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| Your Monthly up to date resource for Search Engine Marketing, Optimization,
Website Design and Web Hosting |
October 2005 |
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- Questions or Comments?
The Directory One team is here to help:
- Sean Odom, Search Engine Marketing
- John Holchin, Marketing and Business Admin
- Beatriz Ortiz, Accounting
- Philip O'Hara, Sales
- Jesus De La Garza, Website Design
- Stacy Clifford, Web Hosting
- Jennifer Williams, Intern
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Welcome Message
Welcome to our October Newsletter |
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I'm one of those fortunate people who makes a living doing exactly what I like most, helping others be
successful. Each day brings different challenges and rewards. The world of SEO is constantly changing
and the impact it has on businesses, large and small, continues to amaze me.
This past weekend I met yet another person who was spending $750.00 a month in the Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages.
He is a sign builder and he called my office to talk about a sign we're putting out on the Katy Freeway. He called
me and we chatted for about an hour or so. He is a traditional person, nearing retirement and like so many, somewhat
mystified by the internet. He's been running his Yellow Page ads without much thought except for the fact
that ever year he sees the number of leads going down. He told me he liked the way business used to be conducted-back
when businesses cared that their customers we well informed and when service counted for something. He said it was hard
to get the word out that the way he conducted business was different. He liked helping people and people don't mind
him making a living either. I smiled and explained that the very things he was searching for were the strengths of the
internet. His eyes lit up as he realized that the internet was not mysterious. It was a new way of communicating the
values he held so important. He said he will not renew his Yellow Pages without thinking of me this year.
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| Marketing & Business News
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| SEO Advertising Revenues Continue to Soar |
A recent issue of eMarketer newsletter reported that search engine optimization advertising (the amount spent by
companies to improve their search engine visibility) grew to $2.3 billion in the first half of 2005 compared to $1.8
billion for the first half of 2004. That's an impressive 28% growth rate. Furthermore, the same article reported that
search engine optimization accounted for 40% of the total amount spent on internet advertising.
What makes those figures even more amazing is that fact that search engine marketing really didn't even exist few years ago.
Why would SEO grow from virtually nothing to over $5 billion a year in just a few years? Why would so many smart business owners
and managers take advertising money away from traditional channels like the Yellow Pages, radio and newspapers to spend it on SEO?
The answer is simple. It works.
Every day the number of people turning first to the internet for information on specific local businesses is growing.
In fact local searches are the fastest growing area in SEO. An optimized website, supported by a professional search engine
marketing campaign gives a business an advantage traditional media simply can't match. Visiting a website before calling a
company is fast and flexible. The information is dynamic so clients and prospects have a more positive perception of your
company.
People are becoming accustomed to the level of information found only via the internet and they increasingly find traditional
media frustrating. No one wants to thumb through a cumbersome Yellow Pages book to find limited information when a quick search
on Google will empower them.
The growth in SEO expenditures is not surprising. Nor will the growth slow. Businesses that capitalize on the strengths of
the internet and implement or expand a professional search engine marketing campaign will benefit the most. Directory One is
here to help you maximize your benefits from the internet.
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| SEO News |
| Three Tips to Increase Your Websites Internet Saturation |
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Who doesn't want more Internet traffic? Below are a few ways you can help speed up the process of making your website
an Internet Omnipresence.
Tip 1: Onsite Content, Content, and Content - We can't say it enough. Search engines see text, not pictures - and the
more text the better. A text-rich site will almost always appear in search engine rankings before a site built on a
foundation of images.
Tip 2: Internet Saturation is not just about what's on your site-it's about what's off your site as well. How
connected are you to the rest of the web? If you want to be prominent on the Internet, you have to be found in different
places and in different ways. Directory One ensures that you're found not just on the big search engines, but on scores
of smaller directories and websites as well.
The topic of the importance of offsite marketing leads us to...
Tip 3: Offsite Content, Content, and Content -- Articles and press releases that are posted on websites other
than your own can drive visitors to your website in several ways:
a) When visitors click on a link from an offsite article or press release, they will be guided directly to your website.
b) Your natural search engine listings will be aided through enhanced link popularity, increasing your chances of being
found online.
c) The chance that potential clients will click on your listings in the future also increases, as offsite articles and press
releases help to brand your website and increase visitors' familiarity and comfort with the company name.
Directory One helps you to create offsite content by including press releases in many of your packages. So, fill out your
Press Release Copy Planners and help us to help you. If you didn't get a Planner, or if you are unsure if your package includes
press releases, contact Philip or John for more information.
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| Website Design News |
| Web Development versus Web Design |
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I consider myself a web developer, someone who not only designs web pages, but programs them, host them, secures them,
shows people what's best and how to use it effectively to succeed on the Internet. A web designer is basically a graphic
layout person who is in charge of the "look" of the website. Granted a nice looking website is important as you'll increase
your chances of reaching your goal but the process goes far beyond looks.
Website design and development is not passive. You need to learn the most effective way reach your market and then close
the deal. Web design + web development + search engine marketing will help you reach your target audience.
Designing a website layout, colors and text inside a web-page will help your potential customers/visitors to decide which
site "looks" better (from yours and your competitors); a good site development will help your potential customers/visitors
to perform an action, and it will help also search engines to "read" your website content; and an effective search engine
marketing campaign will help your website reach your target market.
Let us walk through your website design, development and your best search engine marketing strategy, we know how to
do, and we're help to help you.
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Hosting Tips
Beware of Fake Support Notices |
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An old email scam that tricks people into opening a virus attachment has been making a resurgence lately. The email has a
variety of different forms which usually purport to be from the "Support Team" and threaten to do things like suspend your
account or ask you to confirm information, all of course with the requirement that you open the attached file. They will
even forge a sender address on the email that makes it look as if it came from your own website, such as
supportteam@yourdomain.com. Here is an example of one that one of our customers
recently received (customer name has been changed to protect the innocent):
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From: webmaster@customername.com [mailto:webmaster@customername.com]
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2005 6:54 AM
To: customer@customername.com
Subject: Your Account is Suspended For Security Reasons
Attachments: document.zip
Dear [CustomerName] Member,
Your e-mail account was used to send a huge amount of unsolicited spam messages during the recent week.
If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and confirm the attached document
so you will not run into any future problems with the online service.
If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to cancel your membership.
Virtually yours,
The [CustomerName] Support Team
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If you see an email that looks similar to this one asking you to open an attached file, DO NOT OPEN IT. If you are
not sure about its validity, please call our office and ask. The only official notices about your hosting or email
accounts should have Directory One's name on them along with our contact information. Always be wary of any
suspicious-looking email you receive, especially if it asks you to click on a link or open an attachment, and
don't be afraid to ask questions.
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Employment Opportunities
Sales Assistant/Receptionist Needed |
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We're looking for an energetic, qualified assistant. If you know of anyone, please let me know.
We offer a competitive salary and a dynamic work environment. You can call me directly
at 713-269-3094. pso@directoryone.com
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If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call the Directory One staff:
Toll-Free: 1.800.477.1324 | Local: 713.465.0051
http://www.directoryone.com
To unsubscribe from this monthly newsletter simply send us an email to information@directoryone.com
and include "unsubscribe" as the subject
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