Learn SEO with this Crash Course

March 26, 2010 Leave a Comment

Title tags, canonicalization, ALT text, long-tail keywords.  Search engine optimization may seem confusing and overly technical for the average marketer. The fact is, it can be quite technical, requiring specific knowledge and training. However, there are also many aspects to SEO that are not difficult to understand, nor difficult to do.

SEO Crash CourseThere are numerous resources available to learn SEO techniques. One of the best ones I’ve seen is this video presentation by Lee Odden with Top Rank Online Marketing. It’s the second lesson in Hubspot’s Inbound Marketing University titled SEO Crash Course to Getting Found (GF102). The presentation is a bit lengthy so be sure to give yourself about an hour to go through it. But if you are interested in learning the basics of SEO, this is a great starting point with topics covered like keywords, link building, search friendly site structure and analytics.

Take a look and you’ll be ready to optimize your website for search.

SEO Crash Course to Get Found (GF102)

Filed Under: SEO Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide will get your SEO cooking

March 3, 2010 Leave a Comment
Cookbooks

Photo by mimundo

Search engine optimization is a lot like the culinary profession.  There are experts in the field, with a growing reputation and a following for their art. There are five-star SEO’s, one-star SEO’s, and everything in between.

Just as famous chefs create spectacular meals, unmatched by the average cook, SEO’s work their magic on websites, rocketing pages to the top of search results.

The fact that you haven’t been a sous-chef in Paris doesn’t stop you from cooking a nice meal. Likewise, you shouldn’t be intimidated to tackle search engine optimization. Aspiring chefs like you turn to cookbooks for recipes, advice, and tips. Luckily, SEO has its very own “Joy of Cooking.” It’s Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide. A very concise, non-technical manual that walks you through 13 things you can do to optimize your web pages, including best practices for each:

  • Create unique, accurate page titles
  • Make use of the “description” meta  tag
  • Improve the structure of your URLs
  • Make your site easier to navigate
  • Offer quality content and services
  • Write better anchor text
  • Use heading tags appropriately
  • Optimize your use of images
  • Make effective use of robots.txt
  • Be aware of rel=”nofollow” for links
  • Promote your website in the right ways
  • Make use of free webmaster tools
  • Take advantage of web analytics services

The full Guide is available here on Google’s website. Download it, read it, and get cooking with these SEO techniques on your own web pages. You won’t be an instant search engine optimization expert, but you will enjoy the results.

Bon SEO!

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Scribe puts an SEO expert in your WordPress site

February 25, 2010 Leave a Comment

When it comes to optimizing web content for search engines, there’s a lot to know, a lot to remember, and it’s always changing it seems. Wouldn’t it be great to have an SEO expert review your web content and tell you what keywords it is optimized for? And how to improve the search engine optimization of that copy? And then tell you if the improvements you made actually did improve the content’s SEO?

The folks at Scribe have built a tool that does all this and more — and put it right inside your WordPress admin site. But don’t worry if you don’t use WordPress, because in March they are launching a web-based version that is not tied to a specific platform.

There’s already been plenty written about Scribe. So I’m not going to repeat it here. But if you could use some expert SEO help with your web content, check out “Introducing Scribe: SEO Copywriting Made Simple” by Brian Clark (one of Scribe’s creators) for a great overview. And be sure to read “My Scribe SEO review” by Johnny B. Truant, who included a comprehensive video demonstration of Scribe in action. Finally, visit the Scribe website to seal the deal. Speaking of deals, there is a special introductory price that is available until Friday, February 25 at 6:00 p.m. Central Time. So better hurry and get Scribing right now!

Disclaimer:  I am not an affiliate of Scribe, so my links are free. But I have worked the past couple of years with Scribe’s development team. So I’m a little biased. But I also know firsthand the power of the technology. UPDATE: Okay, so Scribe launched its affiliate program and I signed up. The Scribe links are now an affiliate link.

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Just in time for Halloween, spiders are coming to Google Docs.

September 20, 2009 Leave a Comment

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) all started with websites. Then came blogs, followed by press releases, maps, and profiles. And before we knew it, SEO was about more than just having a company website. With the recent explosion of community-driven sites like Youtube, Wikipedia, and LinkedIn to name a few, more and more companies and brands have jumped into social media to connect with their customers AND to increase their website traffic.

Word comes from a post on the Google Help Forum for Google Docs last week that in about two weeks there will be yet another “medium” added to the search index: Google Docs. All Google Docs that are published publicly to the web and that are linked to from a website that is crawled by the search engines will also be crawled by the search engines.

Google Docs Help forum

This will provide yet another resource to gain organic search engine rankings. And a non-technical one at that! What we don’t know is how the results will be displayed on the search engine results page (SERP). Will they be intermingled with all of the other web pages in the greater index? My suspicion is that the Google Docs will be treated as a group of results similar to the way Google handles maps, news, videos, and profiles on page one. But we’ll just have to wait until Google implements this change to know for sure.

News Results on Google

In the meantime, get your Google Docs account set up if you haven’t already. Get your word documents optimized, uploaded to Google Docs, published to the web, and linked to on a website. I see a lot of opportunities, including:

  • press releases
  • company overview
  • executive bios
  • white papers
  • product sheets
  • and more!

If you’re already using Google Docs and have documents that you don’t want indexed, be sure to change the settings on those documents:

  • Go to the ‘Share tab’
  • For documents and spreadsheets, choose ‘Publish as web page’. For presentations choose ‘Publish/embed’
  • Click on the button that says ‘Stop publishing’

As Halloween approaches, be on the lookout for spiders crawling your Google Docs. It’s no trick; it’s an SEO treat!

Posted via email from Katy Barrilleaux | Optimized

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The Easy Way for Agencies to Do SEO

March 16, 2009 5 Comments

The Easy Way for Agencies to Do SEOSearch engine optimization (SEO) can be a little intimidating for the non-technical person. After all, it’s a mysterious science filled with unknown algorithms, metadata, XML sitemaps, HTML tags, linking schemes, and much, much more. And to further complicate things, it’s always changing.

Then there’s the agency that is not even responsible for the client’s website. How in the world is an advertising, public relations, or marketing communications agency supposed to get involved in SEO? Actually, it’s pretty easy these days. I’ve compiled some tips to help get you started.

Take advantage of others’ SEO technology.

SEO has matured to the point that there are countless platforms optimized for search. You just have to add the content and the search engines do the rest.

  • Social media sites like YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn, and Merchant Circle, to name just a few, are large in size and highly optimized. Posting content on these sites will help you get listed in the search engines. Just be sure to use your keywords in the postings for the various sites. And include a keyword in the file name of any photo or video file you upload to a website too!
  • Blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger are free, easy to set up, and highly optimized. However, the biggest obstacle with a blog is that it takes some time to grow the blog to a size large enough to be noticed by search engine
  • Press Release wire services like PR Newswire and Business Wire provide optimization of press releases and host the release on their site. In addition, the press release is distributed to media news sites that also host a version of the release on their site. This gives one press release numerous opportunities for listings on a search engine results page (SERP).
  • Lead Maverick is an SEO platform developed specifically for agencies with integrated optimization tools for content, customizable landing page designs and real-time tracking stats — all in a non-technical, user-friendly interface. Lead Maverick agency partners use the SEO platform to get their clients to the top of organic SERPs or to add additional listings so their client owns more of the SERP real estate.

Write well, rank well.

There are a number of guidelines for developing content that will enhance its findability in organic search. The goal is not to trick the search engines, but to provide quality content on a subject while following SEO best practices.

  • Length of content should be at least 300 words.
  • Each content posting should focus on one keyword, keyword phrase or keyword theme. Putting too many different keywords in one posting will dilute its effectiveness.
  • Headline should not exceed 70 characters and should include a keyword ideally placed towards the beginning.
  • Subhead should not exceed 160 characters and should include at least one keyword ideally placed closer to the beginning.
  • If there is not a subhead, treat the first paragraph of the content as the subhead by making it bold, keeping it under 120 characters, and include at least one keyword.
  • Emphasize a keyword by making it bold and emphasize other important points with bold or by using a bulleted list.
  • Rule of thumb for keywords is one keyword for every 100 words. If you repeat a keyword more than this, the search engine may think you are keyword stuffing and not add the page to the index.
  • Include at least a couple of hyperlinks to your website. Also include a link or two to a third-party website, preferably ones with good size and traffic. For example, Wikipedia is good to use for a definition.
  • Link your various content pages with hyperlinks on your keywords. Be sure the page you link to discusses the keyword that is hyperlinked.
  • Avoid posting duplicate content from another website by making some edits to your posting. Add a link to the page with the original content so the search engine will know that you are not trying to trick it.

Spread Keywords Across the Sales Decision Process.

One of the greatest benefits of search marketing is the ability to track responses and conversions. For that reason, many advertisers focus keywords on driving a purchase. But, searchers use the internet throughout every stage of the sales decision process. They search for information on categories at the beginning of their research, all the way through to searches on specific products to check pricing.

Keyword Sales Decision Process

Be sure you focus keywords and content for every stage of the sales decision process. Just set your client’s expectations for ROI. The earlier in the sales decision process, the fewer click throughs on the landing page. Early on in the process, you are trying to educate and build awareness for a purchase down the road. And you’ll have keywords and content covering those later purchase-related stages where click-through rates and conversions will be the key success metrics.

Leverage Existing Assets.

Most companies have a wealth of information already developed about the company. In developing your online posts, leverage the existing assets that already exist, incorporating targeted keywords:

  • brochures
  • white papers
  • fact sheets
  • executive bios
  • advertisements (print, broadcast, etc.)
  • trade show schedules
  • speaking engagements
  • press releases
  • product photos
  • how to videos
  • power point presentations

This list is just the beginning. Try to identify all existing assets. Each asset represents a potential posting for a search engine. Spread the posts out across the sales decision process as mentioned above. Supplement with new content developed with your keywords in mind. Just be sure to follow the content writing guidelines above.

Get in the Search

Leave the website optimization to the geeks experts. Now that others are taking care of the SEO part, it’s easier for agencies to get their clients to the top of organic search — with keyword strategy and content.

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Is Your Client Doing Keyword Research Without You?

March 8, 2009 5 Comments

Brand KeywordI’ve written about the reasons that agencies should offer SEO services before. But it wasn’t until recently that they became tangible. An SEO consultant said that a client asked her to do keyword research and then write taglines using keywords.

And so it begins. Agencies are not necessarily the gatekeepers of a client’s brand anymore. Rather, the owner of the keywords will be the driving force behind the brand. Keywords for all stages of the sales decision process:

Keyword Sales Decision Process

Keywords incorporated into all communications from the company: off-line and online advertising, public relations, investor relations, internal communications, customer service, etc.

So the question to consider is do you want to wait for your client to give you the keywords that off-line communications need to integrate? Or do you want to continue to be the leader of your client’s brand by integrating online with off-line?

For those choosing the latter, the good news is that it’s not too late. Agencies that specialize in advertising, public relations, and marketing communications have options to get into search:

If you would like to jump headfirst in to see what keyword research is all about, here are some tools that will help:

Search is continuing to grow…in the number of searches conducted and in online spending. Agencies that delay getting into search risk losing control of their clients’ brands…and eventually the budgets.

Filed Under: Keyword Research Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Learn about SEM from the best — SEMMYS Winners Announced

February 9, 2009 1 Comment

SEMMYSTwo weeks ago I posted an article urging you to vote for the top search engine marketing posts of 2008 — the SEMMYS. The votes are now tallied and the winners have been posted on the SEMMYS website. Congratulations to all the finalists and of course, to the winners.

If you are interested in learning more about search engine marketing, I urge you to read the winning articles, as well as those of the finalists. And be sure to subscribe to their RSS feed because all are thought leaders in the industry and share valuable insight on a regular basis.

Without further ado, here are the winning SEMMYS for 2008:

Filed Under: Search Engine Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Is Twitter the Next Big Search Engine?

January 30, 2009

twitter_through_glass

With 4-5+ million users, and new accounts added at an estimated 5-10,000 daily, and mentions on traditional media, Twitter (website) seems to have become mainstream. It’s one of those simple internet ideas that has taken on a life of its own. And spawned countless complementary applications.

One such application, Summize, was purchased by Twitter last year and, apparently is soon to be integrated into the Twitter user’s interface. Appropriately renamed Twitter Search, this app is available at http://search.twitter.com.

Twitter Search enables a search of all tweets–not just those of people you follow–in real time based on a keyword or keyword phrase.  Unlike Google, Yahoo! or other search engines, Twitter Search returns relevant tweets based on recency. There is also an advanced search to filter your Twitter search results by names, locations, hashtags (info), attitude, or the inclusion of links.

At any given time, there is bound to be someone tweeting about whatever is going on in the world–whether it’s a sporting event, a television show, an earthquake, or a conference. People are also tweeting opinions, reviews, interesting articles, new product announcements, events, and much, much more. I searched for “twitter search” and found this tweeted 22 minutes prior to my search:

twitter-search-tweet1

From the searcher’s perspective, the great value of tweets is that they are 100% user generated–it’s the equivalent of word-of-mouth marketing. And since each post is limited to 140 characters, a Twitter Search results page is a very quick read.

I can’t tell you how many searches are conducted on Twitter Search each month because I couldn’t find the data anywhere. But my assumption is that it is growing…and fast. ComScore (website) tracks search engine volume each month, but does not include Twitter Search data. It is unclear if this is due to a low volume on Twitter Search or just a lack of tracking on the part of ComScore.

What we do know is the websites on the low end of the December search volumes were:

  • Facebook with 161 million searches
  • Amazon properties with 204 million searches
  • Craigslist with387 million searches

Time will tell whether Twitter Search will become as mainstream as Twitter itself–or even the traditional search engines. Integration with the user’s Twitter interface should help increase its use exponentially. In the meantime, I’ll continue to add to it’s search volume. How about you?

Related Articles

Twitter Officially Goes Mainstream

HubSpot’s “State of the Twittersphere” Report

Does Twitter Represent the Future of Search? Or is it The Other Way Around?

Should Twitter Add Authority-based Search?

Is Twitter a Viable Conversation Platform?

Filed Under: Search Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Vote for the Best Search Engine Marketing Articles of 2008

January 29, 2009
Cast your vote online until February 2, 2009

Cast your vote online until Feb. 2, 2009

What the heck’s a SEMMY? To quote the website, “It’s an annual awards event honoring some of the best articles and blog posts from the search marketing industry, as voted by the industry. We have 200 authors nominated, representing 157 blogs/sites.”

The SEMMYS was developed by Matt McGee (blog), David Mihm (website) and LogoWorks (website).

SAMMYS Timeline

Don’t delay. Head on over to the SEMMYS website now and cast your votes because public voting ends February 2nd. Here’s the timeline:

  • January 28 –  Finalists announced; public voting begins
  • February 2 — Public voting closes
  • February 4 –  Winners announced

Nomination Categories

Nominations are included in each of the following categories.

I’ m sure we will see a lot of SAMMYS chatter online over the next week. Be sure to Digg, StumbleUpon, Tweet, Blog or whatever it is you do to encourage voting. And congratulations to all of the nominees.

Filed Under: Search Engine Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Options to Get Your Clients to the Top of Organic Search

January 28, 2009

man-on-mountainYour client wants to be on page one of Google’s organic search results. But you and your agency have not yet entered the wonderful world of search. What should you do? Here are 5 options for obtaining top organic search results.

Optimize the client’s website for search engines – Otherwise known as search engine optimization or SEO. Requires making changes to a website’s code, design and content to follow the search engines’ recommendations for SEO best practices. The good news is that search engine optimization done well usually delivers long-term organic results. And you own the site, you have complete control over it and the content is exclusive to the company. However, the cons with search engine optimization are that you must make changes to your website, which is not necessarily inexpensive or painless. And SEO can take six to 12 months to see the organic results. But perhaps the biggest barrier for an agency is that SEO requires specific expertise and experience. Agencies without experience with website SEO should find an SEO consultant to hire or to bring in as a partner. To learn more about optimizing a website, read this article.

Launch a company blog — There are plenty of blogging platforms, even free ones like the one used for Search Matters from WordPress. Most are extremely easy to use for the non-technical and have many search engine optimization features built in. However, be prepared to write and publish often, and to invest time to market your blog. It takes about six to nine months at the least to build the authority of the blog to the point of realizing seo benefits. But the long-term benefits of a blog are great. Here’s an article to help you get started with a blog.

Add the company to online directory listings – There are countless online directories for companies. These range from online yellow pages, business listings, and map listings to industry, product or geography specific directories, and more. Advantages for directories are that they do not require special expertise, many listings are free, and most only require a one-time submission. But, the challenge with directory listings is that you are usually along side your competition fighting for attention. And, you are limited to just the company name. To get rid of ads on the page or to get above your competition, you will have to pay for a premium listing. Although it is a good idea to make sure your client is listed in the major online directories and targeted directories, it is not necessarily a long-term strategy to get your client to the top of organic search – with the exception perhaps of the company name. You may read more about directory submission here.

Submit articles to online sites – Also known as article submission or article marketing. You write articles around the topics of your business integrating targeted keywords and submit them for publishing on various article sites. It is important to publish articles with quality content, providing educational information. The biggest sin of article marketing is just writing a sales pitch. Article submission allows you to extend your message across the internet as well as search engines without making changes to the company website. It helps the company build itself as an authority in the industry. However, some of the article sites review articles prior to publishing and deny those deemed to not meet their article standards. And like blogging, there is time involved in writing the articles as well as the submission process. Here is an article that further discusses the benefits of article submission.

Become an Ecordia Reseller Partner – Ecordia is the proverbial “all of the above” option for agencies because it combines the search engine optimization best practices and advantages of websites, blogs, directories and articles. At its core it is a super-charged directory of  landing pages. It is a non-technical way for agencies to publish content  for its clients onto pages custom styled according to the client’s brand identity. Ecordia integrates a keyword research tool and an automatic SEO analysis for the content. So you’ll know prior to publishing how optimized the content is, and what you can do to improve the findability of the page. Simply put, Google loves Ecordia pages. To learn more about Ecordia, visit the website.

These are just a few of the ideas for search engine optimization. It really is becoming easier than ever before for the non-technical to conquer the top of mount Google.

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