• Research shows if you are not on the first page, most visitors won’t go beyond page one.
• If you’re ranked number one on the first page of search engine sites, you will have 10 times more of a chance to get clicked on than someone who is ranked number ten (42% vs. 3% click-through-rate, respectively).
• Inbound linking is the most cost-effective way to improve rankings (we’ll get into definitions later).
• Nowadays, the top 3 positions on the 1^st page are normally considered “above the fold.”
• Organic searches, overall, still get majority of clicks compared to Paid searches (but we’re currently working on a case study, so stay tuned!).
• The importance of ranking high will translate to more revenue, and business growth!

There are a few ways to link your site in order to get a better ranking. One way is through inbound links, which are hyperlinks on external sites that you don’t own which link back to your site. These sites should be relevant to your business and regarded high by search engines, so that the inbound links serve as “votes” that tell search engines your site is useful and relevant. It is also important to diversify your links, and not just add a whole bunch to navigate to just one page. Directories are the quickest and easiest way to build up your search rankings and press releases help optimize your keywords. However, one tool that does not help with ranking is social media. All social media sites that you are accustomed to—like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn—have no follow tags. They tell search engine spiders to not follow the text outside of their website, so your site can’t link any of the “juice.” For more information on the diversity of inbound links, download the slides (insert link).

In addition, internal links are links within your site for Google spiders to know what your site is about, and to see a “content silo” of inter-linked pages.  It is imperative to keep the theme distinctive, which will strengthen your website and rank.

One thing that should be known about linking is that it is a gradual process.  You want it to be a diverse group you’re ranking from, and the gradual buildup will allow your rankings to look like a natural evolution. Not all links are created equal, so you want to create one that will have a lot of domain authority as well as making sure Google sees that it is relevant.

Every site benefits from linking; e.g. if you don’t have the budget for a full SEO campaign but need to boost search engine rankings, if your site is optimized but not ranking well, and/or if your site needs to be optimized but faces technical limitations. Be sure to proceed with caution, and build a timeline for implementing this process!  If you have any questions, or need evaluation and analysis, Webmarketing123 can assist you. Contact Mark Powers at (800) 619-1570 or Mark.P@webmarketing123.com–and don’t forget to ask for a copy of the slides!

-Sarah

]]> http://blog.webmarketing123.com/search-engine-optimization/linking-tips-for-ranking-1/feed/ 0 http://blog.webmarketing123.com/search-engine-optimization/4-ways-to-increase-your-blog%e2%80%99s-effectiveness/ http://blog.webmarketing123.com/search-engine-optimization/4-ways-to-increase-your-blog%e2%80%99s-effectiveness/#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:52:53 +0000 Webmarketing123 http://blog.webmarketing123.com/?p=306 Blogging is definitely becoming a company-wide effort, so make sure you take note of how to participate effectively in this activity–whether it be for personal or professional reasons!

Update Blogs Frequently

It might seem obvious to update a blog regularly, but many blogs suffer from a lack of fresh content.  There are many reasons to produce new content regularly for your blog, and, given the nature of blogs, they are much easier to update than a website. One of the biggest reasons to update is to keep your readers coming back. If a blog is never updated with new posts, readers will start to lose their incentive to check back for new content. Additionally, if the blog is hosted on your website, search engines will look favorably on all of the new content being added to your site on a consistent basis.

Provide Useful, Informative Content

It might be tempting to write a blog post hyping your newest product or promoting your company, but blog readers are looking for informative, sincere content.  Most readers can tell the difference between a blog with useful information versus a blog that sounds like a marketing campaign or advertisement. Take this opportunity to connect with customers and provide them with honest information about new products, industry trends, or even job openings.  However, stay away from blog posts that seem like they have a hidden motive; provide a real and honest voice on your blog that customers can relate to.  A great way to get sincere and also fresh content is to encourage employees to write blog posts.  This is often the best way to come up with new content and give more employees a personal voice in the company.

Utilize Keywords in Blog Posts

Many of our clients understand the value of keywords, as they are the basis of search engine optimization, but the importance of using keywords cannot be overstated. Keywords are search terms that customers use to find your site, your blog, or your product.  Not using keywords within your blog content underutilizes a valuable resource. It is possible to use keywords as many times as it makes sense to in a given article, but make sure to not throw keywords in excessively.  This is called keyword-stuffing; search engines consider this “spammy” and downgrade your rankings accordingly. A good baseline is to use all primary keywords two to three times each in a 250-300 word article, and any secondary keywords once in an article.

Choose Effective Titles and Calls to Action

In addition to keywords, there are many other opportunities in a blog post to be very specific in word choice.  A catchy, attention-getting title might be the determining factor in whether someone clicks a link to your blog post.  A great technique is to ask or answer a question in the title of your blog, prompting your readers to want to find out more about your subject.  Examples might include “10 Tips to Increase Search Engine Rankings” or “Why isn’t my website ranking where it should be?” Now that you’ve gotten people to your blog post with a catchy title, where would you like for them to go next?  Would you like them to click over to your website and do some research on your products?  How about signing up for a newsletter or becoming a member of your blog?  Whatever the goal of your blog, make that clear.  A great place for a call to action is the footer of your blog. Here, you can provide a value proposition or call to action with a link to the next step.

I hope this information helps you and/or your company in writing upcoming posts, as well as providing structure to your blog as a whole!

-Alex

Take a dip in the warm waters of the “OMG WTF TTYL Ocean,” or paddle around the “Lake of Myspace Bands,” just below the land of “Defunct Social Networks.” Hike across the “Media Mountain Ranges” in the growing “Empire of Google,” and stake your claim on the “Rising Island of Google Buzz!”

In terms of sheer numbers, the user demographics for the more major social networks are pretty well illustrated and from this depiction it’s clear that Facebook has sped off and distinguished itself from the rest of pack.

However, we do miss snorkeling in the “Noob Sea” (not pictured in this map), so be sure to check out the original design by XKCD’s Map of Online Communities.

Peruse the design, tell us what you think and where you take your social media break. Just don’t get caught by your co-workers cruising the “Adultfriendfinder” coastline!

- Seth

Fortunately, we hadn’t gotten around to publishing that blog post yet, because in it I concluded that Google would never have the presence in Japan that Yahoo has. Then last week I found out…they’re teaming up, forming an alliance of sorts. Not a merger (Yahoo will keep its logo and interface), but the organic search and paid results will be based on Google’s technology. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Google will take over Yahoo’s presence, per se, since the logo will remain Yahoo’s, but it does mean that they will hold a virtual monopoly over what you can find on the Internet in Japan.

As someone who has lived in Japan, I believe the real power of Yahoo Japan comes from their partnership with SoftBank, the largest cell phone provider in the country, that owns a 40% stake in Yahoo Japan (compared to Yahoo Inc.’s 35% stake). I used Softbank while I was in there and found myself, always a loyal user of Google in the US, slowly switching to Yahoo. I never had the chance to sneak into a Japanese person’s house to track their search engine usage, but the feeling I got was that most people used the Internet more on their cell phone than at home from a personal computer. Trains in Tokyo are an odd site. They’re jam-packed with people to the point that you can barely move at rush hour (and rush hour, by the way, is more like eight hours), and still most of the people are glued to their phones, either text messaging (a major Japanese pastime), surfing the web, reading the news, or even watching TV. With the default browser of the biggest cell phone provider set to Yahoo, the Yahoo search engine maintains a very high status.

I think the affinity for SoftBank in Japan goes beyond what we as Americans can understand as brand loyalty to a cell phone provider. Because mobile phones are such a way of life in Japan and marketing is as amazing as it is, it’s not uncommon to see the mascot, a big white dog who used to be a human father of a family of normal people, dangling from people’s bags or worn as slippers at home. I follow the dog on Twitter. He has a separate account from actual Softbank. Furthermore, Softbank sponsors a baseball team, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, which plays at the Fukuoka Yahoo! JAPAN Dome. Sweet deal.

As proof of Softbank’s status in Japan, here’s a fascinating commercial, featuring Brad Pitt carrying a gigantic sumo wrestler.

Anyway…

I think the biggest concern among Japanese people that are keeping up with the news of this alliance is that the organic search results are going to be really different. It always seemed to me that when I ran a search in Japanese on Google, the results weren’t as relevant as the ones Yahoo Japan pulled up. But I’m not a native speaker, so I’m not really the person to ask.

So what does the future hold for Google Japan? Probably a lot. But with the Yahoo logo still staying up as the SoftBank default browser, I don’t know that their presence will surpass Yahoo’s dominance as the most popular search engine in Japan. Yahoo is pretty settled into the Internet world there and I highly doubt Google could take over the dominance of their weather reports, auctions (did you know they had auctions? I didn’t! ), and aforementioned train schedules. It would be pretty cool, though, if they took over Yahoo! JAPAN Dome and painted it multi-colored…

The subject of this week’s Webmarketing123 webinar was the emerging alliance between Bing (Microsoft) and Yahoo search engines. We have to stress the fact that although the two companies are teaming up for many SEO, PPC and web search purposes, this alliance is not to be misconstrued as a merger between Microsoft and Yahoo. BingHoo!, as it’s being called, will maintain the Yahoo interface, while all organic searches for web, images, video and queries, as well as paid search results, will be powered by Bing.

In addition to the 5 Pillars of SEO (Keywords, Site Content, Meta Content, URL’s, and In-bound Links) that we have discussed at length in other webinars, a few major points to take away from Wednesday’s BingHoo! webinar are as follows:

• In the next year, as the alliance unfolds, focus more on optimizing for Bing than Yahoo. Be sure to have Bing Webmaster Tools installed.
• After the transition, Bing will represent roughly 30% of overall search queries.
• Incorporate and understand your new Bing webmaster tools and pay close attention to how the Bing Spiders crawl through your searches!

And here are a few tips on preparation for the new BingHoo! alliance:

• Continue to place your main focus on Google, a.k.a. the King. Typically, what Google does is followed by Yahoo and Bing.
• Look to optimize your searches using Bing algorithms – obtain “exact” domain matches whenever possible.
• Keep in mind that Bing favors sub-domain or root-domain keywords, so be sure that your domain names are effectively optimized.
• As always, be sure to obtain fresh in-bound links from a diverse array of sites. The greater variety of in-bound linkage that you have, the more traffic your site will receive.

As the effects of this alliance reveal themselves, the most important thing is to stay current on your company’s optimization. Look into in the future and plan for the long-term by planting the seeds for the release of new products within your keywords. Keep up with the pulse of your company’s keyword selection—it’s good practice to run a quarterly review of your keyword basket. Also, make sure that you’re in touch with your consumers and are able to effectively identify the language they use in regards to your company and products, as well as your industry as a whole.

With that said, keep your links fresh, keep your site content relevant and substantial, and optimize, optimize, optimize. SEO is the best way to boost traffic to your site!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this week’s webinar. Next Wednesday’s webinar will be on integrating your SEO with social media. To sign up for next week’s webinar, please visit http://bit.ly/Web123-Webinar –it’s going to be a good one!

- Seth

Lightning Strikes Three of the Tallest Buildings in Chicago at the Same Time
This is what we call a true natural wonder. Two weeks ago lightning storms ripped though the “Windy City”. This video clip, set to Sufjan Stevens, is awe inspiring.

The iPhone 4 Review By You
Steve Jobs tells us that reception problem is due to user error. Turns out you have to keep the bottom left corner open for optimal functionality. Whelp, I’m left handed, guess the iPhone 4 isn’t for me! Let’s see what the others say about this.

TED Talks: David Byrne- How Architecture Help Music Evolved
If you haven’t heard about Ted Talks now’s the time to get on board. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a non-profit which holds conferences dedicated to “ideas worth spreading”. The talks are mini-lectures, capped at 18 minutes, by thought leaders in their industry. It’s a philosophical feast for your brain. “Home is where I want to be, Pick me up and turn me round.” Take a lesson from Mr. Byrne (Talking Heads front man), you can’t go wrong.

Top 10 Best 4th of July Fireworks 2010
Happy Birthday America! The fourth is coming up, what are your plans? If you’re in Eastport, Main, the easternmost city in the US, the fireworks are not to be missed. Check out which other cities around America the Beautiful are known for their pyrotechnics.

Yahoo Style Guide
This is really useful! Think the APA grammar rules for internet copy. The book comes out July 6th, but the website has some great resources.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s roundup. See you next week, Happy early 4th of July!
-Mary

How fast can you go?

Speed matters.  On the internet, it won’t get you a ticket and it’s not even a waste of gas.  Today’s webinar, The New Google Algorithm – Structuring Your Website for Optimal SEO, emphasized quickness as one of the newly important factors in how sites are ranked on search engine results pages.

(Ben, as our resident speed demon, approves.)

Speed, in this context, is not about having a lead foot or even fingers that type so fast they can’t be seen.  The first crucial speed sector is how quickly pages load.  No one likes waiting for a page to load.  Google, in this instance, feels our pain.  Slow-loading sites are now penalized for essentially annoying users who want their results and want them now.

To be fair, Google has also demanded time-trials for its spiders.  Those little crawlers have to cover a lot more territory a lot faster than they used to.  Spiders now check out more pages and pages deeper within sites.  Quick!  Get those supporting pages updated before the spiders see them!

Additionally, new content from social media sources pops up quickly on results pages.  Someone’s tweet about an embarrassing accident with your product can show up on a results page above your home page.  Getting engaged in social media and participating in the conversations that are already going on out there about your products or services can help you lay claim to those real time search results, not to mention speedily respond to praise or blame.

The clock is ticking…

10 Awesome Webcam Feeds From Around the World
Did I just see Elvis marry a jellyfish? Check out these webcams to find out!

HOW TO: Follow the 2010 World Cup on Twitter
7-0?!  Did you miss the Portugal v.s. North Korea match–or should I say slaughtering? Well, don’t worry, Twitter can give you the play by play if you can’t bring yourself to wake up at 4:30am, or fitting a T.V. in your cube doesn’t seem reasonable.

5 Great Ways to Find Music That Suits Your Mood
“You don’t have to be Oliver Sacks to know that music can have a profound effect on the human psyche. Music is undeniably important in shaping moods, and, likewise, certain frames of mind require certain kinds of songs.” What’s getting you through your busy workday?  For some of us, it’s music!

17 Fresh Web Tools for Working with Color
Like music, color is as equally as essential for changing your perspective. Pallette Man actually picks colors based on a mood of your choosing, and Pictaculous will generate a color scheme based on an uploaded image.

Top 10 Stop Motion Videos on YouTube
Need some motivation for your work day? Ready for a dance session in your cube?  “Deadline Post-It” is inspiration.com!
Bonus round: The Original Human Tetris. I just can’t get enough of this one.

Whatever gets your mind off the daily grind for just 5 minutes, whether it’s mindless videos, sports updates, or soothing beats, we highly encourage checking some of these tools for brain stimulation during your 8 hour (or longer) work day!

You can thank us later.

- Mary

The Study:

Syncapse looked at the top 20 consumer brands on Facebook and paneled over 4,000 Facebook users around the US. The subjects were questioned on their consumer behavioral patterns, their perceived feelings of others (friends, family, etc.) in relation to their consumer behavior, and whether they were a fan of each of the 20 brands. The variables used for understanding the value of a Facebook fan were product spending, loyalty, propensity to recommend, brand affinity, media value, and acquisition cost.

The Highlights:

There are key points of difference between Facebook users who are “fans” and are not “fans.” Fans voluntarily categorize themselves as brand advocates, and are extremely valuable for both campaign-based and long term business efforts.

Fans are your brands captive audience.

•They exhibit more affinity and loyalty to the brand than those who are non-fans.

• Fans are 28% more likely to continue using a brand than non-fan consumers.

• 81% of fans said they felt a connection/empathy with the brand, compared to 39% of non-fans.

Fans spend more.

• On average, fans spend an additional $71.84 on products for which they are fans compared to those who are not fans.

A Fan’s word of mouth -the best lead generator.

• Fans are 41% more likely than non-fans to recommend a “fanned” product to their friends.

•The act of “fanning” has incredible influence for converting non-fans to fans.

• 38% of the subjects paneled said they would likely become a fan of a brand if they saw a friend or family member do so.

• 34% reported they would likely become a fan of a brand if it was a person known though Facebook rather than a family member.  That’s only a 4% difference!

So what is the ROI magic number? Using the metrics of the 5 variables mentioned above, Syncapse calculated the average value of a fan as $136.38. But take note, the fiscal value of a fan has remarkable variance as some fans are extremely active and some are inactive.

As Facebook user base continues to grow, so will the need for a brand to understand, connect with, and influence the growing audience. Brands need to adapt from traditional marketing strategies and shift in the direction of social media platforms. Communication to your colleagues of the rationale for the shift is as essential as the shift itself. We’re all trying to understand the ROI on social networks.  And sure at times while reading I felt the “well duh” moment (ex. Fans feel more connection with a brand then non-fans), I also thought the report did a great job with validating why we should spend marketing dollars on Facebook.

It’s clear; there is empirical value in a Facebook fan.  I’m on board, are you?

-Mary “watching the World Cup in my cube” Baldwin

Social Media Account Manager

KEYWORDS are the FOCAL POINT of your SEO efforts. So naturally, identifying your highest impact keywords, and then strategically incorporating them into your site are crucial to your SEO success.

Keywords fall into two buckets: Head match and long-tail match. Head Match keywords are general searches, like “shoes” or “cookies”, whereas long-tail match keywords are more descriptive searches, like “women’s dress shoes” or “chocolate chip cookies”. Because long-tail keywords are more specific, they are better matched to the searchers needs, have less competition than generic head match keywords, and therefore can produce a high volume of impressions.

The first step in maximizing sales from SEO is setting the right keywords. This means focusing on a short and ideal list of key phrases your sales prospects and customers use to find you.

On May 5th or 6th 2010, depending on where you live, Google changed its search results page. One of the changes included the Google Wonder Wheel, a keyword expansion tool which shows related searches to your current search inquiry. The Wonder Wheel is an incredible tool and particularly helpful with finding other options for keywords.

Using the example that Travis used during the webinar, let’s say your company is in conveyor services.

In Google, search “conveyor systems” and on the left side of your screen click on “Wonder Wheel”.

Here, you can see other keyword options, to help narrow your search. Since you are in the industrial sector, click on “Industrial Conveyor Systems”.

Boom! Now you have six other keyword options to help optimize your search. We’ll go with “belt conveyors”.

Other Key Tools and Highlights:

• Google Insights – diagnose keyword search trends & its popularity in geographical regions
• Google Analytics – helps you understand what your customers are typing in to find your website, and which keywords you need to push to optimize, or if you need to start a PPC campaign
• Make sure that your company‘s terminology is in line with your customer’s terminology—the keywords they search for should be the ones you’re optimizing for!
• Keyword selection is your foundation for optimization. Keyword selection takes 2-3 weeks, in order for the account management team, analysts, and engineering teams to understand your keyword selection base.

Choosing the right keywords are the KEY to success—wow, that was cheesy…but you get the point. See you at the next webinar!