine. Of course, being prepared for life’s (and businesses) many unexpected challenges doesn’t always mean that you are able to avoid disaster. But, thinking ahead and making smart choices can give you the best chance to enjoy success for many years to come.

Bookmark to:
         

Author: Thomson Chemmanoor

Search Engine Optimizer

Keyword research is more of an art than a science. Finding keyword phrases is one of the fundamental components of search engine optimization, but yet it is one of the the least talked about optimization techniques. If you are not doing effective keywords research, your SEO efforts will go astray. Keywords are still the most important aspect of optimization. Here are seven techniques to effective keyword research.

1) Remove misconception - One of the common mistakes about conducting keyword research for SEO campaigns is thinking that you already know what phrases or words the customer is using to find your website. Actually you don’t. It is difficult to predict what customers will type in a search box without conducting keyword research. Another misconception is aiming for generic keywords which are so broad they are hard to rank.

2) Ask your readers - If you already have some reader base, they probably have questions. Allow them to email or post comments which will give you ideas on what they are looking for.

3) Build a list - Try to come up with a combination of words. Brainstorm keywords with other staff members, family and friends to find out what potential customers would type in a search box to find you.

4) Check your log files - Use your web analytics or raw log file with search query terms to see what people typed in to find your website. Based on those queries, expand your keyword list.

5) Spy on your competition - Review what your competition is doing and look at the questions and comments posted on their blogs and site.

6) Rely on keyword suggestion tools - Don’t rely on a single tool but use different keywords suggestion tools like word tracker, Google Adwords and keyword discovery. By doing this you can find in-depth long tail keywords which have less competition and can rank easier.

7) Yahoo answers- Yahoo answers and other question and answers websites will provide insight into what kind of keywords they use to ask questions.

No matter how much time you invest in keyword research, the quality of the keywords you gain will be an invaluable tool for any SEO initiative.

Bookmark to:
         

I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine the other day when an interesting question came up. The question was- are companies focusing too much on SEO? It’s an interesting subject. After all, search engine optimization is necessary in today’s business model if you wish to stay relevant. However, are some companies so in love with the idea of SEO that they are shooting themselves in the foot?

SEO is Exciting

Since SEO is still a fairly new technique, many businesses are eager to hop on the bandwagon. They are forward thinking business owners who want to position themselves to be market leaders in the future. This is certainly a good thing. But as the saying goes “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”.

I believe you should spread your marketing efforts across many platforms. Sure, I think SEO is an absolute must for establishing an online presence. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here writing this blog. However, just because you have an optimized website doesn’t mean you will be successful. You need to pursue other methods of reaching new customers.

Use a Balanced Marketing Strategy

There are many proven techniques companies use to build their brand. Some of these techniques include brochure distribution, direct mailings, TV and radio advertisements, newsletters, press releases, and e-mail marketing to name a few.  These are all effective methods you can still implement into your current marketing strategy.

The key to advertising is balance. A well planned, balanced approach helps you reach more customers while building a consistent theme for your brand. This can’t be accomplished by only using one platform to market your business.

To sum it up, the point of this post is not to convince you to stop optimizing your website. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. You should always be thinking of new ways to further your SEO efforts. However, don’t forget to incorporate some of the tried and true advertising methods into your overall marketing strategy.

 

Bookmark to:
         

 Author: Eric Brantner

SEO Content Writer

We all know about it and we all want it, but what role should linkbait play in our SEO strategy? Is it something we should always be seeking? Should we base all of our SEO efforts into creating it? Or should linkbait take a backseat to other SEO techniques? Let’s take a look at some of the positives and negatives of linkbait to determine how much time and energy we should put into it.

What is Linkbait?

For the sake of any readers who might be new to SEO, we should first define what linkbait is. The most basic definition of linkbait is any content designed for the sole purpose of generating as many links as possible from outside sources. This idea has risen in popularity as blogs and social networking have become common tools for internet users.

Controversial content is one of the most effective types of linkbait. All you have to do is look at the front page of Digg to see evidence of this. Compelling, controversial headlines attract readers like moths to a flame. Therefore, if you can come up with some controversial content within the scope of your blog, you could earn success with the social media sites. Most importantly, success on one of these sites means you will get an abundance of inbound links to your website.

Another way to perform well on social sites is to create timely content. In other words, rehashing an old idea won’t get you far with social network users. People crave new information, and if you can give it to them, you will be rewarded. To achieve this, you must have eyes and ears everywhere. You have to know about all industry developments as soon as they happen.

Linkbait isn’t Always Easy to Create

If you think creating a good piece of linkbait sounds difficult, you’re right. Frankly, it can be very time consuming, and it’s not a guaranteed strategy for success. The vast majority of content submitted to social media sites will never make it to the front page. It’s almost like winning the lottery. You have to have some skill and mostly luck on your side to achieve success with linkbaiting.

Furthermore, creating linkbait can send the wrong message to your loyal readers. If every post on your blog is nothing more than a gimmick to attract links, your reader base will begin to shrink steadily. You must provide useful content if you wish to maintain a loyal reader base.

So, that brings us back to the original question- what role should linkbait play in your SEO strategy? Personally, I think there is a lot of value in linkbait. However, you must seek after it sparingly. Don’t fill your blog with a slew of posts that add no value to the reading experience. Instead, only create linkbait when you have a truly compelling idea you believe could win you the linkbait lottery.

Bookmark to:
         

Author: April Hall

Copywriter

With all of the talk today about the presidential candidates “moving towards the center”, it’s hard to know exactly what that term means. It seems, at least, to have a negative connotation,doesn’t it? People seem to say that kind of thing with scorn… “Obama seems to be moving toward the center to gain some Independent votes.” “McCain can’t seem to be able to move too far away from the center without losing support.” Who in the world would want to move toward the center?

Punditry aside, there are some definite advantages in moving toward this allusive “center”. In doing so, you get to:

• Align yourself with the mainstream
• Reach the largest number of people
• Identify with the values of the greatest number of people
• Appear non-threatening and traditional

You’d better hope that your search engine marketing company moves towards the center, because that is one of the best ways to maximize your page views and draw potential clients to your site! How can a search engine marketing company become more “centrist”?

Basically, there are two ways to make sure your SEO does not become too radical, or too conservative:

1. Use widely accepted SEO and internet marketing practices. While it’s fine for innovative marketers to push the envelope at times, the majority of your marketing campaign should be conducted using tried-and-true SEO guidelines and proven techniques.

2. Keep your SEO content balanced and free of highly opinionated statements. You don’t want to immediately turn new readers off due to blanket statements. It’s understandable that you may have very strong opinions about certain products or industry professionals; but you don’t want to drive away new readers who think differently that you. Be subtle in how you describe your ideas. Of course, it’s fine to be very clear that you believe your products and services beat the competition–but keep your site free of negative statements about other companies.

I never thought I, as someone who has strong opinions about everything from cars to clothing, would say this, but Long Live Centrism! I(At least when it comes to search engine marketing) It really is the best way to identify with the most users.

Bookmark to: