Archive for November, 2009
November 16th, 2009 by Patrick Hare
Not too long ago, having a website in the top spot of a search engine results page came with a certain amount of security. There wasn’t a whole lot of volatility, and you could see a real spike in traffic if a sudden news event led to more searches, or you anticipated a surge in search traffic far enough in advance to get some good SEO in place.
Over the past few years, search engines have moved toward “temporal” results, which basically means that they want to show more newsworthy things in real time. After search engines were caught off guard by their lack of relevancy in the wake of Michael Jackson’s death, there has been a concerted effort to provide newsworthy search matches within minutes, not hours. Obviously, there is a level of expectation among the searching public that search engines will have real-time news, although many experienced search engine users would expect news in the general results to be a bit more dated. Google’s upcoming Caffeine Update is expected to bring even more focus to temporal data, so even the most carefully constructed optimization campaign may be supplanted by breaking news.
The advent of real-time search may be a benefit for search engine users, but it isn’t going to be useful for people who are using SEO to make money online, unless they have established news sites. When news stories hit, thousands of news sources will flood the temporal results, and they have a built-in trust factor that is not going to be extended to the average website. Several sites, including Wikipedia, YouTube, and IMDB (for movie news) can suddenly leapfrog over established sites. If you have a site about an upcoming movie (or a series of them) you may see your rankings for several keywords get lost among reviews at CNN, the Chicago Sun Times, and multiple online outlets.
Seasonality can also create temporal results that are hard to combat. For instance, if you’re running a “Black Friday” site, then you’re probably expecting to get all your traffic in the weeks before the day after Thanksgiving. However, more and more news sites are revealing “leaked” Black Friday ads, so unless Google recognizes you as the #1 authority for Black Friday Specials and Bargains, then you’re probably going to get buried under web pages that didn’t exist yesterday.
What should you do if temporal search results sink your site? Sometimes the best move is no move at all. Part of the “temporal” nature of newsworthy web results is that they are meant to disappear after a certain amount of time. Obviously, you may want to update your site’s content if recent news impacts your own site, or you can capture the audience looking for follow-up information. The unfortunate nature of faster algorithms and real-time search results is that you may experience a drop in sales at a time when you expect them to peak, or you will get diminished exposure instead of what you planned to get prior to the advent of temporal results. Ideally, you should be able to regain your lost rankings when the news dies down, and you may be able to apply some knowledge of the experience as a hedge against future events.
Tags: temporal data, temporal results
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November 11th, 2009 by Patrick Hare
Market research has always been an expensive proposition, and the results don’t always give you the direction that you’re looking for. After extensive research and taste testing, Coca-Cola changed its formula in 1985, and a consumer outcry led to a hasty return to the “Classic” flavor. Focus groups and surveyors (like the kind you see with clipboards in shopping malls) are also used frequently, but the data can be skewed by the fact that you’re only hearing the opinions of people who are willing to take a survey. The interview subject can even be swayed by the survey taker’s personality, appearance, or the nature of the questions asked. If you’ve ever noticed the difference between opinion polls and election results, you may understand how the “margin of error” produces a different outcome than you might expect.
Over the past few years, tools from sites like Google have made it possible to understand the tastes of the general public. If you have a website, you can get insight into how people really react to it. If you don’t have a site, there are quite a few tools that can help you learn how many people are interested in any given topic, how they compare to other sets of people, and where to find the biggest group of potential customers. If you’re an ad agency and want to see how much saturation your message is getting, you can even use free tools to see how many people are taking the time to learn more. Best of all, you can determine seasonality (and relative demand) for just about any item or service that can be referenced as a search engine keyword. If you know who your competitors are, you can even see how they’re doing when it comes to getting clients to their websites.
Google Trends
The Google Trends tool is a great way to understand keyword demand and brand value over time. You can even compare multiple terms to find out if someone likes one item more than another. For instance, you can see that three times as many people are looking for “chocolates” versus “candies” which may be a big consideration if you’re a confectioner. Furthermore, demand peaks around Christmas and Valentine’s day, and a spike in April would appear to match Easter. You can also understand seasonality over a longer date range by comparing year-to-year results, which makes it possible to plan for cycles of higher or lower demand.
The Hot Trends feature lets you know what is popular over the last few hours in Google. Most of the time search results will be full of queries about celebrities and news events, but this tool could be useful for any major media campaign, since it shows whether people are interested enough to search for more information.
Google Keyword Tool
Aside from being a great way to find keywords for your website, the Google Keyword Tool is an insight into the minds of around 70% of the US population that uses search engines. You can see how many people are looking for specific terms, compare various phrases, and build lists of words that are likely to get results. Direct mail marketers can make use of the keyword tool to understand words that are more likely to provoke a response in the eyes of a customer. If you’re doing DIY market research, you can learn whether an item, phrase, or topic is popular in the mind of your audience, or too obscure to pursue. 
Google Analytics
The Google Analytics tool is free for anyone who has a website, and is one of the top third party web analytics platforms. Aside from helping you understand how people use your site (which is vital) you can also learn which keywords are leading people to spend more time on the site, and which ones aren’t creating a response. For your offline marketing, high volume keywords that keep people on the site longer (or result in a conversion) could be included in collateral materials, ads, mail pieces, and even radio commercials. If you’re had your analytics running for a long enough amount of time, you can mine actionable data which has an impact on your whole marketing strategy.
Compete.com
The ability to understand the competitive marketplace of your business is vital for any form of benchmarking. Compete.com offers a snapshot of how your website compares to those of your competitors over time. Aside from the obvious comparative element, you are also able to understand how much growth potential you have compared to people with similar sites or audiences. Mind share and brand recognition drive a lot of traffic to major websites, so you can use this information to see how you stack up to other people in your sector, and how many potential customers you can divert.
The availability of free online marketing tools has revolutionized the world of advertising and customer research. The advent of search engines has also made customers more specific about what they’re looking for, which can be a real boon to people who want to understand the tastes of consumers. Even though people are still influenced by advertising, the demand driven nature of searches allows marketers to tailor messages directly to people who are more likely to become buyers. Therefore, an improved understanding of online consumer search patterns can energize traditional marketing initiatives by creating a better response rate. In this fashion, companies that came to the internet to improve their online customer base can now use net-based tools to carve out new market share in the brick-and-mortar world.
Tags: online tools
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November 10th, 2009 by Patrick Hare
No reputable Search Engine Optimization (SEO) company should have you expecting good search engine results in less than 3 months, but there are some cases where you can get a top 10 Google ranking in as little as 6 days, even with a brand new website! Understanding how some sites get ultra-fast rankings can help you gain a competitive advantage and spot opportunities when they come along, and it can also give you an appreciation for the hard work that goes into SEO for reputable, long lasting sites that hold onto top rankings for years.
First and foremost, there are a few things to understand about SEO that may be important for the novice. Sites in some sectors can take a much longer time to get rankings, because of the level of competition and the potential for abuse. A traditional expectation for getting into the Google Top 40 is at least 3 months, and despite the debatable nature of the “sandbox” theory, it would be foolish to expect competitive results in record time. Nonetheless, it does occasionally happen, and some of our testing has shown rankings within a few days of domain registration, without a single link from another external website.
Here are some factors that get sites ranked in record time:
- Exact match domain name. A .com, .net, or .org match on a domain name can produce fast results in Google. Bing will show results on extensions like .tv, .cc, and .mobi, but Google tends to prefer the original 3 domain extensions. Domain names that don’t match up with their top keyword will generally take longer to rank.
- Good Titles. A bad title can sink a good domain name, so the title should closely reflect the keyword in the domain name. Sometimes a good title can rank quickly if other sites in the field aren’t paying attention to their SEO.
- Good homepage content. Even though search engines rank web pages, not websites, the homepage is the first one on the site that the search spider sees. An informational homepage that is very topical will help establish your site as a resource. Placeholder sites with relevant and originial homepage content can rank quickly.
What are the drawbacks to fast ranking? One of them is that the search engines may be “trying you out” on the first page to see if you have an interesting topic that gets visitors. There are many cases where sites debut in the top 10, only to shrink back into the lower 90s until they get more credibility. Your internet marketing strategy should not be based around instant SEO for this very reason. You should therefore be cautious about planning your next steps in business if you see a quick rise in rankings, since you will not be getting enough data to see where your rankings are trending. Search engines are always looking for the next “viral” phenomenon like MySpace, FaceBook, or YouTube, and if your site isn’t “sticky” and fascinating, you may not be in the top 10 for long. Additionally, competitive exact match domain names are hard to come by, since domain parking, squatting, and flipping specialists have made a business of getting any URL that can make more money in a year than the cost of the domain name.
Most SEO customers won’t experience an overnight success when it comes to search engine rankings. The nature of search engine algorithms, and the work done by the people who have gotten sites into the top 10 are going to make it tough for other sites to achieve high rankings, but it is possible. Companies like Web.com Search Agency are successful because they are able to leverage link building and SEO consulting experience into cost-effective optimization solutions for companies of all sizes. By recognizing “quick SEO” situations and ones that require months of well-executed strategy, we can help clients get long-term results in search engines. Even though this approach takes more work and time, the long view on SEO allows our customers to succeed where “flash in the pan” results are less likely to result in an extended level of customer satisfaction.
Tags: fast seo
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November 10th, 2009 by Lisa Rosenkrantz
If y  ou’re competitive and want to see how your website compares to others like it, it’s a good idea to understand the concept of Google PageRank. This SEO page rank calculation communicates an individual Web page’s relative importance and is determined by a page rank algorithm that is based on the quantity and quality of backlinks to that page. The page ranking can also relate to the probability of a searcher ending up on that page and the path they took to get there. In all, there are more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms taken into consideration.
Page Rank in Google is, in effect, a voting system with quality backlinks earning votes. Pages that get more votes get a higher score and Google considers them more valuable. Every page on your website has its own rank with a possible score from 0-10, and you can view any page’s rank directly from the Google Toolbar (currently on PCs only).
There is movement over time and it doesn’t take many steps for a page to move from a score of 0-1 or 1-2; however, to move up even higher, more steps are required, making it a more difficult and complicated level to achieve. It’s quite impressive to have a PR of 7 or higher! In terms of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the higher the Google page ranking the more trustworthy the page and overall site becomes.
It is important to note that not all inbound links are created equal (in the “eyes” of Google). Links that are closely related to your pages will have more impact on their voting power. Also, the PageRank of the inbound link determines its clout and affects the page to which it’s linking.
The content on your pages doesn’t directly impact your page rank; however, if they include interesting and informative information, they will naturally attract links. New links affect your online page rank.
To learn more about search engine page rank and how to make sure you’re where you need to be, give Web.com Search Agency a call at 1-877-RANK321.
Tags: google page rank
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November 10th, 2009 by Lisa Rosenkrantz
An important part of any SEO campaign is the continued monitoring of how your website is ranking in search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing. It’s important to keep on top of any movement, so that you can make adjustments and improvements if and when necessary. It’s also recommended that you have a reputable, experienced SEO company behind you that is dedicated to your steady and continued success. Using customized web ranking reports, they can detect and report on any changes in your site’s status and move quickly to orchestrate time-tested strategies that will get you where you need to be.
Web.com Search Agency (WSA) monitors our clients’ websites closely, providing a Baseline Site Ranking Report before optimization and a monthly web ranking report during the entire course of your campaign. Using Google Analytics and other specialized ranking software, we can track your campaign’s progress on a keyword-by-keyword basis.
Position Ranking – View your site’s position in the major search engines for your targeted keywords.
Position History – You can see the changes of your site’s ranking over time.
Ad Statistics – View the success of any ad campaigns you are using, such as Google AdWords.
Google PageRank – See your website’s PageRank and the number of inbound links to it.
Inbound Links – View the inbound and backlinks to your site.
Site Indexing – See whether new pages you’ve added to your site have been indexed by the search engines.
If you’d like more information on our search engine ranking reports or how we monitor your website’s progress in the major search engines, give us a call at 1-877-RANK321.
Tags: search engine ranking report
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November 10th, 2009 by Lisa Rosenkrantz
The nofollow concept was originally introduced by the major search engines as an attempt to reduce the amount of spam that was littering blog comments and other public areas with links to disreputable or irrelevant sites. It is considerably easier than any of the old methods such as redirecting the link to a URL blocked in robots.txt. The nofollow link, rel=”nofollow”, is a way for webmasters to indicate to the search engines not to follow specific links and give them link juice. Spammers are unable to benefit from their abuse and webmasters won’t need to worry about it.
Google suggests using the nofollow tag for other reasons besides protecting comment areas in blogs. For one, you can use them in order to prevent paid links from influencing search results or negatively affecting users. Another valuable use for html nofollow is for crawl prioritization. For example, you can tell Googlebot to avoid crawling pages that require signing in or registering, and to focus on more desirable pages.
Please note that the various search engines handle meta nofollow their own way and have their own recommendations, so it’s a good idea to become familiar with them by reading their webmaster help sections.
The use of the nofollow link attribute for PageRank sculpting was popular for links that have no ranking value or potential – until it was debunked by Google in 2009. The pages affected included those that are expected to be on most websites — terms and conditions, privacy policies, contact information, maps, etc. but have no influence. Used generally on larger websites, the Google nofollow attribute for PageRank sculpting was applied to distribute more link power to other pages.
To learn more about how to use nofollow to keep links in check and improve your page rank, give Web.com Search Agency a call at 1-877-RANK321.
Tags: nofollow attribute
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November 10th, 2009 by SEO Topics
You can’t avoid it. Actually, you shouldn’t avoid it. What is it? It’s the Social Media advertising revolution!
There was a time when advertising dollars were strictly spent on print ads and television commercials, but that was before social media sites like Facebook and Twitter found their way to the scene. More and more businesses are utilizing these social media outlets for advertising because that is where potential customers seem to be spending a lot of their time. Millions of people participate in these social networks on a daily basis, and since the point of advertising is to get your name in front of as many people as possible, how could you not pursue advertising in social media sites?
Web.com Search Agency has its finger on the pulse of the social media revolution and has developed expert strategies for clients interested in gaining exposure in the social networks. Through the creation of a profile, we can develop a social media presence for your company that reinforces marketing strategies and brand recognition. These profiles offer an excellent way to engage customers away from your website and drive traffic to it.
The management and maintenance of your profile includes:
• Identifying individuals or groups that would benefit from your business • Coordinating correspondence with friends and groups • Optimizing your URL for desired social network • Uploading optimized images • Inserting content or creating content for selected sections of profile • Uploading pertinent articles to profile
With over 300 million members, Facebook advertising should never be overlooked as a tool for increasing sales. At Web.com Search Agency, our Facebook advertising strategies involve more than just the simple creation of an ad; we take the viral approach when it comes to social media advertising. We can develop an application in the form of a promotion or giveaway that allows you to connect more closely with your customers. The longer your application is up, the more exposure your company will gain as it spreads to more and more Facebook members.
To start advertising on Facebook, Twitter or both, recruit Web.com Search Agency to create and manage your social media presence. Call 1-877-Rank-321 to speak with a social media strategist who will be more than happy to devise a compelling plan to promote your company on the social media sites.
Tags: social media advertising
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November 5th, 2009 by SEO Topics
Tired of waiting for and not seeing your desired results in Google, Yahoo! and Bing? Buying your way into the top search engine ranking positions with Pay-Per-Click ads may be the most effective solution. The idea behind Internet search engine advertising, as with any ad campaign, is that you have to spend money to make money. Paying for search engine advertising may be your best approach for gaining immediate exposure in the engines, thus helping to increase sales.
The key to a successful online search engine advertising campaign is a well thought out plan of attack. Successful search engine advertising involves more than just selecting some phrases that relate to your business. It requires a keen ability to select keywords with high conversions rates and make the appropriate changes throughout the campaign. With so many factors to consider in such a highly competitive market, hiring an experienced search engine advertising company to handle your campaign can mean the difference between success and failure in the engines.
While most search engine advertising companies focus on driving traffic to your site, Web.com Search Agency professionals take it one step further and focus on increasing your sales for a profitable ROI. Our PPC managers will devise a cost effective strategy that will get you the results you require. Throughout your campaign, your manager will be able track and evaluate your progress and make any necessary changes to ensure you receive the desired response.
To find out what Web.com Search Agency’s search engine advertising services can do for your business, call 1-877-Rank-321. One of our SEO strategists will be more than happy to speak with you about this special opportunity to increase your bottom line.
Tags: search engine advertising
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November 5th, 2009 by SEO Topics
Web.com Search Agency offers a professional SEO Article Writing service that is designed to add high quality, unique content to your website. This service allows you to target more keywords on your site, increasing its search engine trust and visits. Our Web Article Writing service will generally result in more sales or leads and provide a quality foundation for long-term rankings stability and growth.
How Website Article Writing will benefit you:
- Establishes a fresh content pattern. Search engines are always looking for fresh content on reputable sites, so the more often a site releases new content the more frequently it will be visited by search engine spiders. Sites visited more often by spiders appear faster in search results.
- Deepens a website’s content profile. As search engines get more sophisticated, they increasingly reward “deep” sites that have more information with better rankings and penalize “thin” sites that don’t have as much. Increasing the number of informational pages on a site helps it appear deeper in the “eyes” of the search engines, which can increase the site’s trust and perceived authority in its sector and improve rankings and traffic.
- Targets long tail keywords. In most online sectors, the bulk of the search engine traffic comes from a large number of keyword phrases, each of which gets a small number of searches. Together, this is called the long tail. Adding keyword rich content to a site helps the site better target long tail keywords.
Our online Article Writing service offers you the ability to choose the focus of all your articles. We will help you select very specific topics related to your business such as products, how-to’s, specific issues, etc., or general themes based on what’s popular in your sector.
The flexibility in identifying topics for articles means that the content you receive will be tailored to you and your website. The quality of the writing ensures that when visitors come to your site through the search engines, they won’t be turned off by poor content. Instead, they will be encouraged to stay on the site and potentially become a customer.
If you are interested in adding valuable content to your website and establishing credibility in the search engines, call Web.com Search Agency today at 1-877-Rank-321 or chat with us live. Find out what our SEO article service can do for you!
Tags: seo article writing
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November 5th, 2009 by SEO Topics
Where does your website rank in Google, Yahoo and Bing? Are you on the first page? Are you listed in the first five results? If your website isn’t ranking on the first page of Google, you could be missing out on thousands of potential customers each month.
In the land of search engines, if you don’t rank highly in Google and other popular search engines, your site will lag far behind your competitors in terms of visitors – and revenue. The measure of your online success largely depends on your ability to rank highly in the search engines.
So how do you achieve higher rankings?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your site to rank highly for natural search results. By selecting relevant keyword phrases and optimizing your website to rank for those phrases, you can improve your rankings. This process may involve keyword research, content and meta tag creation, link building and other factors.
Many campaigns also involve pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, which is the inclusion of sponsored links on Google. Because these listings are paid, they can appear on the first page of Google overnight. They are a nice complement to natural rankings, which may take several weeks or months to achieve first page rankings. Most Web users, however, place a greater emphasis on the non-paid results so it is optimal not to pursue this strategy on its own.
Tags: achieve high rankings
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