Most site owners want to rank highly for certain keywords. They will try a lot of methods to achieve this goal. Once they are done, many are unsure how they should test their work. Some will simply type the keywords on a search box and see how their sites rank. In this video, Tommo from London wants to know if there is a better way.
Matt Cutts says that this straightforward test is effective for this purpose. However, he would like webmasters to rethink their SEO strategy. Rather than focusing their efforts on a few trophy keywords, they should look at their server logs and check the phrases that people are already using to arrive at their sites. They should concentrate on optimizing for these established phrases instead.
Matt also wants webmasters to think about metrics other than ranking. The conversion rate, for instance, may be even more vital to the business. They should study this and try to increase the percentage of visitors who actually end up buying their products, subscribing to their newsletter, or whatever it is that they ultimately want to achieve.
Were you involved in the online marketing world back in 2010? Earlier? Ever as recently as a couple of years ago, actually, the strategies that were considered surefire paths to SEO domination were completely different from what they are today.
Interestingly enough, however, Google was saying the exact same things about how you should try and rank a website then as they are now: Provide detailed, relevant, helpful content, network naturally with others, and Google would notice.
Unfortunately, their desired reality just wasn’t the case for most marketers. Hitting the top of search results meant putting in the hours to create backlinks, make sure the anchor text of your links matched the phrases you wanted to rank for, etc. These practices were considered spammy by Google, but they worked… and so people kept right on doing them.
Now, however, Google has finally caught up with its own mantra, and since early 2014 those adhering to old school link building practices are probably walking away a little disappointed.
For us marketers, it makes things more complicated, but it’s a win as well.
Right now, SEO is actually simpler than it has ever been, but it’s not easier. That is to say, there’s a lot of work involved, but the work you put in is more valuable to all parties involved now.
In fact, pages are ranking fairly easily for many website owners now, provided they do a great job of providing content. A key component now is Google’s paying attention to social media cues when determining how much of a buzz a page is creating, and therefore how many people find it interesting and useful.
Right now, you can create a page and be ranking on Google within a couple of hours, provided your piece catches social media fire and gets shared around.
Of course, that means you’ve got to come up with something really good. Honestly, though, this can only serve to elevate the level of content that gets produced, as webmasters will be able to spend more time focusing on creating really useful, interesting content for their sites instead of focusing on the post-care SEO of creating countless backlinks.
In order to win, then, you need to be onboard with this new thinking. In fact, if you’re still working within the old framework of SEO, you’re likely going to see more problems than benefits. Sites are constantly being penalized and thrown into the SERPs abyss because they have tried to game a system that has always been about staying one step ahead of those trying to game it (and a goal they’ve finally achieved).
Will SEO professionals still have specific strategies you can take to give your site a leg up?
Absolutely.
Will they work? Probably, but you need to think of SEO best practices these days as a side dish, because there is no longer a substitute for the main dish of hard work creating genuinely awesome pages for Google to crawl.
Mobilemarketing is THE way of getting your business noticed and known. Explore the various mobile avenues businesses can use to contact new customers in this report. It is time for your business to jump in and unleash a hidden traffic source of over a billion eager buyers that very few of your competitors know about…yet!
Mobilemarketing has become the hottest new way for businesses to spread their message to customers. It is not really a surprise as Smartphone and tablet sales have been increasing year on year. As a result the trend of surfing the internet using mobile devices rather than PC’s is growing each year. Merrill Lynch has estimated that by the end of 2013, mobile devices will surpass PC’s as the most common device to access the Internet. Searches on mobile devices have grown 5 times in the past two years with over 50% of all LOCAL searches being done on a mobile device.
This opens up a great opportunity for local businesses like yours who want to directly reach potential new customers. Consumers that own and use Smartphone’s make searches for local businesses nearly twice as much as general mobile phone users (61% vs. 32%). This is great news for all local businesses that can rank high on searches, as their new customers are ready to buy there and then.
Once a customer gets to your site they expect to see a mobile friendly website that is easy to navigate giving them a positive experience that will encourage them to buy from you.
Here is what they are likely do once they get to your site:
• Get directions and opening times (74%) • Contact your store (64%) • Find product information (61%) • Make a purchase or order a service (50%)
That figure of 50% making a purchase is phenomenal. You have a 50% chance to make a sale for every visitor who views your website on a mobile device. Perhaps now you can see why it is vital for your business to have a mobile friendly website to entice these new visitors to buy from you or use your services.
Just like any other advertising campaign, your mobilemarketing must be carefully planned so that you can achieve the best possible results.
Here are some steps you should follow if you want to run your own successful mobileadvertising campaign:
The first thing you need to do is decide what you want to achieve. The main objective of mobilemarketing is to find leads and convert them into paying customers. However you might also want to redirect your visitors to your bricks and mortar store or office.
You need to understand your audience. It is important to remember that you have to actively engage users for your mobilemarketing to be effective. To do this you need to do your homework and understand the audience you are aiming for so that you can effectively tailor your marketing and information to reach them.
Don’t be afraid to be innovative and try something new. Mobilemarketing is still relatively new making it the perfect medium for exploration and creativity. Even if the campaign fails, there will be lots of lessons that you can learn from it that will help make your next campaigns much more successful.
Cost Effective and Powerful
Because they don’t fully understand mobilemarketing, a number of small businesses we speak to feel mobilemarketing is too expensive or too complicated. So they back away from it, decide not to investigate further.
If that is how you feel, this article will definitely reassure you and help allay any fears or hesitations about mobilemarketing. It will show you how any small business can set up an easy, yet effective, mobilemarketing campaign on a budget.
Here is a selection of the most cost effective marketing strategies which are easy to set up and very powerful, resulting in more sales for your business:
SMS marketing is simply marketing using a mobile phone. SMS stands for ‘Short Message Server’, otherwise known as text messaging. The beauty of SMS marketing is the fact every mobile device has SMS capability. Virtually everybody can send and receive a text message now. That means no matter what business you are in, SMS is a viable marketing option.
SMS marketing is one of the most affordable mobile ad campaigns, because the cost of sending a text are so much cheaper these days. To get the most out of an SMS campaign, don’t send too many messages out too often as this will only serve to annoy your potential customers. You need to think very carefully about the message or offer that you are going to send. Try and put yourself in their shoes. Ask yourself: Is the message I am sending out really something that I would want to receive? If it is, then be sure to always include a ‘call to action’ in the text.
For example you might tell them if they present the text when they come to your store to make a purchase, they will get a discount, or you could direct them to visit your website to enter a competition using a particular codeword that is included in the text. There is no limit to the options of promotions and offers you can use. You just need to remember to include your business name and contact details in each SMS so they know who the text is from.
QR Codes
Although you might not be familiar with the name, you will definitely have seen QR codes before. If you hadn’t noticed them, now that they have been pointed out to you, you will see them everywhere. QR, stand for Quick Response and they are just simple two dimensional codes very similar to retail barcodes that have been used for years. You usually see these codes on printed advertisements in magazines, newspapers, flyers and even on TV. People scan them with their Smartphone’s to view the content. They are a fantastic opportunity for any local businesses looking to do something different with their marketing, particularly if they are on a budget. They cut down the costs on paying for huge advertisements in the local newspapers and magazines.
For example, if you are in Real Estate, you could put your QR codes on For Sale signs, flyers and in the local newspaper ads. Then, when people view these codes with a QR reader app on their Smartphones, they will be taken directly to a video or full page website, where they will be given a full tour of the property. Before QR codes came along you would have paid a fortune for a half or even a full page ad to make sure to get in all of the information you wanted. Not anymore! All that information can now be accessed just by scanning one tiny QR box. Now you understand how to use QR codes, you will no doubt come up with many more ideas relevant to your business.
Mobile phone applications provide businesses with a great way to strengthen the bond between you and your customer. Virtually every major business has their own app, but even smaller businesses are realising that, for less than the price of a one-off full page ad in their local newspaper (which would be seen for just one day), they can have a useful marketing tool that could generate a ton of brand new business.
There are literally thousands of free apps available in Smartphone app stores. These apps are free because instead of paying for the app, the user knows the app will display ads as they are using it. They expect to see the ads and are not offended by them. As a result, this ype of mobilemarketing can be particularly effective when the ad is related to the subject of the app. So, spend a few minutes looking around apps related to your service industry and choose which app you would like to advertize on.
Location Based Mobile Advertizing (often referred to as Proximity Marketing)
This kind of marketing is generally used with Bluetooth-enabled devices. These custom ads, created by local businesses, are displayed on mobiledevices whenever the phone user is in a particular location. This kind of advertizing is very popular and welcomed by the phone user. After all, who doesn’t love to receive a bargain? They will receive a simple text message, coupon, picture message or even a short video showing what offer is currently available, and as these offers are normally time sensitive it encourages them to take action quickly.
Although some of these ideas might seem too complicated or out of your budget, don’t let this put you off looking into them as you are going to be pleasantly surprised. The fact is, if your business is to survive, you need to get involved in mobilemarketing as soon as possible. Your customers are actively using their Smartphones every day to find and purchase products and services like yours. They will expect your company to get involved too. If you don’t, then your competition is going to get there instead, making irresistible offers and ranking higher than you. So when the customers make a local search on their phones your competition is going to steal the business away from right under your nose. Don’t put off making your website mobile friendly. You will definitely lose more money than you save if you do!
How We Can Help
As so many of your customers now access the internet via their mobile phones having a mobile friendly website is essential for any business.
We are a local online marketing company. We are incredibly friendly and have a wealth of experience in online and mobilemarketing. We have a number of services and packages to suit your business perfectly and give you a strong online presence which will attract thousands of extra visitors and customers to your website.
If you don’t have the time or confidence to get started online then please give us a call or email us. You will be so glad that you did. We are not pushy but you will love our enthusiasm and will be very excited to learn what we can do for your business.
Link building is one of the most important aspects of search engine optimization. Webmasters try to do everything they can to get as many inbound links in an effort to boost Page Rank. Amid the frenzy, one wonders whether there is such a thing as building too many links. Assuming that you follow all the rules, will it ever get to a point where you might be banned due to excess?
According to Matt Cutts, webmasters should not worry about ever running into a limit. You can build as many links as you can without getting into trouble if you stick to Google’s published guidelines. The inbound links should ideally be organic in nature. Google frowns upon artificial links built through arranged exchanges or acquired by paying money.
The main driver for link building should be excellent site content. If you create compelling articles, videos, or artwork, then people will like them and feel compelled to share it with their friends. The links will come naturally through word of mouth because of merit — all for free and without much additional effort. These are all valid and will not be penalized no matter how many you receive.
Google has announced that page loading time will now be included in the ranking criteria. As a consequence, a lot of SEO specialists are now obsessing over speed. A webmaster from Michigan is skeptical about this intense focus, though. He personally thinks that load times will have very little influence on the final rankings. Is this a correct assessment or should he be more worried like the other guys?
Matt Cutts says that this change is part of an effort by the company to promote better user experience. People don’t want to wait forever for a page to load so they are trying to encourage fast load times. Let’s assume that we have two identical sites with exactly the same content. However, one loads faster than the other does. All things being equal, Google will put the faster site ahead of the slower site in the rankings.
Yet this type of similarity is rarely seen in real life. There are a lot of differences between websites and Google has to factor those into the equation. Google considers over 200 signals for ranking. Speed is just one of them. Webmasters should strive to get a good balance instead of obsessing over a solitary factor.
