Archive for the ‘SEO’ Category

AdWords Express: A Fresh Look at the Easy Way to Advertise on Google

As a business owner, you’ve surely heard of Google AdWords – it is the cornerstone of search engine marketing (or SEM), allowing you to bid on advertising space for certain keywords that appear in the sponsored portion of Google results pages. You probably have a campaign going right now, passively meeting your budget each month. You might even be a bit of an AdWords ninja, fluent in using the bulk upload and automated rules features to control complicated campaigns down to the letter. I tip my hat to you, marketing ninja.

But for the rest of us, who are busy running a business or just don’t have the time to study up on the intricacies of Google AdWords, there is a simpler option: AdWords Express.

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Is Your Search Engine Copy All-Natural and Organic?

From the early days of search engine optimization, keywords and content have always been vital to achieving your goals. Starting back in the days when we used to shove every slightly relevant keyword into our META tags, it has been obvious that search engines love text.  The more complex and sophisticated the engines have gotten over the years, the more complex and sophisticated many writers have gotten with their search engine copywriting.

Supposed formulas, keyword density levels and other mysterious concoctions have been developed to help us outsmart the engines.  What we should have been doing all along was writing for the visitor first and the engines second. Why?  Because creating a site that’s loved by visitors has become a prime factor in conversions, ranking and marketing as a whole.  And now it has become even more vital to search engine copywriting, especially as the engines are making great strides with more personalized and efficient searches.

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3 Reasons Why SEO and PPC Are a Match Made in Heaven

You may be investing quite a bit of effort into your online presence, and a majority of that effort may be organic SEO. And when done the right way, this is great for your brand. But did you know that organic SEO and PPC can work together to provide even stronger results?

Search marketing is about the relationship between things — disciplines, strategies, tactics, search engines, websites, people — and there are many ways these relationships affect one another. When working together, these things create stronger results than if they were used alone.

So we’re going to look at three ways SEO and PPC work together to create a mutually beneficial relationship for a website. We’ll explore:

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5 Reasons Why Responsive Web Design is Good for SEO

Website owners today are faced with the decision of either having a separate mobile website or making their current site responsive. Responsive design simply means that the site will respond to the screen of the device used for browsing and display accordingly. There’s no doubt that responsive Web design is here to stay. If you doubt it, just ask some of the major designers. Read more about Ethan Marcotte’s 20 favourite responsive sites.

The methodology of the responsive design is still undergoing some evolution — and always will — as new devices like the iPad Mini enter the market. Instead of targeting devices, we’ll see a shift toward the site’s responsiveness so it will adapt to various devices. The bottom line is that as long as multiple devices for browsing are accessible, responsive design will always be a requirement.

There are many benefits for choosing responsive design including some SEO benefits.

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On-Page SEO Factors You Need to Consider

On-page optimization for your websites is often overlooked and is also the easiest way to rank for keywords in search engines completely free. These are the top ten factors that you should be considering when writing content and constructing an optimized layout for all of your websites. Do not feel the need to check off all of these factors but be sure that you take them into consideration. Don’t sacrifice readability and appearance for the sake of optimization because it will affect the visitor’s experience and that is what really matters in the end. Proper on-page SEO will get you ranking for very low competition keywords without the aid of any off-page work.

1. Meta Content

Title & Description – Provide intriguing descriptions of your content! This will not only help your rankings in search engines but will additionally help increase click through from the search engine results pages.

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On-Page SEO Factors You Need to Consider

On-page optimization for your websites is often overlooked and is also the easiest way to rank for keywords in search engines completely free. These are the top ten factors that you should be considering when writing content and constructing an optimized layout for all of your websites. Do not feel the need to check off all of these factors but be sure that you take them into consideration. Don’t sacrifice readability and appearance for the sake of optimization because it will affect the visitor’s experience and that is what really matters in the end. Proper on-page SEO will get you ranking for very low competition keywords without the aid of any off-page work.

1. Meta Content

Title & Description – Provide intriguing descriptions of your content! This will not only help your rankings in search engines but will additionally help increase click through from the search engine results pages.

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How to Make Google Now Work for You

If you haven’t yet discovered the glorious world of virtual assistants, it’s time to meet Google Now. A bit like the more robust version of Apple’s Siri, Google Now acts like the quiet, informative personal assistant you’ve always wanted but couldn’t justify affording. Sure, it certainly pervades your privacy to figure out just what you need to know and when (just like the human variety!), but if you’re willing to take that risk, the rewards are plenty.

Google Now: A Definition

Google Now officially launched in the Jelly Bean Android operating system what seems like ages ago, and is now available in both Google Play and Apple app stores. It works on tablets, too. Because it needs to access all your personal data, it is necessary to first turn Google Now on, as the default is set to off (which is a good thing, or some of us would really get paranoid.) You’ll also need to enable Web history, location services, and other allowances, depending on the features you’re after.

Once triggered, Google Now will serve you a series of “cards” throughout the day, which aim to keep you informed about valuable time-saving tidbits. Examples include weather forecasts, flight information, meeting schedules, and sports updates. These will either show up as notifications, or will display when you launch Chrome via your enabled smartphone. Keep in mind that just like most apps, Google Now is a work in progress. What you currently see is likely a skeleton of what it will become.

An Upgrade from Siri

Google Now is like hiring a more efficient and reliable Siri, Apple’s own version of a virtual assistant. Although both have their strengths and weaknesses, Google Now seems much more robust and functional over the not-so-reliable Siri. Like its Apple counterpart, Google Now responds to voice commands for a host of functions. The good news is this aspect of the app works like a charm. Use it to verbally set appointments or alarms, ask what time a business opens or closes, find out where the nearest Starbucks is located, or inquire if you need to bring an umbrella out on the town this eve. Essentially, what Google Now excels at is providing little time savers throughout the day. These really add up over time, however, and you may find an extra chunk in your busy day to do something other than chase down pertinent information. Siri covers a few of these commands, but definitely not all of them.

A Sampling of Google Now Cards

Below is a list of some of the more functional Google Now cards, including a couple just added this month. If any of the recent additions are any indication, you’re going to want to offer your new virtual assistant a raise (good thing he’s free.)

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Ecommerce Websites VS Summer

May has finally given us a glimpse of summer by throwing some fantastic weather our way over the last couple of days. This is historically the time where companies put their websites on the back burner as visitor numbers decrease because of their customers spending more and more time outdoors.

Website VS Summer

This is in fact the last thing you want to be doing and the most successful companies will be looking into how they can bring their online presence to customers in different ways! (more…)

Not Using Google Analytics? See What Others Are Doing and Think Again!

In early May, the Google Analytics blog featured a case study by SwellPath highlighting the great improvement equestrian footwear company Ariat saw in its conversion rate after switching to Google Analytics. Ariat had built a new website from the ground up, including the analytics software that it would need to use to understand its sales successes and where it had room for improvement.

SwellPath built a custom reporting strategy for Ariat from the ground up. Using Google Analytics, they were poised to measure the effectiveness of eCommerce product pages, its advertising, social and e-mail campaigns, and its powerful new website. The firm assembled a number of Custom Advanced Segments that worked together to monitor every aspect of its marketing and path to purchase. In addition to the larger goals, it also tracked micro conversions such as e-mail signups, social shares, and outbound clicks to its partners. According to Google Analytics, micro conversions are useful when you’d like to track “actions that may not be a straightforward goal completion.”

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How to create a successful website

The key question to consider when planning a new website is:
What do you want the website to do?”
Seems obvious but it’s remarkable how few companies really delve into this question.

  • Is it a lead generation tool?
  • Are you looking to communicate with existing customers?
  • Do you plan to sell online and if so who to. B2B, B2C, trade? (more…)