Unique Search Engine Optimization Concept
SEO Expert
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How to design SEO friendly website ?
Feb 15th
Advanced design techniques used for your website, such as Flash, or heavy use of frames may actually be hurting your SEO rankings. When designing a website, it is important to make informed decisions about each design element in order to optimize the site for search engine rankings. By learning which tools can negatively impact your rankings, as well as which are designed to improve them, your website will have a better chance at ranking high with the major search engines.
First, there are some design elements that should be avoided:
- Flash – Search engine spiders don’t ‘like’ flash files. There are no textual elements in flash i.e. the spiders can’t scan, read them or have any way of understanding what the pages or the site are all about nearly as well as they do with html pages. Google and the other search engines are working on understanding flash better but the technology is not ready yet. Many new designers make the mistake of relying heavily on flash files because they look great but in reality, all of that great content, including your key words, will be useless if they only appear in a flash file. If you feel that you must include flash on your site, be sure to limit the amount and to include textual representations of your content as well. Also, try not to rely on images as navigation. Conclusion is text is much better from an SEO standpoint.
- Frames – Frames are another design element that is largely ignored by spiders. Like flash, if you feel you must use frames, keep them to a minimum and find another way to represent important information in text form.
- Images with text – Search engine spiders will not index text that is included in images, so it is imperative that your images be text free. It is a better idea to use “alt” tags which serve as descriptive text that tells the spiders what the image is or represents; or use CSS to display text behind an image.
Second, there are some design elements that must be included in your website design in order to optimize for search engine optimization:
- Keywords – It is critical that you include relevant and unique keywords directly in the content of your website. Spend a fair amount of time researching your keywords by utilizing one of the popular free tools available on the Internet. Be sure to include your keywords in your domain name, title tags and headings. Spiders love to crawl these areas!!
- Site Maps – Site maps do much more than help users navigate your site; they also help search engines index your site. Search engines use the information contained within a site map to know how fresh your content is, how often you update the site and what areas are especially relevant. Be sure to include a site map on your site.
- Keyword Rich Content – It isn’t enough to have good keywords, you must also use them throughout your website. Avoid keyword stuffing into your text, this makes content that is difficult to read; also this will be flagged by the search engines and site penalties is the price you will pay. Instead, rely on keyword density tools to analyze your keyword use. If you’re unsure about this, look for an SEO Company that has a good working relationship with a content provider. This will ensure that you get well written, relevant content, and that your keywords are all at the proper density. In brief, is you are writing for people, not spiders, your content will be keyword rich and not keyword-stuffed; therefore, will take care of itself.
Follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines… everything you need to know in terms of do’s and don’ts regarding website structure to be SEO Friendly is right there… it’s free!
If you need help or don’t have the time to generate great SEO results through SEO Friendly elements, contact us for a no obligation initial consultation.
WordPress. Good or Bad ?
Feb 12th
Earlier this week there was a post on SEOBullsh*t about how WordPress is inadequate for anything more than a personal blog. Since I’m a big fan of WordPress and use it more than any other platform, I thought I’d provide a little balance to the argument.
Let’s get to the core of the argument. Can WordPress scale to handle high volume sites with lots of traffic? I can say yes, it can… as long as you are careful about how you implement it. Plugins are one of the biggest issues with using WordPress. They can solve a lot of problems; however, sometimes they can create just as many problems as they solve. Sometimes this even happens with savvy programmers/developers, such as when Alex King’s Popularity contest jumped off the rails. So as your website grows more and more popular, you have to be careful about which plugins (if any). I’ve seen WordPress sites handle between 80,000 to 100,000 uniques per day without a problem, as long as you keep an eye on things.
The next big issue is the permalinks numbers/categories debate. To be honest there was a grain of truth in Dan Sharp’s critique of permalinks with only category/pagename set ups; however, Dan lost the ability to make an effective critique since he came out with a guns blazin, damn the torpedoes full speed ahead approach. Is there some performance benefit to putting a date/post-ID/number in the URL? Yes. However, that advantage becomes meaningless with things like caching. You can make a real improvement by using a better htaccess setup instead of the one that WordPress does by itself. The details are available on this excellent thread on WebmasterWorld. For small low traffic sites the increase will be negligible, but when you get to those high traffic numbers, it becomes more important.
Another limitation of WordPress is the number of pages. There’s a mounting body of evidence that WordPress doesn’t do such a good job of handling lots of pages (like 1,000’s ). Using the modified htacess configuration above can help, but you’ll still have issues. A better solution is to configure WordPress to put posts in a straight URL configuration and ignore directories.
So with all of these disadvantages, why would anyone want to use WordPress as a CMS on a project with heavy SEO considerations?
Most people who choose to use WordPress as a CMS do so because they are making compromises and tradeoffs. Let’s be honest, it takes very little skill level to set up and maintain a WordPress blog. In fact, some hosting companies offer it to you pre-installed with your hosting order. If you want to run Drupal or Joomla, you’re going to need a higher skill level and be more involved.
Another advantage is the access to wider range of writers. If you run a multi-author project, using something like WordPress, allows you to add/change authors with zero training, as most of them have worked with it before. If you use another platform you get a learning curve or the possibility of needing an editorial staff.
You also have access to large library of pre-existing customizations. Are there tutorials and how-to’s for Joomla and Drupal ? Sure. Are there more for WordPress? Absolutely. You really should pick a platform and stay with it, since doing so allows you to leverage the knowledge and scale very effectively.
So is WordPress the ultimate CMS platform for an SEO’s website? No, probably not. But it does solve a lot of the problems and issues with setting up, running, and maintaining a website. At the end of the day, it’s a trade off, but if WordPress allows you to publish more websites in less time with less man power resources and less technical skill, then it’s a pretty easy choice to make. Especially if you take a little time to make WordPress search engine friendly. However, if you are on a database intensive application, have the technical skill, and have very high loads, it might not be the right choice.
“Bid Ideas” by Google AdWords
Feb 12th
Over the past few months, you may have visited the Opportunities tab to get customized keyword and budget ideas for optimizing your account. Now we’re adding more functionality to the Opportunities tab with the introduction of bid ideas. Bid ideas, based on bid simulator data, will help you raise or lower your bids on specific keywords to improve your AdWords ROI. Whether you wish to decrease overall costs or increase traffic to your website, customized bid ideas can help you determine exactly which bids to adjust to make the most of your advertising budget.
You’ll see bid ideas in your account if we determine there’s an opportunity for you to:
- receive significant additional clicks without a significant increase in cost
- save money without sacrificing a lot of clicks
Bid ideas will be visible in some accounts starting today, and available in all accounts in the coming weeks.
Bid ideas are shown with their estimated cost, impression, and click impact. When you click on a bid idea, you’ll see a graph showing clicks versus cost for a range of bid amounts. The graph will include your keyword’s current bid (marked in gray) and the proposed bid (marked in yellow). If you’re raising a bid, consider whether the extra clicks and impressions are worth the potential added cost. If you’re decreasing a bid, consider whether the saved cost is worth the potential loss of clicks and impressions.
The estimates you see are variations on your past performance over the last 7 days and are not attempts to predict or estimate future performance. Also, traffic patterns are always subject to fluctuation, so keep in mind that your future performance may shift over time. If you have reason to believe that next week’s traffic will be significantly different from the last week, due to seasonal reasons for example, then it’s a good idea to incorporate that information when selecting your bids.
While this tool doesn’t know enough about your advertising goals to make a recommendation of which specific bid is best for you, it does provide useful data and gives you bid ideas to consider. We suggest that you use the data we provide to gain insight into how different bids could affect your performance. If you’d like even more information on bid ideas, including information on how they’re generated, you can read our detailed article in the AdWords Help Center.
You should think of the Opportunities tab as your homepage for account optimization. You can view all your customized optimization ideas in one place, allowing you to make informed decisions before adjusting your account. We suggest checking the Opportunities tab every few weeks to look for new ideas. Continue to look out for new features in the coming months as we work to make the Opportunities tab an even more robust resource.
Is one website enough now-a-days?
Feb 10th
Having a internet marketing strategy for your business website to get it to the 1st page of Google is an integral part of any marketing plan. Do you think landing on page 1 of Google, is enough? The answer is NO, why?
Google is constantly adding different types of search results in addition to the organic listings. Also, new types of Internet properties are being added on a regular basis in addition to the existing ones.
Multiple Result Types on Page 1 of Google
A typical search engine optimization strategy entails a lot of work that focuses on just improving the ranking on one website for the organic search listings.
Now, if you look on page 1 of Google you will see not only the 10 organic listings, but you will also see several others. In addition to the organic listings you have video results, image results, local business results, news results, blog results, book results, product results and Pay-per-click or AdWords listings on the top and the right side of page.
A perfect example of all these different type of results is viewing page 1 for a very competitive keyword. Go ahead and type the keyword “terrorist attack” in Google and let’s take a look. You will notice all the result types that we just discussed above.
If you count them all up they add up to 25 listings!
If all you have is 1 website, you have only 1 opportunity out of those to get noticed! Your SEO strategy cannot just be limited to 1 property if you want to have optimal results.
What do you do to get additional listings on page 1?
Utilize All Internet Properties
In addition to moving your business website up the rankings, you must also create and post content on other sites with high Page Rank and borrow this authority to rank and occupy additional listings on page 1.
Here are some steps you can follow:
- Create audio/podcasts, videos, articles, press releases and submit to their corresponding sites and directories.
- Utilize the power of Web 2.0 and use Social Bookmarking, Social Networking and Social Media.
- Submit your website to Directory listings, and Local Business listings.
- Establish a weekly content creation schedule and post your high quality content on as many places as you can.
- Always link all of these properties back to your main site for links to increase its rankings.
Hopefully you realize the importance of utilizing all the different types of content and Internet properties in addition to you business website to maximize your exposure.
Benefits of WordPress Landing/Sales Pages
Feb 9th
You should be know that to be successful at PPC now-a-days, you need to be quick at getting your landing/sales pages live. WordPress is very potential to provide you with the same. With ease of installation, the speed at which you can spring up an attractive sales page or squeeze page is frightening! Here are some of the benefits you can enjoy:
- WordPress landing page templates are plug-and-play themes that transform your blog into an attractive sales/squeeze page. This isn’t all, because managing your sales page is so easy that you can flick between all 10 or more themes to test which one converts best!
- Split testing the blog couldn’t be easier. Simply add posts and load them up into Google web optimizer to track your headlines, copy and other elements.
- WordPress is naturally SEO friendly which means you can benefit from natural search too, meaning more commissions/opt-ins for you!
- Editing couldn’t be simpler, a PPC campaign can be tweaked simply by editing in the WYSIWYG editor. You can react quickly to the incoming data and keep your campaigns as optimized as they can be.
- Track your campaigns with analytics by installing the one-click plugin into your blog. No more messing with code, it’s never been easier to install key components in the click of a button.
- Launch campaigns FAST! To be successful in PPC, you need to launch your CPA campaigns quickly to beat the competition! WordPress allows you to do this, and do it well. You can launch an opt-in page in under 5 minutes.
Those are just some of the advantages to speeding up your PPC campaigns by harnessing the use of WordPress landing page templates. Hand-coded web pages are time-consuming and more prone to human error. Start your next campaign off with a WordPress blog and you’ll wonder why you didn’t start earlier!
WP Mini is one of the finest WordPress landing page which is easily customizable.
Twitter-Killer For Gmail!
Feb 9th
Google could launch a Twitter-killer as soon as this week, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Google already allows Gmail users to update their status. The prompt reads, “let people know what you’re up to, or share links to photos, videos, and Web pages“. But every time a user updates their status, the previous update disappears into the ether.
The WSJ says the new feature will “allow Gmail users to view a stream of status updates from people they choose to connect with“. It will be tightly integrated with Google‘s video-sharing site YouTube and its photo-sharing site Picasa.
Yahoo launched a very similar feature for its email service back in August 2009.
If Google is smart, these status updates will pour into and out of Facebook and Twitter. That way it will have an immediate install base of users already trained to update everyone they know about the latest thing they viewed, thought or ate.
Otherwise, it’s hard to see how this feature won’t end up as another in a long line of Google products that tried, and failed, to beat popular services from Web rivals (See Orkut versus MySpace, Google Video versus YouTube, Open Social versus Facebook Platform, Google Friend Connect versus Facebook Connect).
Pay-per-click (PPC) Service Comparision
Feb 9th
Google AdWords
Google AdWords is a PPC service with a fabulous, ready-made venue for advertisement display on “Google’s own wildly popular search engine“. In addition, Google offers advertisers the option of displaying ads on thousands of affiliate sites linked through the AdSense program and matched algorithmically with the ad content.
AdWords offers many helpful features for advertisers, including quick campaign setup, the ability to rotate multiple ads for the same group of keywords, advanced keyword matching options and geotargeting.
One disadvantage of AdWords is that advertisers can’t just pay their way to the top of the heap – rankings are based on a number of factors, including bid price and predicted clickthrough rate. Conversion tracking is included.
Future AdWords features may include behavioral targeting, in which searchers can be targeted based on past searches or other web activities.
Yahoo! Search Marketing
Yahoo! Search Marketing (YSM) is actually a suite of several online marketing tools, including sponsored search, local advertising, and the Yahoo! Directory Submitting. However, when people talk about YSM they’re generally referring to the sponsored search – that is, the pay-per-click service. Currently the #2 service. The service has a respectably large reach, including all the Yahoo! properties as well as many meta search engines, smaller search sites, and content sites such as ESPN (see partial partners list). Advertisers can choose to be displayed on additional sites through the “Content Match” option.
YSM ad campaigns are generally considered easier to set up than Google AdWords campaigns, but lack some of the geekier features, like comparing performance for multiple ads and dynamic keyword insertion. There is also an editorial review period for new listings that can take a couple of business days. Conversion tracking is included.
Rumor has it that YSM will slowly but surely become more like Google AdWords. Changes may include speeding up their campaign setup, implementing geotargeting and possibly other Google-like features, and changing the PPC ranking algorithm so that it takes more factors into account, rather than just the dollar amount of the advertiser bid.
Microsoft adCenter
Microsoft launched its pay-per-click service, Microsoft adCenter, in May of 2006 to compete with Yahoo and Google for a chunk of the growing SEM/PPC advertising market. The Microsoft offering follows the same basic model of the other two advertisers pay a per-click fee to display their listings above or near “organic” search results for chosen search queries. MSN differentiated its offering with more advanced demographic targeting options than Yahoo and Google, including the capability of adjusting keyword bid costs for differing demographics (for example, paying full price for female searchers and bidding at the 50% level for male searchers). The accuracy of these demographics has been debated. The adCenter control interface, while rather difficult to use, does offer a dynamic keyword insertion feature in the ad displays that vastly improves upon Google’s dynamic keyword insertion functionality.
Google AdWords [Google Link] is a PPC service with a fabulous, ready-made venue for advertisement display: Google’s own wildly popular search engine. In addition, Google offers advertisers the option of displaying ads on thousands of affiliate sites linked through the AdSense program and matched algorithmically with the ad content.
AdWords offers many helpful features for advertisers, including: quick campaign setup, the ability to rotate multiple ads for the same group of keywords, advanced keyword matching options and geotargeting. One disadvantage of AdWords is that advertisers can’t just pay their way to the top of the heap – rankings are based on a number of factors, including bid price and predicted clickthrough rate. Conversion tracking is included.
Future AdWords features may include behavioral targeting, in which searchers can be targeted based on past searches or other web activities.
Social Media Marketing. Is it worth?
Feb 8th
Social Media includes all web communities or websites that help people network with each other or share stuff. There are so many social networking, video and picture sharing websites that help promote more interaction and interactivity between various groups of people.
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Pros of Social Media Marketing
- You can reach customers that traditional marketing misses. You never know who will direct a friend to your blog, Facebook page or social bookmark post, so your potential for reeling in new leads is unlimited.
- You can build brand loyalty. Not only can you use social media to build your brand, you can use it to demonstrate your personality, interact with customers and show them that you care, which, in turn, breeds loyalty. Social media marketing can also boost your reputation and build relationships.
- You can learn how to improve your products and services. By encouraging open communication through public comments, you can learn what you can do to make your products and pitch more palatable.
- You can learn more about your target audience, not only by their comments but also by studying visitor analytics. This information can prove invaluable when planning other marketing campaigns such as direct-mail postcards.
- Social media marketing is cost-efficient in comparison with other marketing methods, even if you hire a dedicated team or outsource your social media content needs.
Cons of Social Media Marketing
- Social media marketing places high demands on your time. Content must be created, edited, approved and published; comments must be responded to and sites and pages must be maintained. You can alleviate these demands by outsourcing for a fee.
- Social media marketing places high demands on your talent. It can be difficult to constantly come up with innovative exciting content that interests a variety of readers and, without relevance, your efforts will be wasted.
- You lose some control of your marketing efforts. Anything you publish is up for grabs, and others can easily criticize you. Publish backlash is the last thing you want your social media marketing to spawn, and without the ability to control comments or even what your own team is publishing you open yourself up for potential negatives.
- Your return on investment is delayed. Social media marketing can work to build relationships and brand loyalty, but it takes time and dedication. Social media marketing efforts are not likely to earn immense popularity overnight, so you must be willing to be in it for the long haul if you decide to launch a social media marketing campaign.
- You can reach customers that traditional marketing misses. You never know who will direct a friend to your blog, Facebook page or social bookmark post, so your potential for reeling in new leads is unlimited.
SEO Trends to Look-out in 2010
Feb 7th
There are many things several professionals are talking about on how search engine optimization will be in 2010. SEO has always been a do and observe type of science & art, and everyone will always have their own opinion about it. As long as you have an open mind to new ideas, backed up with your own testing by doing your own experiments, and continuously sharing with other professionals, you will get a good pulse of what’s coming in. According to me, this is what will be coming in 2010, read more on the 2010 search trends below.
- Social Media Optimization
- Better Link Development
- On-page Optimization
Social Media Optimization (SMO)
SMO is not just “putting up a Facebook and Twitter account and adding as many friends as you can and your done“. Social Media is really about the community. The building of the community and socializing, more interesting interactions and less hard selling. Social Media has served well when used as a medium for customer support, product and service feedback and has been less successful when used solely for new product or service promo offerings. Social Media’s role in SEO has been:
- Get links from Social Media sites – blog, forum, daily status, micro blog, etc, as long as there is a link and it is search engine friendly, it is good.
- Get links from Communities – if you have some interesting content, the moment someone reads it will link to it and promote it further. Social Media serves as a medium to promote your content to more people.
- Dominate search results – your own social media profiles can potentially rank well for your targeted keywords and possibly push down your competitors so you can dominate the first page.
In 2010, all of the above will be true, but Google has already implemented the Real Time Search, where in real time, news, microblogs and social media status are posted in SERP snippets.
Better Link Development
Link diversity is not a new SEO concept, but for some reason the common link spammers will always exist and Google and other search engine will always try to track them down and apply filters to make the spammer’s efforts less successful.
Almost every kind of whitehat link building can be viewed in a blackhat point-of-view if you really want to view it that way. Adding diversity can always help in proving links to be more natural than artificial.
On-page Optimization
It has been well known discussion “what is more important, off-page or on-page search engine optimization?“. Of course these are two different things and some people tend to compare them based on their different experiences since one SEO ranking factor can always outmatch the other depending on the situation. Many people are not realizing On-page SEO is not just writing the right content within the proper tags, but coding websites properly as well.
- Document Weight or Loading Time
- Structured Web using Microformats
- Tags to Define Language & Location
- First Link Proximity
Social Media serves as a medium to promote your link baitable content even to more people maximizing the word-of-click promotion.