Posts tagged "science"

The Why of SEO – a Thermal Lifejacket for the Economic Ice Age!

Despite the many and varied articles written on how SEO is done, most people have only a vague appreciation of WHY it is absolutely essential. As the economic downturn bites into revenue streams, can you afford to ignore a key website business strategy?

That includes a depressing number of website designers, some of whom actually tell their clients that SEO is a waste of time and money, and that it’s quite unnecessary these days because Google is smarter than ever before… Au contraire – it becomes more and more critical every day, as website numbers expand exponentially! Lack of knowledge is not confined to website designers, it also includes a number of wanna-be SEO firms who make outrageous claims about their special relationship and affinity with Google etc, but have little idea of what it takes to consistently succeed in attaining Top 30 rankings.

There are many articles written on the HOW of SEO, covering the many and varied aspects of the art of improving your site’s position in search engine ranking pages (SERPs). Whilst most people have heard the term “search engine optimization” and have a vague appreciation (or apprehension) of the hoped-for outcome, surprisingly few people seem to really understand WHY it is absolutely essential.

Be very aware that in most cases website design is taught as an Art, not as a Business discipline. Website designers are rarely taught anything about search engine optimization, and few are interested in mastering the skills required to produce optimal results. That’s all very fine and dandy – but it leaves a lot of website owners desperately disappointed in mediocre results! You’ve probably heard the analogy about building a shop in the middle of a forest too, I bet? Seriously, it really does not matter how beautiful the site is – if no one finds it, then it’s just a gorgeous waste of virtual space.

Content is Still King

Regardless of the various conflicting opinions, Google conspiracy theories and misinformation, it comes down to a very simple concept – content quality, and accurate content classification. Content is where many sites fail dismally! The sites that thrive are those with well written, well organised original, interesting and useful content. Don’t copy other peoples stuff. Aside from being illegal, at best it immediately downgrades you to second best… As a general rule, from an SEO perspective, bear in mind the most fundamental issue – Google loathes duplicate content!

Classification

There are literally millions of websites, each competing for viewers in a particular niche. Reasons for their existence vary across the A to Z spectrum – advertising, entertainment, comedy, educational, humour, informational, music, news, promotional, sports, wine, video, zoos… you get the picture, right?

In the world of books we have the Dewey decimal classification system. Every published work is assigned an ISBN number, and libraries classify all books under a rigid hierarchical subject classification system. It’s not perfect, but it works pretty well because every one uses and understands it! Erudite people write insightful book reviews, which are sometimes included in advertising and promotions. Hold this thought, its relevant to a following section. You want to find a book on a particular topic, or by a specific author, you do a search and Eureka! You’ve found it, there’s a list, even! The best books are reviewed multiple times, and take pride of place in the “best sellers” rack.

Relevancy Ranking

Using different terminology, search engines are trying hard to do the same thing – to give their searchers the most accurate list possible, containing exactly what they want, so they can pick and choose from it! Unfortunately, there is no Dewey classification system on the web. The closest thing to a hierarchical subject listing is the Open Directory, Yahoo, or one of the thousands of other web directories – all of which are inconsistently organised into completely different illogical structures!

So, here we have Google and other search engines trying valiantly to index and categorize the billions of pages on millions of websites, in hundreds of countries in a multiplicity of languages. Then, they have to calculate each page’s relevance to specific search queries…

Are You Helping or Hindering?

That’s where YOU come into the picture… It’s a big, big task – have you made any effort at all to help Google to help you? Or is your website fuzzy and unfocused, with no clear statement of content or purpose? In most cases, sites are constructed with vague intentions to do SEO as an optional extra sometime in the future… What, you want Google to do everything for you?

Done Any Homework?

Do you have any idea how your primary audience searches for the information, products or services you offer? Do the pages on your site describe your content using terms your clients use? Because that’s the only way Google can match searchers with relevant content! What? You actually forgot to do any market research before launching the site? You have no accurate, researched, hard data on the keywords your potential clients would use? You asked your friends at work for ideas? Absolutely incredible!

Let us pretend you’re looking for clients for your small bed & breakfast business in Christchurch, New Zealand. You are optimistic that potential customers in New Zealand, Australia and the UK will be able to find your website amongst the millions of competing B&B pages on the web, be convinced by your persuasive advertising copy and elegant pictures… you’d also like them to come and book directly with you, to avoid hefty commission payments on the dozens of B&B Advertising Directory sites who also want you to pay to advertise! Dream on!

So You Want Google To Work For You?

You’d really like Google et al to help connect your potential clients to your business via Search Engine Results Pages by making your site No.1… And you certainly want “qualified” traffic from Google, visitors who are specifically looking for exactly what you offer!

Anyone who thinks they can survive online without Google, Yahoo and MSN is either a thoroughly well-rounded idiot, or is a household name who does not need to advertise to generate qualified traffic. There is no middle ground.

But here’s where it gets hard! How will Google do that? What solid information have you provided Google in your on-site content, and in the off-site links to your site? Have you got a Domain Name which encapsulates your business type and location; Bed-Breakfast-Christchurch.co.nz? Or a cryptic name, like; BnBChChNZ.com? Of the two, which is most likely to give the SE its first clue as to what your site is about?

What is On-Site SEO

Think about it this way… Does your home page have an explicit and accurate Title that provides a direct and unequivocal statement of the site’s business purpose in 70 characters? Does the Title say “Bed & Breakfast Accommodation, Christchurch New Zealand” or does it say “Welcome to Dusty Lodge” or something equally asinine?

Does your home page have an explicit and accurate Description that provides a brief outline of your business purpose, unique selling proposition, and call to action, encapsulated in 150 – 200 characters? Or does it contain some vague warm and fuzzy drivel about beaches and sunsets?

Keep the book analogy in your mind, and take a look at your Home page, particularly the first heading and first paragraph… “Welcome to my website” is not a productive approach! What does it tell your visitors about you? It tells me that you are at best naïve and both you and your website designer need SEO counselling! And think about that first paragraph… is it an accurate summary of the site’s reason for existence? Eliminate that fruity, cheesy, fluffy verbiage immediately!

If your website is required to deliver a return on investment, particularly by selling products or services, or delivering customer service, informing or entertaining, your really need to accurately describe your website’s content, and allow it to become visible online. What’s that I hear? Oh, you want it to make you rich as well? But you don’t really want to make a serious commitment or effort to do the job properly? Right… good luck with that! And remember that old GIGO acronym – “Garbage In, Garbage Out!”

What is Off-Site SEO?

This may surprise you, but some people are dishonest about their site content. Frankly, some people handle the truth in a very awkward fashion indeed… Telling Google that your site is about Pamela Anderson, when its actually selling Bart Simpson comics, is deuced annoying to the people who visit it! Therefore, Google and other SE’s decided long ago that some external verification of every website’s content would assist their efforts to deliver the most relevant SERPs to their clients. Makes perfect sense to me…

How is this achieved, I hear you ask. Well, you’ve heard of links, right? Back to the book analogy – think of good links as being like a series of book reviews! What if lots of people are writing positive things about your site? What if multiple, external, widely distributed sites are all saying that your site is about “Bed & Breakfast Accommodation Christchurch NZ” huh? The balance of probability that your site is relevant to such a search is positively impacted by this external confirmation! A coincidence of keywords in on-site content and off-site links reassures Google immensely! Those keywords in the off-site links are referred to as anchor text, and should form the link title.

No, Its Not Rocket Science

Frankly, search engine optimisation, in the pure sense of the term, is not particularly difficult to understand, or to do. The aim of the search engines is to provide their customers with the content most relevant to the search they are making. Therefore, your salvation lies in making your content relevant to the known searches! Do some thorough keyword research, learn and understand your target audience’s searching behaviour. Plan pages that target specific, high-volume, low competition search phrases.

Don’t be vague, don’t waffle, and help Google to help you!

When the economic gravy pot is bubbling merrily, and there’s ample business gravy slopping over, even the mediocre get a share. But when the economic ice age casts midnight shadows at noon, and credit wolf packs softly pad the empty streets, howling balefully at the waning moon… then, when you’re sucking the last congealed streaks of business gravy off your tarnished website spoon, ask yourself… Can you afford your website to be second rate, disorganised and drifting ever further into the icy wastes of mediocrity?

With a better understanding why SEO is so important to your website’s success, will you continue to ignore it?

Ben Kemp
http://www.articlesbase.com/online-promotion-articles/the-why-of-seo-a-thermal-lifejacket-for-the-economic-ice-age-729218.html

Originally posted 2010-07-19 02:51:19.

Data-Driven Marketing: The 15 Metrics Everyone in Marketing Should Know

Praise for Data-Driven Marketing

“Every year, baseball teams go to places like Florida and Arizona to run through the basics which are the cornerstone of performance excellence. This book is the marketing equivalent of taking all those ground balls. An essential read for every marketer who cares about-and wants to improve upon-the science of their craft.”
-Derek Ungless, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, DSW Shoe Warehouse

Learn More or BUY NOW

The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself

The small business guru behind Duct Tape Marketing shares his most valuable lesson: how to get your customers to do your best marketing for you.

The power of glitzy advertising and elaborate marketing campaigns is on the wane; word- of-mouth referrals are what drive business today. People trust the recommendation of a friend, family member, colleague, or even stranger with similar tastes over anything thrust at them by a faceless company.

Most business owners believe that whether customers refer them is entirely out of their hands. But science shows that people can’t help recommending products and services to their friends-it’s an instinct wired deep in the brain. And smart businesses can tap into that hardwired desire.

Marketing expert John Jantsch offers practical techniques for harnessing the power of referrals to ensure a steady flow of new customers. Keep those customers happy, and they will refer your business to even more customers. Some of Jantsch’s strategies include:

-Talk with your customers, not at them. Thanks to social networking sites, companies of any size have the opportunity to engage with their customers on their home turf as never before-but the key is listening.

-The sales team is the most important part of your marketing team. Salespeople are the company’s main link to customers, who are the main source of referrals. Getting them on board with your referral strategy is critical.

-Educate your customers. Referrals are only helpful if they’re given to the right people. Educate your customers about whom they should be talking to.

The secret to generating referrals lies in understanding the “Customer Referral Cycle”-the way customers refer others to your company who, in turn, generate even more referrals. Businesses can ensure a healthy referral cycle by moving customers and prospects along the path of Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, and Refer. If everyone in an organization keeps this sequence in mind, Jantsch argues, your business will generate referrals like a well-oiled machine.

This practical, smart, and original guide is essential reading for any company looking to grow without a fat marketing budget.

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Search Engine Optimization – 10 Common Mistakes to Avoid

Every website, large small and in between needs traffic. There is absolutely no point in having the best looking, most interesting website in the world if nobody ever visits it. Your aim is to get a steady stream of visitors to your website and transform them into customers. To get the steady stream of visitors to your website, you need to make sure the website is visible to the search engines. This process is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Failure to attend to search engine optimization is the equivalent of opening an amazingly decorated, well-stocked shop and keeping the blinds down and the door locked.

Search Engine Optimization sounds as if it should be a task best reserved for a specialist. It is, however, something all webmasters should tackle as a matter of course. The first time webmaster will probably not have a natural ability to send his website to the top of the search engine lists in a matter of days. He should, however, do sufficient optimization to ensure that nothing on his website is actually working against his success with search engines.

As a first step in the search engine optimization of your website, check to make sure you are not making any of these common mistakes.

1. Failing to use the right keywords. Take advantage of the tools available online to research the right keywords for your website. You need to have keywords real visitors will be searching for. An example of good keyword/bad keyword is an airline using the keyword phrase “low cost tickets” when its visitors would be searching for their product using the words “cheap flights”.

2. Keyword Spamming. If you use the same keyword too many times, there is a danger the search engines will consider this to be spam and will penalize your website accordingly. Keyword spamming can relate to phrases used in your website meta tags as well as to the anchor text on your website.

3. Keyword Stuffing. This is similar to keyword spamming. The offence is frequently found in “alt” tags where the website owner places keywords in the tags instead of an accurate description of the graphic.

4. Using Keywords Unrelated To Your Website. Inserting popular keyword search phrases that have nothing to do with your website content into your meta tags is a sure way of getting dumped by the search engines.

5. Using Hidden Text. Unscrupulous webmasters have been known to repeat keywords on backgrounds the same color as the text so that the words are invisible to visitors but will be read by the search engines. Newsflash: search engines are not stupid enough to fall for this trick.

6. Using minute text. This is a variation of using invisible text. Instead of making the text and the background the same color, the text is reduced to a size too small to be read by human visitors. Adding a string of tiny keywords does not work, the search engines can recognise when keywords are being used naturally and not just placed on a web page in a list.

7. Having broken links. Make sure you regularly check all links on your web pages. A bad link is a sure way of upsetting the search engine bots when they come to visit. If you are marketing affiliate products, keep an eye on the links to the vendors’ sites. When you delete of move things on your website, remember that one small change can have all sorts of repercussions if your housekeeping results in a broken link on another page.

8. Not Using Alt Tags. The search engines cannot see graphics, they rely on text. Therefore, you should use an “alt” tag for every image. The tag should accurately describe the image. The “alt” tags are also beneficial to blind or partially sighted visitors who rely on audio assistance to “see” your web pages.

9. Not Using All The Meta Tags Correctly. Make sure you use each and every recognised meta tag and use them correctly. Search engine fashions are subject to change: at one time the “keywords” meta tag was vital, then the experts told us Google no longer relied upon it. Have all your tags properly completed in readiness for them coming back into fashion. Also remember that what one search engine ignores, might be vital for listing by other search engines.

10. Using Free Hosting. Free website hosting might be perfectly adequate for a hobby website but it will not impress the search engines. The search engines look at where your site is hosted. They also take note of the length of time for which your domain is registered. A professionally hosted site with a domain name which is registered for two years or more will be given greater importance than a site hosted free with a domain name registered for only one year.

These mistakes can all be rectified very simply. Don’t be afraid, search engine optimization is much easier than rocket science and assistance is readily available. There are plenty of resources online to help you understand what is required and there are also resources to help you check that your optimization efforts are taking you in the right direction. Many of these resources are free.

Elaine L Currie
http://www.articlesbase.com/seo-articles/search-engine-optimization-10-common-mistakes-to-avoid-85599.html

Search Engine Marketing Company Can Make Your Company Boom

If your business has a website, you are probably wondering how to draw more customers to it. Many companies assume that being on the Internet is the be all and end all to having a web presence, but once they establish that online presence, they quickly realize that there is a lot of competition for attention online. Even good websites can sometimes be completely ignored and figuring out exactly how to attract more attention, and more money, is not easy. That’s exactly where a search engine marketing company can help. The company can provide your business with the right tools to increase web traffic and generate income for your site.

An SEM company is simply a company with experience in promoting your business online through major search engines such as Yahoo! and Google. Basically, the way the search engines operate on the consumer end is that a customer seeking a specific item will enter major search keywords when surfing for a product or service. A site like Google will give the customer a list of millions of possible web pages that may interest them. Since there are millions of results, the customer will usually only glance through the first page or two of results before deciding which website to actually visit. This means that if you are a shoe retailer in Boston you want your website prominently listed among the first few results on Google. A search engine marketing company can help you learn how to make that happen.

Figuring out how to get great results or rankings with major search engines is both a science and an art. A good search engine marketing company spends many hours determining what works and what does not so that they can help your business get the best results. There are many things that affect rankings, so a quality SEM company may take a multi-pronged approached to ensure that your business gets the attention it deserves. This approach may include:

Adding content to your website
Search engines rely on words on a website to decide how relevant a website is to the search. By creating just the right amount of content with the right density of the right words, you will be able to attract more customers.

Your website may become part of a network of links
Having other web pages linking to your website often increases your rankings and gets you a more prominent spot on search engine results. Your website might benefit from having additional pages or having links from online articles linking back to your website. An online marketing professional can help you decide how many links, and from where, you need in order to get the best results.

Your website needs to appeal to a specific customer
Online marketing experts will help you determine what your potential customers are looking for online. They will help you design a website that attracts those customers like a magnet. For example, in the case of the customer looking for shoes in Boston, you will identify that your customer is a shoe-buyer in Boston and look at what site design and keywords would be appropriate for that customer base. A professional working with an SEM company can help you to determine which strings of words customers are entering into search engines and therefore which words you need to be able to integrate correctly into your website.

You have likely invested a considerable amount of money and time into your website in the hopes that it will bring your company more success and more business. This can only happen if your customers and clients actually get to see your website. A good search engine marketing company can help you figure out how to make your website more visible. Many companies will even do all the work for you, providing you with the right links and content that you need in order to make that first page of search engine results.

Andy West
http://www.articlesbase.com/sem-articles/search-engine-marketing-company-can-make-your-company-boom-98313.html

Institute of SEO (search Engine Optimization)

earch engine optimization (SEO) is the science of increasing traffic to a website from search engines via organic search. We have lot of search engines like Google yahoo msn and so, getting high rank in these search engines are very tedious. SEO or search engine optimization refers to the process of attempting to influence your position in the organic search engine results pages as a means of driving targeted traffic to your website.

A search engine must have a database of enormous websites. It’s the job of search engine spider to crawl the Web and index pages, which are stored in a database and later use various algorithms to determine page ranking, relevancy, etc of the collected pages. Website designing is not sufficient for any business for getting online business and generating revenues. More traffic is needed for business, which is done by a good website promotion service and complete search engine optimization process.

Why SEO is important?

If you are searching for “TOYS” in a search engine, a list of websites will be displayed. Just think there are no search engines, you want a “TOYS” sites then how will you search. You have to go all sites and select your need from that. This is very tedious. for help visit www.the20seotools.com. All search engines have the responsibility to display exhibit what you need. Searching for a relevant key word is always a big dispute among millions of websites for the search engines. So any website which has all the considerations that search engine needs would show up at the top. So SEO is very important for the On Line Marketing.

Why SEO training is important?

Why should you outsource SEO or hire an expensive SEO Specialist when you can learn and do it of your own. Does that sound agreeable? If so, come on let’s learn it right today. You’ve ended up in the right place to learn the basics of SEO, along with many valuable internet marketing strategies, to increase online business profitability and visibility in the search engines.

How does a Search engine work?

The search engine runs a “spider” through all the web pages traveling through the hyperlinks between the sites and going through the content and collecting information on each page and prepares an index. The spider then returns the information to the search engine. Now, when a particular key word is searched, the search engine displays only those pages which the spider thinks match the key words the most.

SEO Course:

We give training in OFF PAGE Optimization and ON PAGE Optimization.
In ON PAGE Optimization keyword the training will be provided in research, copywriting, website redevelopment, creating incoming links, submitting to search engines and finally, reporting on optimization results. You can check it out from www.greatseosecrets.com. The training will be provided in Internet marketing, Search engine optimization, SEO Training, Link Building and Analysis, Copy Writing Using NLP, Website Design, PPC Management & Training

Attend this Course if You

• After completing the SEO training course, you will be qualified to optimize your own website. If you are looking for employment as an SEO, it will give you a competitive edge over other applicants.
• If you are outsourcing your SEO work, you will be able to compare competing tenders and judge the quality of work delivered.

Akshay Sharma
http://www.articlesbase.com/seo-articles/institute-of-seo-search-engine-optimization-692438.html