SEO Web Tips blog » Search Engine Optimization

Bing Making Slight Progress

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:08:18 +0000

Bing again slightly increased the Microsoft share of the US search market in July to 9.41 percent from 8.23 percent in June according web analytics firm StatCounter.

Sure Bing still has a long way to go to even come close to being a treat to Google, but an increase is better than going in the other direction.

Microsoft and Yahoo combined took 20.36 percent of the search market, up slightly from 19.27 percent in June.

Google unsurprisingly still has the lead of the US market with 77.54 percent in July. (78.48% in June).

“Bing continues to make slow but steady progress but the combined Yahoo! figures suggests that the deal announced last week will have to demonstrate major future synergies if it is to make any dent in Google’s dominance,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO and founder, StatCounter.

The challenge for Microsoft and Yahoo is even tougher in the global market. Microsoft and Yahoo combined took 8.77 percent of the global search market in July. Google still rules the search market globally with 89.23 percent in July.

10 Web Search Engine Ranking Tips to Improve Traffic Conversions

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:19:45 +0000

It’s a fact that if your product or service is not appearing in the top 10 SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) used to find your site, then your competition is there taking all the hits. SEO or Search Engine Optimization techniques are not rocket science; they can be implemented by anyone requiring increasing the exposure of their web site business.

You may have decided to pay an SEO company to do the legwork here. It’s actually possible with just some simple application to do the work quickly and effectively by yourself. SEO is all about optimization and is crucial for success on the web.

By optimization I mean two types of organic methods: On-Page Optimization and Off-Page Optimization. This can be achieved without using PPC plans (Pay per Click) which can cost a lot of money.

On-Page optimization involves editing the web site code and content – keyword research, choosing the best keywords used to find your business and coupling this with relevant content that is useful to your readers. In the code, the keyword and key phrases form part of the Meta tags and should also be in the Home Page title bar. Each page should be optimized according to the keyword that matches the content.

Off-Page Optimization involves back linking from quality sites that sell or display information related to your business. This is best achieved through contextual one-way links to your site from a high traffic site where your target audience will browse for information on your products. One-way links shine bright in the eyes of Google, if they are relevant.
Be aware of these 10 points in order to avoid a bad SEO plan or worse a bad SEO company, or even worse again – getting banned by Google:

1. No black hat techniques, don’t buy into link farms that just send traffic, you will not receive converting visitors.

2. Ensure you have your own web site domain rather than relying on free sites and article directories like Squidoo and Hubpages. These are good but use them to drive one-way traffic to a landing page on your own web site domain.

3. Ensure your Meta tags contain relevant descriptions. These should contain your keywords derived from your keyword research. Use Wordtracker to find out what daily searches contain those keywords, you may need to optimize further.

4. The content must be original, avoid duplicate content. Notice I am using the word ‘relevant’ a lot here, the reason being is that it’s often overlooked in favor of keyword density – forget it, you risk being banned if you use keyword stuffing techniques. Generally 3 to 5 key phrases (assuming long tail e.g. popular online games) per 500 to 1000 words.

5. Create blogs and mini-sites related to your niche that all serve your market with back links to your main business web site. This is a good time to use Squidoo, blogger and Hubpages as they are very high traffic sites. Include back links to your site in your bio.

6. Add ALT tags to all your images with relevant words related to your web page.

7. Submit a press release highlighting your product benefits to the top press release networks such as PRWeb and URLwire. If you don’t know how to prepare one, consult lulu.com as it teaches you the basics.

8. Create discussions on facebook and MySpace related to your niche and invite potential customers to voice their questions, concerns, etc. Include back links to your site in your bio.

9. Promote your web site services in free high traffic classified ads such as USFreeads. Include back links to your site in your bio.

10. Offer support to people needing your products by finding questions on Yahoo Answers and showing them the solution with a link to your site and a reason to visit. Be honest, show the benefits.

What’s next? Simple, rinse and repeat for every product you are marketing on your site. SEO is a long term marketing plan. You will reap the rewards if you can play the game and set out to dominate the search engines in your niche.

How to Plan Your SEO Strategy with Effective Targeting

admin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:48:15 +0000

Often the measure of effective SEO targeting is considered the ranking in the search engine lists or increased traffic; but neither makes your company more money. The measurable intent of a SEO strategy is the conversion rate; only the process of converting visitors to customers returns the investment in SEO. Three strong techniques for a powerful SEO strategy are:

1. Keywords
2. Content
3. Call to Action

Let’s look at these factors and their relevance to attracting converting traffic i.e. sales.

1. Keywords
The importance of understanding your unique benefits, the drivers for your customers and your competition are all important elements of the key word analysis. I recommend you use these powerful tools for keyword choices, user trends, competition analysis and help optimizing your site:

Google Webmaster Tools

SEM Rush
Wordtracker
Web CEO

The use of software or keyword analysis sites like these will show you additional keywords similar to your suggested list. Spend time researching the keywords used by your potential customers to find products like yours in Google and Yahoo searches. Go for the less competitive phrases as you will rank more easily on Google this way. Then optimize for the most competitive phrases later. There is also a strong belief that a word is not enough, but that real power lies in the long word key phrase, as that begins to filter visitors and increases the possibility of conversion.

2. Content is King
Organic SEO and Internet marketing strategies have long seen the power of the use of content to drive visitors to the site, to influence trust and confidence in the company’s knowledge and experience and to increase conversion rates. Keyword rich articles may increase search engine rankings and even increase traffic to the site, but unless the visitor finds depth in the content they will not stay long enough to convert to customers.

It is important to include a wide range of content sources on your site, from easy to skim articles to more complex and detailed articles and eBooks on subject matter that will matter to your customers. This content will encourage repeat visits to the site, build trust and improve conversion rates.

For example, if your site offers information on movies, find niche areas like cult films or Sc-Fi and locate blogs where fans debate these films. Then offer quality content on the subjects to that blog, include your bio, and a link back to your site. Targeting niche areas with the right keywords is more likely to produce converting traffic and visitor retention.

3. Call to Action
The final leg of the 3 prong SEO strategy needs to be a clear, concise call to action. What do you want the visitor to do? Sign up for a newsletter, order a product, take a survey, and complete a registration. The call to action is the message to move to the next step, the first stage of the conversion process. This is the critical move from visitor to customer. Make it a clear message, keep it friendly but make the action precise, and easy to follow. Offer a trial if it’s a product, or if possible – a free version minus all the best selling bits included in the paid full version. Use your creativity here.

Conclusion
An effective SEO strategy builds customers and revenue. Know your key phrases, build rich and relevant content and make the call to action clear and easy to follow.

Try Google Website Optimizer For Better Results

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:18:15 +0000

If you are thinking about making some changes to your Website, but worry about the risks involved then you should checkout Google’s Website Optimizer.

Google Website Optimizer is a free testing platform and optimization tool that allows you to try out different variations of your sites content simultaneously.

Incoming traffic to you site is automatically divided so each variation of a Web page you want to test receives the same amount of visitors. Website Optimizer then determines via tracking which Web page is the best at generating conversions. The best thing about it is it’s available for free.

Google offers a number of reasons to use its Website Optimizer. It says it’s possible to increase conversions and receive a higher return on investment while still maintaining the same amount of visitors.

The Website Optimizer avoids the issue of having to guess what works best on your site by providing practical data, allowing you to make better decisions to improve your site.

It also can improve landing pages via automated testing making it easy to do changes that improve your Web pages.

Google says the Website Optimizer is easy to use and if you have what you want to test prepared you can set it up in less than 10 minutes.

Google also has launched a Google Website Optimizer channel on YouTube. It offers a number of helpful videos for testing and optimizing your Website.

Using Search On Your Web Site

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:26:25 +0000

Google has released tips for setting up a search box on your Web site.

1. Make your search box easy to find.
2. Make sure your search box is always available.
3. Customize the appearance of search to fit your site.
4. Experiment.
5. Be open to feedback. Ask for it.
6. Learn what users are looking for.
7. Let visitors know who powers your search.

If you don’t have a search box you can consider using the Google Custom Search Engine, which is available in both free and paid versions.

If you have a search box you may want to track visitor search activity.

Google offers more tips in the video below.
Using Site Search

Things To Consider Before Hiring An SEO Firm

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:14:19 +0000

Google offers some good advice on its webmasters/site owners help page about hiring a search engine optimization firm.

The company says that a good time to hire an SEO firm is when you are planning a site redesign. Google also says a good SEO can help improve an existing site as well.

Here are some questions to consider before paying an SEO company to improve your results:

Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?

Do you offer any online marketing services or advice to complement your organic search business?

What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?

What’s your experience in my industry?

What’s your experience in my country/city?

What’s your experience developing international sites?

What are your most important SEO techniques?

How long have you been in business?

How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?

Google warns to be careful about SEO firms that send you email unsolicited as they are likely not legitimate.

It also cautions people to not fall for claims that guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. From Google’s help page: “There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.”

Google offers more information here. If you don’t want to hire an SEO firm right now there are plenty of free tools to be found online. This is a good place to start.

Google Makes It Simpler To Submit Sitemaps

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:01:14 +0000

Google has announced that it has made it easier for webmasters to submit a Sitemap.

Sitemap submission will not require webmasters to say what kind of file type they are submitting because Google says it will determine that type of data.

The Google Webmaster Central Blog details the Sitemap files it supports:

XML Sitemap files for web pages – Use these files to submit all of your web pages (this is the preferred format for web pages). While not all search engines may support the Sitemap types listed below, the XML Sitemap for web pages is supported by all search engines of sitemaps.org.

RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 feeds for web pages – Many blogs create these automatically.
Text files with web page URLs – If you can’t automatically create one of the above formats, you can create a text file with your URLs in it.

XML Sitemap files for Video Search – Videos on your website can be indexed and made available for Google Video Search.

Media-RSS feeds for Video Search – mRSS feeds are used by various other systems, we can use these for Google Video Search as well.

XML Sitemap files for Google Code Search – If you make programming samples or code available to your users, you can submit these for Google Code Search.

XML Sitemap files for mobile web pages – Using this kind of format allows us to recognize content that has been optimized for mobile devices (please note that there was recently a small change in the format).

XML Sitemap files for geo-data – If you have geographic data on your website in the form of KML or GeoRSS files, please let us know about these files.

XML Sitemap files for News – News websites can submit their news content in this special Sitemap format (please note that you must first register with Google News before these files are processed).

Google Rolls Out SEO Starter Guide

Mike Sachoff — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:27:29 +0000

Google has launched a Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide that goes beyond its Webmaster Help Group.

Google says its new starter guide cover about a dozen areas that webmasters might want to consider optimizing.

The Webmaster Central Blog provides more details. “We felt that these areas (like improving title and description meta tags, URL structure, site navigation, content creation, anchor text, and more) would apply to webmasters of all experience levels and sites of all sizes and types.”

“Throughout the guide, we also worked in many illustrations, pitfalls to avoid, and links to other resources that help expand our explanation of the topics. We plan on updating the guide at regular intervals with new optimization suggestions and to keep the technical advice current.”

Google has also launched a Search-based Keyword Tool that allows you to view what keywords you may be failing to optimize for.

The Inside Adwords Blog explains. “Here’s the scoop: you know that the Google search engine starts with searches conducted by users and helps them find relevant pages. But for keyword targeting, what you want is a tool that goes in the opposite direction by starting with your pages and identifying keywords that potential customers are searching on to find your products or services.”

“The Search-based Keyword Tool does exactly this, leveraging search query data relevant to your website’s content. In other words, this new tool gives you keywords that are highly relevant to your site but are not part of your AdWords campaigns. This helps you take advantage of missed opportunities.”

Optimizing Video For Search Engines

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:26:36 +0000

If you use video on your Web site or blog you should optimize for search engines just as you do for textual content.

One of the ways to optimize video is to create a customized video player widget for your Web site or blog audience. The key to video search optimization is video sharing.

Create a video site map and build a page for each video. Optimize the page using title tags and link from your index page to your video page. Use a constant video description and title across all sites.

Getting other people to embed your video into their blog or Web site can really prove valuable.

Sending an email to video search engines can help you get added to their crawl queues.

Track how well received your video is using analytics. Do testing to find out what videos receive a positive response and to determine where to place links to your video from your index page.

Title the video with something that is relevant and use rss/mrss.

Do not use tag spam, flash only and dynamic players. Stay away from pop up players as well.

Video search is popular and video is a good way to build your brand and mange your online reputation.

SEO Tips For Getting In Google Results

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:51:09 +0000

On Google’s Webmaster Help Center page there are plenty of tips for turning your site into a Google- friendly site.

With Google grabbing 61.9 percent of the search market for July 2008, according to comScore, optimizing your site to rank well in Google results is key to any Web sites success.

Some of the advice Google offers is obvious to the seasoned SEO expert but to a beginner or someone just starting out the tips are helpful.

Google says the most important thing you can do is to put high quality content on your pages, especially your homepage. Useful information will attract visitors and get other sites to link to your site.

Links help Google crawlers find your site and give it greater visibility in its search results.

Make your site easily accessible and build your site with a link structure that makes sense.

Google also advises not to fill your page with lists of keywords or attempt to “cloak” pages. If your site has pages, links or texts that you don’t want visitors to see, you run the risk of Google ignoring your site.

For more tips checkout Google Webmaster Help Center.