Posts Tagged ‘seo optimization’

Jerry Clark

It is no longer news that Google has recently updated the algorithm it uses to determine the way search results are displayed when millions of Google search engine users surf the Internet for information. Characteristically, the new rules are already affecting about 12 per cent of search results in the United States with some online businesses that have hitherto enjoyed great online rankings vanishing from search results while those businesses that have not even claimed their listings are on top of search rankings.

The latest update of Google algorithm as analysed by Grand Rapids SEO services targets what Google classified as shallow or low quality contents. There have been some subtle changes made earlier but this recent one presented an unprecedented approach that has resulted in many companies going down in rankings while some others have gone up in rankings.

Grand Rapids SEO marketing services have reviewed changes Google made earlier on and observed specifically that in 2007 forum profiles were filtered totally by Google so that forum profiles were not reckoned with or displayed in search reports. Google took another step in 2009 by reducing the effect of forum signatures while in 2010, Google filtered blogs in an effort to reduce concentration on link building strategies.

Updates to Google algorithm is not new to Grand Rapids SEO marketing experts and there is no end in sight for such updates because it is a strategy to bring dynamism to online marketing of businesses and also keep them focused on rejuvenating their websites with fresh and original contents. Here are some steps you can take to keep your online business in line with Google’s new updates.

Discuss with Grand Rapids SEO services: If your business has been having search engine optimization promotion from Grand Rapids SEO marketing companies, you will need to discuss with them about assessing the impact of the new rules on your online business. In fact, if they have not informed you about these new rules, it is advisable you take another look at their SEO strategy and possibly do a rethink. However, if you are new to SEO campaigns then you need to hire one of the reputable Grand Rapids SEO services who know Google’s new rules to immediately start online promotion of your business which is very rewarding and better than the traditional marketing methods.

Crosscheck the quality of your website back links: A careful check of your website back links for quality and compliance with Google rules is a way to stay upbeat in spite of the recent updates made. You need to check if the back links are of good quality or whether they are from sites already banned. If in the process of checking you find any back link that fails the test of good quality, take immediate action and remove links to your site from such websites.

Check the quality of content on your website: Google’s recent rules stress the importance of quality content on a site. Quality content is still the king ruling online business campaign. You should review your website content and make sure the articles are unique and that they provide values for your online customers. If you are in doubt of the quality of your website content or you need improvement, consult one of the professional Grand Rapids SEO marketing companies for expert help that beats Google’s changing rules.

Conservatively speaking, experts estimate that 30 to 40 percent (and growing) of all Google Search’s are by people looking for a local business. That is huge for businesses trying to attract qualified, credit card totting, motivated buyers to their website.

Although hard to define, let’s review what I think are the primary definitions for a local search.

Viewed together I hope this helps clarify a somewhat innocuous term. For some types of businesses all searches are local. Dry cleaners, copier dealers, home builders, plumbing, tow truck service, dentist, appliance repair and so forth. Also known as hyper-local enterprises, many businesses rely virtually 100% on attracting local traffic.

Another example is for businesses that are location-specific, but the people searching for them are located outside of the local area. Examples include vacation condo rental, cruise lines, dude ranch resorts, car rental agencies, golf courses and amusement parks.

And there are businesses wanting to attract people from inside and outside of their local area. Examples of these are financial advisors, consultants, regional hospitals, household movers, and mortgage companies.

How does Google handle local search? They are committed to bringing up the most relevant results from every inquiry. They try to interpret the local intent of the query and then deliver local search results that fit the bill. For example, if a person types “lawyer” and a city or neighborhood into a search box, he/she most likely wants to find someone locally.

Once the local intent is determined, Google will deliver local search results in a number of ways. Given the power of the “relevance” Google will provide what they determine are the best results and will display them in the local box at the top of the organic results:

Once Google thinks that the person is searching for a local business but isn’t completely sure which business is most relevant, it will show some of the local results at the top of the listings with phone numbers and links to more information at Google Maps. This “group of three” may appear in the middle of the page too.

When Google is positive that the searcher is looking for a business in a specific location, it will show a “group of 10” of the local results with phone numbers and direct links to Web sites. This generally shows up at the top of the organic results but may sometimes be found somewhere lower on the page:

Searchers may also go directly to Google Maps to search. When they do, Google Maps displays local business results and a map with pinpointed locations.

The last, but most obvious way that local search results are displayed are in the naturally ranked organic results. The businesses that are most well-optimized for a query will rank above the others here in the universal SERPs (definition). Local search results can appear in many different places and styles, but that doesn’t give you the whole picture, either.

Not all searches for local businesses take place at the search engines. For some people, offline search behavior carries over to the Web; they go directly to an Internet Yellow Pages site to look for local business information. Others have learned to use Web sites like craigslist, Insider Pages, Kudzu, and Merchant Circle to find data about local enterprises. Depending on the type of business, people may also search using a vertical, or topical directory. Researcher agree that these “secondary” search sites are no where near as popular.

In summary you will notice that local search is a combination of a number of variables. It is an attempt to handle the many ways in which a searcher may enter text and then deliver the most relevant information based on that inquiry.

The key then is to have your business positioned on Page #1 of Google, Yahoo and Bing (the predominant Search Engines). This is accomplished through Search Engine Optimization. Check out our No-obligation Questionnaire.

Is your business popping up on Google Page #1 or are you buried somewhere never to be found?

Anyone who wants a profitable way to make money with their own business should try internet marketing. Not everyone has the right idea about it, however, due to the large number of people who begin internet marketing but quit if they don’t make money right away. They never figured out that you have to put some time, effort and research into internet marketing if you hope to make a profitable business out of it. So it’s critical to take consistent action in order to see results. If you’re new to the Internet marketing world, you should take things one at a time and not rush into it. Be patient in your approach and take the right steps after careful consideration. We will now look at some internet marketing strategies that you can start using immediately.

Before you get your Internet marketing campaigns underway, you should take time to ensure the products you intend to promote are high quality. Regardless of whether it’s your own product or an affiliate product, you need to ensure that your customers are getting good value. When people receive good products, they are much less likely to complain or to demand a refund. Another consideration is that promoting sub-standard quality products could develop a bad reputation for you, which could mean your visitors will head over to buy from your competition instead of you. So if you want to see profitable marketing campaigns, the work starts with your product. Using videos to promote your website can be a very effective technique, but only if done right. The reason video marketing works well is because it’s still new, and not many marketers have jumped on to the bandwagon. To succeed in this realm, you have to be sure to create videos that look good and also provide some real benefit to those watching. At the same time, they should also be entertaining. They should be both educational and fun to watch. Not all of your videos will have the desired effect, so be sure to track your results. You can try many different approaches with video marketing, as it’s still largely an open field.

The key to successful online marketing is to thoroughly test all of your techniques and campaigns. If you don’t know what ads are working for you, and how your landing page is converting, it almost gets impossible to get good results. Be sure to test every method you use. If you are advertising with AdWords, it’s important to use split testing to know which of your ads are performing best. Testing should even be applied to your websites and blogs, so you can determine what kind of look and content gives you the best results. As you refine your testing and tracking, you will see better results in everything you do.

In conclusion, try to remember these suggestions as you go about promoting your products online and building a subscriber list.

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Imagine building your own instant web site in a matter of minutes that the Search Engines think is “to die for”.

Skeptical? So was I until I tried it. SEO is my business so I approached this with a very jaded eye.

I was amazed! Our technical support team flipped out!

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Why am I telling you about this when I am in the SEO business?

Simple, not everyone, especially a new business, has the bucks to shell out to get rolling on the Search Engines.

This is the perfect way to spend a little (really little) and reap huge benefit!

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If you want to build your own site and have control this is your answer. If you decide you want a professional firm to assist SEM Masters can help you there too.

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Steve Breault “SEM Meister”

Today we are going to step out of the box for a few minutes. Had an idea a few days ago I thought I would run by you. If you are not interested in making or saving some money today’s Blog is not for you.

However, if you can step out of the box with me (I am in Florida and it is really nice out here) open your mind and visualize the possibilities too, we are on the same page.

How about this?

Dramatically reduce the cost of managing all of your hard copy and digital documents by implementing a powerful easy to use document imaging system from Vircosoft WATCH VIDEO and pay for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Services from SEM Masters with your savings. What a great way to set up a WIN / WIN.

Sometimes I amaze myself! Two field-tested bundled solutions = lowers costs, more customers and increased revenue.

Every once in awhile as we all sit, stare at the clouds and let our minds wander, an idea pops up that is irresistible. I recently experienced an epiphany. Out of blue it hit me.

Why not use the cost-saving and efficiency improvement benefits of one of our companies to pay for the benefits of the other?

The sum of the whole REALLY is greater than the sum of its parts. Zowie!

Who Benefits*?

I.T. Services Firms and Office Equipment Firms (use your imagination, this can work for just about anyone)

• Earn more money by selling more of your services and equipment.
• Earn more money by showing your customers how to sale money and improve office management efficient.
• Earn more money by using your customers cost saving to implement an SEO Program.
• Earn more money (monthly commissions) from our Affiliate Partner commissions.

End-Users

• Reduce the cost of managing your paper and electronic documents.
• Use your savings to implement an SEO and Internet Marketing Program. (you may even have money left over)
• Earn more money (monthly commissions) from our Affiliate Partner commissions.

Typical Example:

Current monthly manual document management cost: $1,000

Implement a DMS program, save $500 per month (ROI is usually very fast): $500

Industry average for monthly SEO Services: $350

Look at how powerful this is. You have reduced the cost of managing documents by $500. Your SEO Services Program costs about $350. You end up $150 per month ahead AND have all the benefits of a powerful document imaging system, and SEO Program to attract new customers with some cash left over.

Thank You,

Steve Breault “SEM Meister”

The companies you see on page #1 of the major Search Engines did not get there by accident. Many were able to “jump ahead” of their most ardent competitors even in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds.

The Internet has become the primary resource for both buyers and sellers. Unlike conventional marketing media such as the yellow pages, newspapers, magazines, mass e-mail campaigns, radio and television the Internet instantaneously connects a visitor to products, services and information. Conventional media marketing reminds me of closing ones eyes and firing a “shot gun into the air” hoping to hit the barn. Web site optimization enables you zero in on a gigantic barn eyes wide open.

While not all visitors are immediate buyers just getting them to your site where you can WOW them with information is a major first step. For those ready to buy a properly designed and optimized site makes their buying experience easy and profitable for you.

This paper has been written for business owners and managers. We have condensed what we learned about Search Engine Optimization first hand as we built SEM Masters . We speak from experience, the school of hard knocks.

We launched into the SEO business after we successfully moved our sister company, Vircosoft, from Internet obscurity to consistent ranking on Page #1 on Google often higher than our toughest competitors. Today we are focusing on web site optimization rather that Pay-Per-Click (PPC) again because of our experience. We found PPC less effective and too expensive. Additionally, once we stopped our test PPC program we faded away into Internet obscurity, again. For us, as we zeroed in on optimization we rapidly climbed back through the ranking and now find Vircosoft consistently on page #1 of Google. We strengthen our position every day.

Before we get started there are several key terms you need to fully understand beginning with the basics of web page optimization. What you put on-page (on your web site) can substantially affect the click-through-rate (CTR). High CTR results in a greater opportunity to increase your conversion rate. People convert, you earn more money.

Keyword Selection: Getting Started

What you think is the best keyword or keyword phrase for your business may in fact not even come close to what others think. We see it too often. There are excellent free tools (some cost but usually provide even more information) including Google Adwords: Keyword Tool. Once you have tested and selected your best keywords and feeling pretty good about yourself I might add be prepared to find some of your competitors already using them and way ahead of you.

Vircosoft needed more exposure. What did we do? We got creative. We did our homework. Check this out. Google these three keyword phrases we identified for Vircosoft as potentially viable:

Open Source Document Indexing Software

Open Source Document Capture Software

Open Source Document Imaging Software

We moved Vircosoft from obscurity to page #1 on Google, consistently, in about 3 weeks. Our CTR and Conversion rate escalated fast and continues today. We are living proof that SEO works, IF you know what you are doing or hire someone with real experience and dedication.

Another example: Click on Destin Online Advertising. In less than two weeks we dominated Page #1 on Google and our SEM Masters business started to grow faster. There are no shortcuts, tricks or sleight of hand in SEO. Mostly it is grunt work, literally.

On-page Optimization

How you manage the information on your web pages can either help or hinder your ranking on the Search Engines. While on-page optimization represents only about 20% of the total for building high ranking it is part of the whole and important. We will talk about off-page optimization a bit later in their post.

Some of the most important on-page optimization techniques commence with selecting a key word to optimize your web page. There are numerous free tools obtainable on the Internet that can help you uncover a keyword that is prevalent but not overly competitive. Keywords that are greatly competitive are regularly very tough to place well on the search engines.

No matter which keyword tool you select assure that it will give you with an accurate count of how many times the keyword or keyword phrase is searched on every month. Keywords or phrases receiving a low search count should be eliminated to minimize wasted time. However if the keyword or keyword phrase is used many times it may be a great candidate for optimizing. KEI represents the ratio of keyword searches to the number of websites using the same keyword. You goal is to find the keyword or keyword phrases that are popular but have a minimal number of sites competing. Look online and you will find tools, many are free, to help you with keyword and keyword phrase suggestions.

After you have selected your keywords and keyword phrases it is time to get started. As you work your way through this paper Google terms that are unfamiliar to continue your education. Over the next several weeks you can gain a lot of expertise. Whether you choose to run your own SEO Program or retain a Professional is up to you. In my experience good business people like to have an understanding about what will be done to their site, but are simply too busy managing their business to take on the arduous grunt hours to maintain a powerful and competitive web site.

Don’t optimize for a single keyword, optimize for a keyword phrase. When you optimize for a single keyword, more often than not, that word is highly competitive and your chances of coming out on top are minimal. Where you gain a significant advantage is by focusing on a keyword phrase. This actually increases your chances of ranking well and helps you towards ranking well for the single word you originally chose as your ideal keyword.

Placement of your keyword(s) is very important. If possible, on your web page, position within the first 25 words of text as well as the last 25 words of text. This helps validate the value and importance of your keywords to the Search Engines. Sprinkle your keyword(s) throughout web page, but do not saturate. Another tip: bold once, italic once, underline once. I recommend that you position an h1 tag close to the top of your web page. An <h1> tag, also known as a headline tag, is the code you use to display your headline in large type. This is one of the most important steps to enhance your search engine results. Try adding a number of sub-headings using an <h2> and/or <h3> tag. These are smaller than an h1, but still important as the search engines evaluate your site.

Be sure to place your keyword phrase in your Meta tags (the HTML code that appears at the beginning of your web page) – specifically your page title and description. Try to repeat your keyword phrase twice in your description tag. Robot tags help the search engines recognize that they need to crawl your entire website. There are other practices that will increase search capability including sitemap and on-page linking.

Off-page Optimization

Search Engine Optimization is defined as “external” work prepared for your web site. This includes link building, press releases, article writing , article submission, directory submission and link-building.

The most effective way to identify the “right” sites to get links from should be based on who is linking to your competition. Better yet, you should be evaluating who links to the #1 search result in Google for the keywords or keyword phrases you’re optimizing for. Using this strategy you should be able to start moving up the ranking quickly. We use a variety of tools to help us quickly locate the site of most value. Without taking time here to list products go to Google and search. We tested a lot of tools before purchasing anything. Many offer a trial period. Try before you buy!

Article writing is powerful and extremely effective. If you like to write start selecting topics you think others will find interesting and useful. Do not create articles with little value but lots of text. The Search Engines want relevance and quality. Because this is a very prominent part of SEO be prepared to spend a lot of time writing and submitting.

Very often people are not just looking for a product or service. They are searching for information about a product or service. Rather than simply presenting the superiority of what you are selling you can attract visitors to your site by offering valuable information about a subject. Over time you can actually become the recognized “expert” in a chosen field.

Article marketing is the routine of writing articles concerning your area of expertise and disseminating these articles to information seeking websites. The value of this tactic is the addition of an “About the Author” section at the bottom of your article that also includes a link to your website. Again, search the web for Article Submission software that will distribute your articles automatically to hundreds of article directories, site and feeds.

Link text should include the keyword or keyword phrase being optimized. Let’s say you are marketing your “document management software”. You know that this is a hugely competitive keyword phrase. In order to increase the probability that you will get recognized, the code to links to others would look like this: <a href=”http://www.someonessitebusiness.com” target=”_blank”>open source document imaging software</a>.

Conclusion:

Patience and perseverance is required to build your way to the top of the Search Engines. Your web site needs consistent tweaking. Keep the articles, Backlinks, Blog posts and other social media coming. Fresh and relevant should become your action words. Weigh the value of your time to build a powerful top ranking web site to the value of retaining an SEP professional. Either way view this as a journey, not as a destination. We look forward to seeing you at the top.

Steve Breault “SEM Meister”

The race for top ranking in Google and the other Search Engines is on in a big way! The objective is “Total Market Domination” from a firm like Destin SEO Services and that begins with Google. When someone is looking for your product or service you want them to get BLASTED with information about YOUR company.

Check this out: CLICK Destin SEO Services We are dominating page #1 often #1 on Page 1. We have done the same for our sister company Vircosoft and we are doing it for clients right now.

What would a 1st Page on Google Ranking mean to your business?

TRY THIS FOR YOUR BUSINESS…

Google what you THINK is your “best keyword phrase”. The one that you believe someone will use to find your type products or services (i.e. copier dealer, personal injury attorney, kitchen remodeling, backyard furniture, pressure washing, business accounting firm, dentist, Italian restaurant etc)

Does your business web site or anything about your business pop-up? Any articles? Any videos about your business? Any testimonials? How about your Blog? FaceBook, Twitter? Anything about you?

If not, how is anyone searching the Search Engines going to find you? Do you think they will navigate to page 2, 3, 5, 10, 50?

Fox News Does Not Think So! Fox News Sunday 12-20-2009 Reported:

80% of the people Searching Google NEVER go past Page 1
90% of the people Searching Google TRUST listings on Page 1

Keywords are just the tippy-top of the iceberg. It’s what’s below the surface where the real work is done.Tedious, butthe difference between invisible and ranking at the top!

Your web site (known as On-Page Optimization) represents about 10% of the work for a great ranking. The other 90% (known as Off-Page Optimization) is where the rubber meets the road. Meat versus the mashed potatoes. Where the Search Engines are separating the Strong from the Weak.

How does your web site stack up to your competitors?

We will show you. Complete this short Questionnaire and receive your FREE report.

If you are not moving FULL BORE toward a top ranking on the Search Engines you are losing business to your competitors! SEM Masters will show you the way!

SUMMARY:

• The Internet is FREE
• Search Engine visitors are looking for your products or services
• Search Engine visitors are more qualified and motivated
• Search Engine visitors are more likely to buy

How many thousands of visitors do you think may be browsing right now and will never find your web site? SEO Internet Marketing is inexpensive (compare it to what you are spending right now to market your products and services) and provides the greatest opportunity known today to help your business increase sales and profits.

Steve Breault “SEM Meister”

The economy is down, yet our attitude is soaring. There is are boatloads of really cool advertising opportunities and creative technology based solutions you can implement right now in anticipation of the economic turn-around. We are like the Minutemen. Facing overwhelming obstacles yet dug in and determined to succeed, which they did. The fact that the current administration seems to care about business does not deter us during this important part of our history, not for one second. Lock & Load!

Everyone is talking about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) today. The “war” for search engine dominance is in full battle mode. If you are not participating, you will be relegated to Search Engine obscurity. That, of course, is not acceptable. Right? So you say..what can I do now? Glad you asked.

First you need to assure that your web site is current. Many sites were built for appearance and functionality using what is called On-Page Optimization. That’s nice but that is not be enough to compete on the Search Engines today. The Search Engine world has changed dramatically over the past several years and continues to evolve constantly.

We talk to business owners daily regarding SEM Masters and our affiliate company Vircosoft and the majority tell us they really do not know if their web site is anything more than a very attractive (some not so attractive) expense. They could not tell us if they are getting any visitors much less if they are getting any new business.

So What Can You Do? (It’s going to be fun and profitable)

SEO has progressed way beyond On-Page Optimization (Wright Brothers versus the Space Shuttle). Today SEO professionals focus on developing significant back-links to websites through article and directory submissions. Most companies have already created a web site using someone on their staff or by hiring a professional web site developer. All too often we find that most web sites, while attractive and easy to use are not being found by anyone searching the web for their products or services. Why not? The answer and the solution is simple. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the missing link.

The time review and update in now. First, select a reputable SEO firm like Destin Online Advertising . Today there are hundreds of SEO firms to choose from. Many have experience, can provide references, examples of their success with others and can show you what they have accomplished for their own site. Unfortunately there are even more what I refer to as SEO Wantabees spamming the Internet. First Red Flag…Avoid any solicitation for SEO services from an inquiry that is using a gmail or hotmail email address. These spammers are hiding their identity to avoid getting shut down.

The Search Engines are a moving target. Professionals can help you maintain “compliance” (following the rules). Too often we have seen sites shut down because the “SEO” non-professional utilized unfair or illegal tactics to achieve a better ranking. To help keep the game fair and the information relevant Google has implemented LSI (latent semantic indexing) and has already started shutting down link farms.

SEM Masters will review conduct a thorough review of your web site and provide a free report. We are looking for weaknesses that can be strengthened using “white hat” strategies. SEMM professionals will detail the steps and the strategies we are confident will help you start increasing your Search Engine Ranking including unique article submissions by creating clean web content pertinent to your business or niche. SEMM will make certain that all incoming links to are suitable as well. While on-page optimization starts the process, in reality it only represents about 10% of the required overall strategy. The other 90% or Off-Page Optimization is the substance.

Ask the SEO firm you are considering if they will:

* Manually submit to all directories.
* Consistently review, confirm and update all of your links.
* Provide easy to contact customer service.
* Provide complete reports on submissions.
* Submit your site to directories with high PR rank.

SUMMARY:

Hiring an experienced and reputable SEO firm can be a great first step in the process of moving your web site, thereby your exposure, up the ranking. The industry has moved from the web site building craze of 5-10 years ago into a race for search engine ranking. Your web site may not be positioning your business to take advantage of the current trend where virtually everyone goes to Google, Yahoo or Bing to search for whatever they are looking for. If you can not be found, you lose. SEM Masters will help you DOMINATE your market.

Thank you,

Steve Breault “SEM Meister”

You may have read this information before, or seen in a SEO technical journal somewhere. There are still a lot of questions as to what is time-tested and has a proven track record in search engine optimization.

Because most Grand Rapids SEO Services organizations and other well known SEO Experts keep this information secret and so called rocket science nature of doing SEO, the truth is hard to find many times. So, here is my attempt to list what is known to work for on-page seo purposes. When I mention the word, on-page, in respect to performing SEO I mean the website content and code that is created and published online. Look for my other articles that directly speak about off-page SEO techniques because off-page SEO is 80% of the process, or effort it takes to be competitive in the SEO space.

Before I dive right into the SEO on-page techniques below, please let me assume you have done proper keyword research. When I say proper, in the same sentence with keywords, I mean keywords that are actually being used daily in the search engines. Many times I see people creating content for their websites and optimizing as described below for keywords no one is searching for. So it is vital to perform proper keyword research prior to spending any time or money for on-page SEO optimization.

Meta Tags -
True – Google doesn’t rely heavily on them anymore to boost your webpage rankings, but the other search engines will use them as a reference point in categorizing your site. Metatags are a place behind the scenes, so to speak, inside the html coding of your webpage where you place your keywords.

Page Title -
This tells the search engine what your content on your webpage is supposed to be about. This is one of the most important steps in getting Google to recognize what

Content -
Obviously, you need matching content related to the title of your page to have a chance of getting and maintaining top ranks in the search engines. Inside the content, you’ll want to use your keywords so the search engines can match your title to the content containing your keywords to find relevancy. When the search engines discover relevancy, they will gift with a higher page rank.

H1 Tag -
Whatever your page title is named, that keyphrase should be found within the H1 tag for that page. Also, make sure you only use one H1 tag per page. And this is the place you want to place your primary keyword for that page. So again, ensuring that your H1 tag contains the same keyword as the title and content helps your page ranking.

Naming your web files -
Try to use your keywords when naming your webpage files. Also, use the hyphen instead of the underscore when creating your files. This technique is debated, but I feel it is vital to ensure you put your primary keyword in the name of your webpage file.

Sitemap -
Even if your site is only 5 pages long, you should always use a sitemap. This way you can make sure that the search engines find all of the pages for your site.

Robots file -
This is a simple file that tells the search engines where they can’t go to on your site. Be sure not to place anything sensitive in this file as hackers will look at the robots file to see what you are trying to keep hidden.

Error Handling -
Always use a 404 error handling page. Anytime a user or search engine accidentally mistypes a url or tries to go snooping around your site, they should be taken to this page. Also, you should place your sitemap navigation on this page as well.

Image Optimization -
Where appropriate, you should use the ALT tag to describe your images. Search engines index keywords inside the image ALT tags, so it is very important to put them there.

These are proven methods for your search engine optimization strategy. One last tip. Do not over do any of the above techniques. What I mean here for example, if your webpage has several pictures, be sure not to over sdo using the same keyword in the ALT tags. Same with the content, ensure that the keyword is not over used. If you or your SEO Services company takes advantage of these basic points, you will get your site ahead of your competition!

Jerry

“Pay it Forward”

You love the look of your web site? While that is nice, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In this case the most important beholder is the Search Engine and it better be as alluring as icy cold sweet tea on a hot summer day.

Glamour aside for a moment, is your web site drawing in the qualified prospects you are looking for? Can Search Engine surfers find your site, fast? I remember being so proud of our first really cool web site designed back in the day. We had whistles and bells, spark and flash.

We waited, with trembling anticipation, like five year old kids scanning the night sky for Santa, for the business to start rolling in. And we waited, and we waited, and we…well you get the picture. Perhaps you have done the same. If so you are not alone. The technology, competition, customer buying habits, customer spending budgets, customer expectations and so much more are in constant flux.

Customers want answers, fast. 80% of the people browsing the Internet never move past page #1. Based on daily analysis of our own optimized websites the majority of people clicking in stay for less than 5 minutes blasting through 3-4 pages and then jump out. We discovered the key to turning visitors, into propects and finally into buyers. Since thousands of people are looking for your products or services at any given moment you should be getting hundreds of inquiries per day. Are you? If not the time has come to take long hard look into what your web site has to offer versus what you should have.

Cutting right to the chase. Many companies have a very cool looking web site having paid hard earned money for periodic cosmetic enhancements. Nice but about as effective as a fishing net with huge holes. Looks fine all folded neatly on deck, but useless underwater as the fish happily swim right on through only to get caught by the fishing boat mysteriously following close astern.

News Flash! Whether your site is brand spanking new or gathering dust, without professional Search Engine Optimization from an experienced firm such as Destin SEO Services you may be “all flash and no substance”. The way that the search engines evaluate and rank sites is a moving target. Professionals can get you to the surface and help you catch that prize fish. Do your business and your prospects a favor, get a web site evaluation. Look for FREE, reputable firms want to know where you stand right now and to establish a benchmark so progress can be evaluated and measured.

What is more important for an effective web site? Fancy graphics and a smooth powerful sales pitch or relevant content? Nice pictures of your beaming staff or boatloads of the best keywords, back-links and Social Media? My guess is that you can figure this out.

SEM Masters and other SEO firms will start at the beginning. After a review of the cosmetics they will dig in. Target number one is a review of your content or lack of it. Search Engines are like bloodhounds on the hunt, they bypass whatever they smell as irrelevant. If your content is not of “value” as far as the content sniffers are concerned you get left securely tied to the dock. Even if you are so proud and confident of all your carefully considered keywords (trust me some of your favorites may be useless) the crawlers may breeze on by. Old and irrelevant content is relegating millions of web sites to obscurity.

The great news is that you can turn on a dime. Move up in the rankings and start driving buyers to your business.

Caution: There is a frantic race going on right now. Whether you know it or not businesses worldwide are Optimizing their websites to pass the search engine sniffer smell test to gain ranking. This urgency has attracted hundreds of “SEO” wantabees into the industry having minimal experience and making outrageous promises. Please look for these Red Flags:

1. Contact by someone using a gmail or hotmail address. This is probably a spammer that does not want to get caught. If they ware legitimate why are they hiding?

2. An email request to provide you with a quote (usually without a domain name again). If they are so good why not share their domain name and more importantly why spam and not using SEO to attract visitors? How can they send you a quote without talking to you? Junk mail immediately!

Summary: Don’t re-design your site just to make it look better. You may have information that is relevant. Spend time with an SEO professional before making any change decisions. Ask your professional to conduct a web statistics review and test your current keywords. Ask them about their resources for creating relevant content. How do they produce it? Will they be utilizing Social Media? What reports can you anticipate so you know you are on the right track? Do their recommendations make sense? Stay close and demand accountability.

Thank you,

Steve Breault “SEM Meister”