For the past couple weeks in Internet Marketing we have had a few guest speakers come in and talk about their expertise. About two weeks ago we had the lovely D’nelle Thorneberry come in and talk to us about the basics of e-mail marketing. Also how important it is to correctly market yourself through e-mail and how it can help you in the long run if you can do it right.

So why e-mail marketing? Especially in the days of social media, cell phones and other things that can keep you updated constantly on everything you need to know. Clearly e-mail isn’t used for instant contact anymore, now it is used for:

• long-term projects
• non-urgent communication
• passive communication
• storage

People are using their e-mail addresses for an external hard drive these days instead of a way for immediate communication. So when you are sending out things like newsletters every month or whenever you want to make sure that people are going to open it, and want to read it.

The first thing that is very important is how to get people to trust you and your newsletters, and the way to do that is:

• Be honest
• Be organized
• Be polite

Make sure you have a clear from address, you don’t want to be sending out newsletters for you website and it looks like someone is getting an email from eljk3478579@fake.com. Also make sure to have a clear subject line, something that will make them want to open the e-mail but something not too vague either, simple and to the point. Also have an unsubscribe button that actually takes the people who click it off the list of getting any e-mails from you. Don’t put them into the unsubscribe category and still send them a separate e-mail every month.

This graphic was taken from a presentation done by D’nelle Thorneberry of Berry Interesting Productions. http://berry-interesting.com/

What to e-mail and what not to e-mail, these are key things that you want to do in your newsletters or whatever you are sending out to your list of people who have signed up for updates on your website/product.

What not to e-mail.

• Number one, do not write a novel, meaning do not write a million words in your newsletter hoping that everyone reads it. No one is going to read all of it if it is really long. Just keep is short simple and to the point, it’s the best way to get people to keep opening your e-mails that you’re sending them.
• Number two; do not repeat yourself, pretty simple right? Not only do you not want to repeat yourself in the newsletter itself but don’t keep the same information in the next one you send out because then people are just not going to want to read them anymore.
• Number three, do not fancy yourself as a graphic designer, not to hurt anyone’s feelings but there are professional graphic designers out there that you can hire to make it look nice. If you can’t afford one keep everything simple, don’t try to make the text different colors because then you’re going to make it look messy, also don’t overload your newsletter with a lot of graphics because then people are going to get distracted by the graphics and not read what your trying to update them about.
• Last but not least, do not plagiarize; plagiarism is something that you just don’t do. Copying some article you thought was useful and putting it on your site and teasing them in your newsletter to go to your site to read the rest of it, even if you link to the original article it is still plagiarizing. You want original content that draws people in, not something that someone else wrote.

What to e-mail.

• Number one be concise, a.k.a. be clear on what you want your reader to read, do not be to wordy just be straight-forward and to the point.
• Number two, make good suggestions to your reader, such as teasing them to a blog post you have written on your site about a new product you have coming out. Don’t lead your reader astray, and then they will stray away from your e-mail list.
• Number three, hire a graphic designer, like I stated up above in the “do not’s” if you want your newsletter to look nice and you have to money to hire a graphic designer then do so. If you newsletter is a bit of eye candy what does that hurt? Nothing.
• And finally number four, get to know your audience, listen to what they have to say when you send out the newsletters. Ask them questions, use some sort of tracking to see who/how many people open the e-mail and how many people go to the site because of it which is also responsive stats, and be willing to change the newsletter around a little bit if it isn’t appealing to your audience then who is going to go to your site and who is going to buy your product?

These are the basics of e-mail marketing, though there is a lot more to it, it has opened my eyes to a different kind of marketing that I thought was dead a long time ago. Just keep these helpful hints in the back of your head next time you are going to run an e-mail marketing campaign and I bet that you see a difference.

iMarketingClass www.imarketingclass.com

Do you really think that your site is ready? Is it ready to make money? Does your site have all that it takes when it comes to Search Engine Optimization?  Well in this article I want to help you make sure that your site is on top of your competitors and ready for the Internet world today and for years to come.

In the Web designer world as we know it today, there are many people who know how to code, know how to design a website, but don’t know how to make sure that it’s ready to produce revenue for years to come. It seems like code is pushed when it comes to making websites, but these websites look good, and are coded well, but don’t produce as much revenue as the websites which almost have perfect Search Engine Optimization “which don’t look as nice,” but are making three times the money.

Rate your Site

Even though Search Engine Optimization is a very important tool when it comes to a website receiving traffic, it has not always been around. This miracle worker as we know it, has a past which started out nonexistent.  When the Internet was in its beginning developing stage, there were only websites with links. Not to go too deep into this history, but there was literally no competition until more businesses wanted websites. They also wanted their information to get out there and they wanted to make money fast . Just think of how many businesses all did this at the same time.  Everyone wanted to be number one because they wanted to be on the top. Well now we have Search Engine Optimization, which evenly and fairly distributes all websites in a listing form for Internet users to choose from. The main question is, who will be number one on that list, and what will one have to do in order to be number one on that list?

Seo Magic

If you are wondering what exactly Search Engine Optimization is, don’t feel bad, there are many web designers who are steered in all different paths, which are excellent when it comes to raw web designing, but are not so awesome when it comes Search Engine Optimization. So now, what really is Search Engine Optimization? Well the definition is simple. Search Engine Optimization is the process of getting Internet users to come to your website through the natural and endless listings of all search engines.  To put this into even simpler terms, when you are looking for something particular, but don’t know what website to go on, you go to google.com “or any other search engine” to type your ideas and then magic happens. You automatically are given a list of websites in seconds.

Everyday People

Usually, nine out of ten people click the first website because many people don’ t know much about the Internet as there is, so they tend to think that the first website that the search engine produces is the site that must be that much more important than the other sites. So your goal is to do your best in making sure that your site makes a grade of  “A ++” when it comes to Search Engine Optimization by making sure that it is the first on that list. In order to make this dream come true, there are certain parts of your website that you must pay close attention to. Those parts are listed below.

Information below:

Here are some examples from How Much is Google Worth by Ross Jones of 2 the Top Web Design.

Page File Name

When saving your files, you need to be very careful to save them the way you would want your viewers to see them as, because this file name will appear in the web browsers address box.

Title (Page Title)

The Title is sometime ignored when making a website, but is very much paid attention to and you can even see it on your tabs. The Title can be found in the header part of the coding of your website. Make sure you edit and change this into the title of your article so that this can appear on your tab.  The provides repetition and consistency with search engines.

Page Headline

The Page Headline is one of the many parts of the article that many search engines pay attention to. This is considered one of the places that you must have the right words. Search Engines can also pulls from this Article’s Headline and put you that much closer to being ahead of your competitors.

Inside body content

By having certain key words repeating through your article, “In not an annoying manor,” can also show and help search engines to pull information from your site. Search Engines look for keywords that users type in when they are looking for a particular site. This alone can drive much traffic to your site. Content is also a great key factor when building your site. Search Engines love content, and the more you have the more keywords you have to offer.

ALT TAG

Make sure when you save any picture, save the name in reference to your article. Your pictures shouldn’t be named “Pic 1 or Pic 2.” Your picture needs to be named keywords that have to do with your article. Search Engines pay close interest to these things also.

Video File

Your Video file’s Title should be relevant to the title of your article. This can help with Traffic from wherever your video is being broadcasted, to your site.

Links

Links are very essential to your site’s future. Every link on your page MUST have something to do with your article. You can’t have links talking about food when your website is about PHP coding. Search Engines look down on these things, and this along could put your site on the wrong path of not being in that number one spot.

Even though these major parts of your website are very important, many don’t pay much attention to them and their website doesn’t make as much progress. Making sure that your website’s SEO foundation is strong is very essential to a future of great business. If these parts of the website are ignored, your website can literally seem as if it’s like a tree in the middle of the forest with no roots.

Your website would soon be useless and not earn any revenue. Nobody wants their competitor’s website to be number one on their user’s search engines while your website lingers at the number twenty spot on page two.

Your foundation must be protected because it could help you in the long run business wise and it could provide safety for your site. In Drew Meyer’s article” Builders, Strong Foundations and SEO,” He compared a website to a house. If you are quick to build a house without paying attention to background features that replenish the house, soon the people move in and before you know it, the house starts getting destroyed from the inside out. This is the same as website. If you are quick to build a website and you don’t pay attention to Search Engine Optimization, but you do pay attention to the physical appearance, your site can crank in many angles and your business would, thereafter, be at a risk.

Another key to your website which shouldn’t be ignored is your Google Analytics page. Don’t have one, well you really should. This very helpful tool helps the web designer to see the traffic and results of their website’s success.

With this tool you could monitor how people get to your site and what people like and don’t like. This information can be revealed by seeing what pages of your website are being viewed and which are not. This could also be shown by reviewing how long the user is on your site. These details are very essential when it comes to keeping up with your website’s Internet life.

There are many reasons why Search Engine Optimization is important for one to pay close attention to when they are building their website. That strong foundation is very important when it comes to your website’s success. This topic along brings money to the internet as we know it and will continue to grow as time goes by. Is your site SEO friendly or not? If your answer is the second choice, you should open your mind and fix your foundation. Trust me; your pockets will thank you!

Sources:

Ways to Protect your SEO During a Website Redesign by Seth Price

 Builders, Strong Foundations and SEO by Drew Meyers

How Much is Google Worth by Ross Jones of 2 the Top Web Design

 Perfect SEO Infographic: Right Words in the Right Place  by Ross Jones of 2 the Top Web Design

iMarketingClass www.imarketingclass.com

There is a breakdown in communication between SEO experts and business managers. Many of the business decision makers who write the check for your SEO services only have a vague idea of what SEO involves and do not fully understand what SEO can or cannot do for the company. Without this understanding on the part of decision makers, you can pitch your services without effectively communicating the value of SEO and your worth to the company.

“A large majority of clients you’ll come across have very little knowledge of the various elements it takes to design a website. Most of them know what they want, they just don’t know how to turn it into a successful website or illustration.”  jreyes  

In addition to not understanding your description of cool features and the benefits of your services, decision makers often lack the ability to value SEO or determine your worth to the company. If they don’t get it, it could be difficult for them to justify spending resources on your services. To demonstrate the value of SEO and your worth to the decision makers, start by speaking their language and then tell them what you are worth.

They Don’t Speak Geek

Often business managers don’t get the meaning of your words. Many of our SEO contemporaries have noticed the gap between ‘geek’ speak and ‘business’ speak. Here are what a couple had to say.

“But if the C-Suite doesn’t see a return on investment, SEO is dead within the enterprise”. Ian Lurie

“SEO is not an exact science; and sometimes when you drive an SEO strategy, it’s not always easy to explain how Google works to a marketing director or to someone else in the board of government.”  Franck Nlemba

When you pitch your services using the SEO jargon and with which we are familiar or abbreviate to initials, you can fail to effectively communicate. It is a mistake to assume they understand abbreviations and acronyms. You can lose the deal if you go into a geek speaking monologue. The key to bridging the gap between ‘geek’ speak and ‘business’ speak is to translate your pitch into ‘business’ speak and explain any jargon, abbreviations or acronyms that you use as you use them. For example, say search engine optimization at least once before saying SEO. Successful communication is the key to winning the client. The idea is to use their language to increase successful communication.

“By phrasing things in a way that they can easily understand there will be less opportunity for confusion and misunderstanding.”  Steven Snell

How to Pitch SEO Communication Problem

They Don’t Know What You’re Worth

 Without an understanding of SEO, the value of your services is a mystery to them like Google’s organic search algorithm is to us. Their lack of understanding may cause them to put too little value in what you have to offer them. It is hard to persuade decision makers to allocate resources to something they see as having little value. However, the opposite is also true. Once they see the value you represent, they are more likely to pay you to provide all the benefits of SEO and your skills and resources. The key is to solve the mystery for them during your pitch. In addition to a lack of understanding they may have inaccurate information or preconceived notions that compound their undervaluing of SEO and your services. Probe for these stumbling blocks with questions. Before you begin you pitch, ask their opinion of SEO and provide accurate information to address these stumbling blocks during your pitch. Let them have their say initially but address their concerns in your pitch.

Speak Their Language

The value of SEO to the company and your worth to them is the impact you have on their sales, profits, and the bottom-line. If you frame your pitch in these terms and use visuals, examples and analogies in their frame of reference, you can bridge the communication gap. Rather than describing the great features and strategies you offer, describe the benefits to the company of the features and strategies you use. Using this language allows you to zero in on what motivates a decision maker to spend company resources on your services.

Tell Them What You are Worth

Since they do not know how to value SEO or determine your worth, you will have to tell them.  The money they spend for your services directly impacts their bottom-line. The benefit of you SEO services increases traffic to their site. But what is the dollar value of increased site traffic? The value of your services to the company is the difference between what they pay you and what they stand to gain from increased sales. You will need to link site traffic to sales and profits and explain how your SEO strategies impact on their bottom-line in order to illustrate your point.

Link Site Traffic to Sales/Profits

The benefit of increasing traffic to the site directly correlates to more sales leads for the company. The benefit to user centered design and quality site content is increased conversion of site visitors to customers.

“A visitor should never be left wondering what to do next. High conversion rates require a clearly defined and intuitive funnel that leads the visitor from where they are to where you want them to go.” jfoster 

More sales equals more profit. You can illustrate this impact either through generic or specific examples and the use of simple graphics. Use visual graphics to emphasize either complex abstract ideas or a direct benefit to the company. The simplest way to illustrate this point is to use a generic example of the impact of SEO and your services. Use clean bold visuals that relay your message as simply as possible. Don’t force them to spend time trying to figure it out. Make it something they can digest in a matter of seconds and remember later when defending their decision to allocate company resources to SEO and your services.

“Use the simplest possible diagram, and whatever you do, don’t rely on a spreadsheet,” Ian Lurie

A better way to illustrate this point is to use specific examples such as the impact of your services on a previous clients bottom-line, the potential impact of your services on their bottom-line, or compare them to their competitors.

“One of the best ways to give potential clients confidence that you can do a great job for them is to show some work that you have done for other clients that is similar or directly relates to the work that you would be doing for them.”  Steven Snell

You can use actual numbers by doing a little research on the company’s SEO analytics in advance. According to Jaime Mintun you can use these three websites; Quantcast, Spyfu, and Alexa to get real numbers on your potential client’s company. Jaime says you can get information such as:

• # of monthly unique visitors
• Budget spent on sponsored listings (Adwords)
• Clicks per day from sponsored listings
• Cost per click
• # of organic listings
• Demographics, including age, income and ethnicity range of visitors 

Use your analysis of these analytics to illustrate your point. Don’t go in depth into your analysis. Simply show them where they are and estimate where your services can take them. Don’t make promises. Make it clear your illustration indicates the potential impact of your services on their actual numbers.

Another good idea is to compare the company with their competitors. This requires a little more research. However, the psychology of motivating a potential client to become a client is sound. In a highly intense make it or break it situation this is your best bet. After you analyze your potential clients SEO analytics, find two competitors and analyze their SEO analytics as well.

 “I have reverse engineered your top competitors’ sites, [COMPETITOR ONE] and            [COMPETITOR TWO], and can tell you exactly how they’re able to beat you in the            amount of traffic and sales they get online, PLUS where their weaknesses are and how            you can exploit them to pull ahead.” Jaime Mintun

 ”It just happens to be an infallible truth that people are more motivated by what        they stand to lose (and who they stand to conquer) than by what they can gain. By     leveraging the success of their competitor against their fear of losing business to       someone else, you’ll easily persuade them to want to work with you.” Jaime Mintun

 Conclusion

In order to persuade business decision makers to pay you for your services, remember they don’t speak geek and they don’t know what you’re worth. To clearly communicate, speak their language and tell them what you are worth. Define your worth by using visual, examples and analogies that illustrate the link between site traffic and sales/profits.

Resources

• http://webdesignledger.com/tips/3-simple-ways-to-get-paid-more-by-clients
• http://webdesignledger.com/tips/how-to-determine-what-your-clients-really-want
• http://webdesignledger.com/tips/how-to-get-more-web-design-sales-by-painting-your-nose-red
• http://searchengineland.com/the-challenge-of-justifying-enterprise-seo-110374?utm_campaign=tweet&utm_source=socialflow&utm_medium=twitter
• http://webdesignledger.com/tips/tips-for-effective-communication-with-your-clients
• http://designm.ag/freelance/first-impressions/
• http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/the-secret-to-landing-clients-nearly-100-of-the-time/

http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/lessons-i-learned-from-my-seo-manager-position

iMarketingClass www.imarketingclass.com

I recently had the chance to catch up with Lisa Barone, the Co-Founder and Chief Branding Officer of Outspoken Media, an Internet marketing company that specializes in link building services, online reputation management and social media marketing services.

I wanted to interview her and get her advice on how women can be more outspoken in the world of SEO.

1) What unique perspective do you bring to the SEO Industry that your male counterparts may not bring?
I bring a unique perspective to the SEO industry because I came in with a journalism background.

I bring a unique perspective as someone who helps brands find their voice, even though as a person who stutters I haven’t always had one myself.

I’m unique because I encourage brands to be marketable and weird, not just marketable.

But none of that is due to my gender. I don’t think women bring anything unique to the
SEO world simply because they’re female, just like men don’t bring anything unique
because they’re male. It’s your experiences and your point of view that make you
interesting.

2) How could women be more encouraged to participate in speaking engagements or at events?
I think conference organizers could do a better job scouting, in terms of recruiting both
men and women who are qualified and not vocal enough. We liveblog a lot of Internet marketing conferences so I can tell you that it’s often the same speakers – and that tends to make me sad. I’d love to see more women being reached out to and brought into the conversation. I also think we could encourage each other more to share our knowledge and to put ourselves out there.

If you know a woman you want to see speaking, tell her.
Tell the conference organizers.
Tell the people in charge of these shows and make that change happen.

We all benefit from new voices.

3) How do you think women could step up and be more vocal in the SEO Industry?
We could pitch for ourselves more. I’m constantly hearing from conference organizers
that not enough women pitch. That’s our fault. If you want to be up there, make your
voice be heard. Get good at pitching. Know what the conferences are looking for in a
session and market yourself. We’re all marketers deep down, right? Even if we’re calling
ourselves SEOs?

And be more vocal in other areas, as well. Blog more. Lead discussions more. Start
groups and events. Go after media coverage more aggressively. It’s not just conferences
where we need to increase our presence. There may be more men in SEO and marketing
than women, but it’s not to the degree that attending a conference would make you think.
We’re here and in large numbers. It’s time to show that.

4) Could you describe a key experience you have had in the SEO Industry that has
gotten you to the point you are today?
Gosh, there are so many of them.

The experience that will always stand out is that day that my partner Rhea Drysdale and I
started our SEO consulting company Outspoken Media. At the time, we had both just moved across country to take positions with an established SEO company. But four months after being there it simply didn’t fit. We knew that we wanted more for our clients. We wanted to provide more and to do things with a level of quality we didn’t think was out there yet. So we resigned from our positions and started Outspoken Media. It hasn’t always been the easiest move or decision, but it’s one that’s changed both our lives. Had I not made that jump, I’m not sure where I’d be today.

5) As a role model for women starting in the SEO Industry, what is your advice?
Work your butt off to become the best SEO that you can. Not the best woman SEO, but the best SEO. Period.

You can also find Lisa on Twitter at @LisaBarone.

iMarketingClass www.imarketingclass.com

As a web design/development student, the subject of SEO is relatively new to me. I wanted to explore how Internet Marketing applies particularly to home-based businesses, sole proprietorships and freelancers that operate only online, without a physical business location.

As I researched this topic, I Google’d queries like “SEO for Small Business,” SEO Challenges for Entrepreneurs, or Marketing for Freelancers. As you can guess, my search results delivered a bazillion sites promoting their SEO services, some companies claiming to hold the keys to SEO with miraculous results, and others promising free SEO tips. The thought occurred to me: if I were not currently taking a course in Internet Marketing, the multiple components of SEO could be overwhelming and confusing. And how might a small business owner who only operates virtually, navigate through the aspects of SEO to find an effective marketing strategy?

To learn more, I recently posted the following questions on LinkedIn’s (SEL) Search Engine Land group forum.

In broad terms of the feedback I received to these direct questions and in my further reading, the consensus seems to agree that: Yes, SEO is essential for small business, including these specific types of businesses. As author Mason Hipp, of blog post titled “SEO Explained For Small Business Owners” on the website SmallFuel Marketing states, “At it’s root, SEO is about getting free long-term exposure for your business.” Hipp goes on to note that SEO for small business is a tool used to increase website traffic, build visibility and manage a company’s online reputation. And when SEO is done properly, it can benefit a business long-term.

In terms of SEO strategy however, there is no magic bullet formula for propelling a small business to the top in page rank for Google or other search engines. There is no cookie-cutter response that fits all small businesses, or even necessarily a fixed formula for one type of business, i.e. freelancers. Furthermore, because Google’s algorithm continues to evolve, marketing strategies must be tailored and adaptable, regardless of business size.

How Important Is It To Use A Commercial Address On Your Website If You’re Operating Only Virtually?

In more specific terms of the feedback I received to my questions, trust and legitimacy emerged as themes. A couple of the contributors on the LinkedIn’s SEL group forum indicated that without a physical business address, establishing a company’s validity could be a problem, as well as gaining the confidence of prospective clients. Further, if a business wants to market locally, the basics of SEO tell us that gaining a spot on Google Places or Yahoo Local require a physical address, and those listings can speak to the “legitimacy” of a business.

It also seems to depend on the function of the business – i.e. an online retailer vs. a virtual office assistant. Group forum contributor Nicholas Carroll points out three additional reasons a local business address may hold express value for an online business: First, when a customer “is buying something outside their range of experience, he or she may want to look the seller in the eye.” Secondly, when more money is at stake in a business transaction, personal contact (or the accessibility that a physical business location could imply) may be a decisive factor for a potential client or customer. Thirdly, Carroll says people who cannot “afford to hire the wrong person or buy the wrong product…and are on desperate timelines” may find face-to-face service as high-priority.

While I understand these concerns, I don’t think that a physical business address on one’s website necessarily equates to establishing trust and legitimacy between business and client. For businesses that do not market locally, i.e. an online retailer, they may skillfully establish their company’s online visibility without a physical address. The more important factors in this case are: that the search engines can still find them, good site content, and customers who find the business to be reliable with consistent products and services. As another SEL forum member pointed out, writing quality content, keeping that content current and relevant should gain credibility with those seeking your services, and with Google. – These factors take precedence over a physical address.

In terms of local ranking, others on the SEL group forum pointed out that a business could still rank well, for local terms if you are using your target key words. For example, as Mike July responded to my post, “You can still optimize for geographic locations without necessarily providing a physical address…my blog ranks for the phrase ‘Internet Marketing Grand Rapids’ even though I work out of my home and my address appears nowhere on the site.”  In Mr. July’s blog post entitled  “Is Working From Home a Deterrent to Credibility?”  he goes on to point out that despite his address not appearing on his website, he still establishes confidence with his prospective clients. He finds that working from home is an asset, and not only because it keeps his operating costs down as a business owner. Mr. July says that prospective clients often find the idea of working with a home-based business reinforces their sense of confidence and reliability in that business.

Ultimately these issues of building trust and legitimacy between a business and its clients are not really unique to small, virtual-based companies. People still want assurance, confidence in whom they are dealing, and reliability in the service being provided by a company. Personal contact via technology or in person can instill that confidence and sense of accessibility to a company as well.

In terms of marketing a small business online, the fundamentals of SEO apply just as they do for larger, highly visible companies. Basically, as Aaron Wall, SEO expert and author of  SEO Book, says “The success of a page should be measured by one criteria: Does the visitor do what you want them to do?” –And to work toward that end, regardless of whether a small business is operating only virtually or if have their commercial address plastered all over their website, success depends on three points to remember:

*Author’s Note: This article is not a comprehensive “answer” to questions posed above. As a current student of Internet Marketing, I compiled the opinions I received on LinkedIn’s Search Engine Land group forum, and further research I read on other sites which seemed relevant to the topic. That being said, I would like to thank all of those who took the time to respond and provide feedback. And I would like to thank those indirect sources I stumbled across through readings.

iMarketingClass www.imarketingclass.com

Finding reliable information on the net about proper link building can be a great task in itself. From knowing who has the right information, to what really does work and especially who to trust as a qualified expert in this field.

Link building can be defined as the process of getting quality web sites to link to you’re web site, in order to improve search engine rankings. Link building techniques can include buying links, reciprocal linking, or entering barter arrangements.

Although it may seem like a difficult task to accomplish, what most people need is not a huge list of link building techniques, but only the most simple and effective techniques that actually work. The best five styles are based on:

1 – High relevance

2 – High link-ability/viral content

3 – High authority

4 – High traffic

5 – High page rank

Now with those in mind I will shared some basic ways to make you’re website be more noticeable and more profitable is that is what you’re trying to accomplish.

Get your customers and other people to link to you

If you have products or loyal customers coming to you’re website you can use that to your advantage and request if they can link back to your website in some way. This will give more credibility to you’re site when Google can actually see a real human being linking back to you. Sites that have a high level of credibility say like something like cnn.com or new york times would do wonders to you’re site because Google recognizes these websites as high quality content sites with great amounts of traffic. Now of course getting a link from one of these websites is hard enough but it’s just to name an example.

Build a blog and make it a valuable source of information

Blogs are a great way to keep visitors coming to you’re site and when someone finds valuable information, that person is more likely to share and tell others about it. This is great way to get other bloggers linking back to you, thus making you’re site more credible and visible in Google.

Create content that makes people want to share

The most effective type of links are natural links.  That is, links that naturally come to you’re website without someone having to “build” them.  Link baits are great for this.  Good link baits will attract a large audience and create a huge amount of incoming links.  What is a link bait?

A link bait is something that creates a buzz, usually something unique and fun… something people won’t feel stupid for sharing.  Nintendo is infamous for making amazing link baits  

This link bait received over 2 million links in just one day!!  So much that YouTube had to remove it and this is the only way to view it now.  As you will notice, the screen starts to “shake” and fall apart as Wario gets moving.  This remains one of the most powerful link baits ever created…

However, if your not able to create these type of “baits” then fear not.  The concept to consider when building links is a natural appearance.  It’s not natural for every web site to link to you using the exact same anchor text.  It’s not natural for every link to point to you’re home page.

Local Nashville SEO expert Bryan Sayers said this about link building: “There is a saying in the SEO world… “your not a true link builder until you crash a site”  which sounds weird, I know… but it makes sense once you understand SEO.  The only true way to learn what to do is to learn the hard way what not to do.  Once you crash a site… you’ll never make that mistake again!” – Bryan Sayers.

Create More Content

I think we’re starting to see a trend here, creating info graphics, videos, pictures is a way for people to link back to you’re stuff and share with others.  As you may have noticed content is king and that still holds true to this day. keeping users coming back for more is always the most effective way to continue to get more traffic to you’re website and gain higher credibility by others and Google.

Switching the topic to bad link building, let’s talk a little about what not to do for link building and what many consider to be bad practices. Here are the top 5 things you shouldn’t do in link building efforts.

Link Borrowing

Have you ever seen  people leave comments on blogs that sound so random or that you can actually tell they didn’t read your article whatsoever? I have, and they also leave links in the bottom of their comments. Just so they can get some traffic on their site. Here’s an example of what I mean.

In this example, many blogs allow you to insert links into you’re comments and other’s don’t. So what many people try to do is insert there link where their name is supposed to go and thus getting traffic back to their website. Spam software can detect this most of the time but obviously is not perfect. This may seem like a quick way to get traffic back to you’re website but Google is smart enough to know that is clearly a spamming attempt, so don’t do it unless what your linking back to actually has something to do with what the article is talking about.

Link Begging

These are the people that send random emails to people they don’t know asking for links. Sending random emails to web masters or other people is the fastest way to annoy someone and not the right way to get someone to link to you. There has to be a benefit for both parties in other for someone to link back to you.

Link Bartering

Basically the way it works is that you link to me and I will link to you. While I know that I mention getting links from other people to you’re website is a good thing, it is also bad when you ask someone to link to you that either doesn’t have anything to do with you or the site content your presenting. Google can detect patterns quick and they know when site A is linking to site B because they agree on it.

Link Bribing

Many companies try to bribe webmasters and bloggers for links. We’ll send you stuff if you link to us. Although harder for Google to detect, this isn’t a great practice. In fact, the FTC frowns upon this.

Buying links

This is probably the most effective link building strategy of the top 5 I have listed for bad link building, because you can control what sites you are getting links from, and analyze these sites to ensure that you are not placing links in bad websites that have no credibility whatsoever. You can also place links within relevant content and use anchor text for the keywords you are trying to rank for. But, Google explicitly states:

However, some SEOs and webmasters engage in the practice of buying and selling links that pass PageRank, disregarding the quality of the links, the sources, and the long-term impact it will have on their sites. Buying or selling links that pass PageRank is in violation of Google’s webmaster guidelines and can negatively impact a site’s ranking in search results.

So there you have folks, good and bad link building techniques to help you at least somewhat on you’re website. Remember ranking well on Google depends in many other factors, so I encourage you to do more research and continue learning about the fascinating world of SEO.

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When trying to learn the basics of SEO, short hand terms for Search Engine Optimization, there are some key targets you should know.  Knowing just these few attributes can help set your website above all the rest.  But first, you should know why search engine optimization is so important to Google, and other various engines, as well as your business.  Once you understand why it is so important, the rest comes easily.

Google actually helps us alot by providing an official Google SEO starter Guide. The guide is pretty long so I’ve summarized the most important parts in this post.

Why is search engine optimization so important you ask? Well here is just one example.  Let’s say that a person in your city is looking for a service that your business provides.  Many people like to do their own researching online before calling up companies.  In fact, most people get phone numbers from the companies website.  How would your business show up in their random Google search? Did you know that Google has methodology that puts websites in an order on a person’s search? By knowing just a few objectives behind SEO, it can help your business website closer to the top of the list on a person’s Google search.  And that will not only help you with business, but it will help your targeted user to find the right thing they have been looking for.

Well what are these objectives that keep getting mentioned?? Well here they are: Page Titles, Meta Descriptions, URL Structure, Navigation, Quality Content, Anchor Text, Images (and how to use them), Heading Tags, and Promotion.  The list seems long and tedious, however, it is not.  And once you have these basics down pat, you will feel like a Search Engine Optimization Guru!

First things first, Page Titles. Page titles tell Google what that page on your site is about, as well as the user.  You want to please both, and by pleasing one side of the party you unintentionally please the other. It’s got a trickle down effect, which is beneficial. The page title is what shows up in the search result therefore you want to make it unique to what the content is about.  This unique tag will set that page out from the other pages within your site.

Next up is the Meta Description.  You’re probably like “What the heck is a META DESCRIPTION?!” Well, it is a description of what that page is about. This applies to each page on your site.  By making them each unique to the page, you’re helping Google and your user. This description is like a summary for Google.  That being said, you do not want your Meta tag to be too long, or too short.  Ideally it’s best to wrap it up with about 70 characters.  Why the character restriction you ask? Well it’s not that you can’t make it longer, because you can. It’s just that when Google shows your website in it’s results it may use your Meta description as a snippet of what your site is about.  So it will end up cutting off your snippet after so many characters.  You have an estimated time of 3 to 4 second to do just that.  By making a user read a paragraph or two on what your site is about, you risk the chance of them bypassing your site all together.  Keep it short and simple, yet intuitive.

URL structure is up next! By having descriptive names for the files and content on your site you are helping both your user and Google (see how when you help one, you’re helping the other?!).  Your site becomes friendly to the user and to Google.  Something to keep in mind when naming your URLs is spelling.  You want your URLs to be something easily remembered.  By putting fancy symbols and numbers in the URL, you have a high risk of no one being able to find it, or memorize it. Something that can help your site stand out to Google and to your user is having a site map on it.  A site map is kind of like a phone book.  It shows the structure of your site so that users can easily find something they are looking for.  It is typically made in a hierarchical list.  Keeping your URLs both simple and organized your present a win/win case to Google and the user.

Navigation is also key! Having a site map on your website can greatly help with this too. The focus of your navigation should always revolve around the functionality of the site.  It should all be easy to use, as well as remember.  By having a site that is easy to use it becomes memorable to your user.  It can be one factor that keeps bringing them back.  And it will keep bringing Google back as well.

Content is by far one of the most important factors.  You want your content to be both compelling and useful.  This is why you get traffic onto your site.  Without content that is relative to the subject, there would be no user.  You want to get the user’s attention, and keep it.  You accomplish this with your content.  Make it awesome!

Anchor text is in your content, so it is also important.  Anchor text is the text within your content that is clickable.  That means, that when it is being read it is typically a different color so that it stands out.  This is because when it is clicked, it takes the user to a different page; it’s a link that can be internal (as in it points to one of your other pages) or external (as in it points to another site).  Something that is good to know is that your anchor text on your site can say anything you want it to.  It does not have to be the other site’s URL. Whatever you make it to be is what Google sees.  But the more relative the anchor text is, the more success you will have with both Google and the user.  You want it to be descriptive and concise.

Next up is knowing how to use your images.  They seem like they are just cut and dry, point blank in your face kind of deal, but they are not.  You can optimize them!! And Google loves optimization! But how do you optimize a picture you ask? Easy! Here’s how.  Within your code you have an “alt” attribute associated with each image.  This alt tag tells both Google what it is of, as well as your user.  These alt tags are what screen readers read out to visually impaired users.  By accessing them you are helping out your users who may have vision impairment, or maybe they just have their images turned off.  And you are also helping Google see your site in the best of light.

Next up are your heading tags.  Your heading tags are exactly what they sound like.  They are the headers of the pages on your site.  You first catch a reader’s eye with them so they are important! They are used to help emphasize the most important text on your page.  The absolute best practice is to make them an h1.  Meaning the biggest an h tag can go.  If you make the heading tag an image, you risk the user not being able to see it, along with Google refusing to read it as a header.  It will only read it as an image; with can be harmful for bringing in traffic to your site.  Use your heading tags wisely.

Last up is promotion.  This is important in almost every field.  How is something advertised if it is not promoted?  How do people find things out if they aren’t promoted? Well the answer is…they don’t.  This is why promotion of your site is so important.  When your content is promoted effectively, you will bring in traffic to your site, as well as a faster discovery by Google.  How do you promote your site and or your business?  Well what rules most of the Internet these days?  That’s right, social media!  Many people keep up to date by using various social sites. By having your site and content promoted on a blog, or other recognizable sites, you bring in traffic from those sites.  And other ways for Google to find you!  It’s important to reach out for the social things related to your community if you feel that that is where most of your business will be coming from. By accessing social media, you are gaining so much in return.  That is why knowing about it will help you, your business, your site, your potential client, and Google!

So there you go.  You already know more SEO than so many others out there.  As mentioned, these are only a few starting basics to get you up and running.  But by accessing all of these you are only bringing your site higher and higher up on the Google results page.  How cool is that?! You are definitely getting closer to reaching your SEO Guru title!

Resources:

The Google SEO Start Up Guide

Ross Jones of 2 The Top Web Design

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During this winter quarter in my internet marketing class there where a lot of things that we touched on that would blow anyone interested in web design away. We went into the details of good content, how search engines can hurt or help you, and much more. But the things that stuck out the most to me where: link building, keyword research, and page optimization. Though they are all interesting topics all on there own, and we learned so much about each topic, I thought it’d be a great idea for my final project to show people the basic overview of SEO in an infographic.

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After reading numerous articles about SEO and Content Strategy, one point seems to overlap and is mentioned often – which one – SEO or Content Strategy – is more important? The two seem to be participants of a soccer game. There are fans of both, and the rivalry is palpitating. The ball is kicked back and forth.  Are SEO and Content Strategy friendly competitors or fierce adversaries?

First, I’ll introduce the two teams.

The first team is Content Strategy.  It may be the slow and steady team but don’t overlook its tenacity.  Content Strategy’s method is to communicate to the viewer the purpose and tone of the site. This is accomplished through accessible and intuitive user interface with emphasis on the placement of the words, data, and images on the site. Its strategy focuses on the game’s plays meticulously constructed before the match, before the action takes place.

Furthermore, Content Strategy is the development, then the management, of the planned content. This is the reason consumers come to web sites – to view what is for sale, to learn about a particular interest, to see what their competition is doing.  The more exact and well-planned content – the better the site, the longer the consumer will stay on the site, and thus more revenue for the company.  A pretty solid contender.

Below is an infographic detailing Content’s game day master plan. The graphic was sourced from blog.braintraffic.com blog, titled “How Nonprofits Can Profit from Content Strategy,” published by Teresa Gemelke, February 9, 2012.

“’the quad’ – a graphic we use at Brain Traffic to help our client’s understand the interrelated areas of content strategy” - blog.braintraffic.com

Next comes opposing team SEO. SEO is the powerful use of research, search engine prowess, and ingenuity to capture the search engine spiders in their own web.  A web site that utilizes exceptional SEO will often be placed in the top ten searches on Google.  This is a marketing boon for a company’s presence on the web.  It is priceless. SEO is fast, productive, energetic and has that golden glow.

Below is an infographic detailing SEO’s game day plays.  The graphic was sourced from seomoz.org blog, titled “4 Essential SEO Infographics,” published and designed by Rand Fishkin, August 10, 2009.

Source: seomoz.com "4 Essential SEO Infographics"

So let the games begin!

During the first half of the match, SEO runs out and mesmerizes the fans.  Content Strategy holds firm yet seems latent. Following is a reenactment of the first half’s power plays displayed on the cover of a magazine.

In a recent issue of a popular health and fitness magazine, I stopped at the short articles, read them quickly, and then looked for the rest of the content, which was not to be found. I flipped to the next page, patiently waiting for some valuable content about how I could reduce my sugar intake by hypnosis – or the like – but only found other short articles.  I was so mystified by this content that I flipped through the entire magazine searching for a real article.  It wasn’t there.

The magazine editors grabbed my attention by placing tag lines on the front page which peaked my interest, but they fell flat with the content. It was marketing frenzy with no content, nothing to engage or peak my curiosity for the next issue.

The SEO part of the magazine was the tag line, the headers that proclaimed fast weight loss, better skin, the perfect calorie-free chocolate bar. The Content Strategy must have been geared to quick scan articles, but it loses readers who want some real, hearty content. Only those who want pictures and a maximum of 100 word articles might find this worthwhile; the readership is limited.

In review, SEO got me there, got me to buy the magazine.  Content Strategy lost me, to never look at that magazine again (or possibly until I am duped by the tagline of miracle sleep aid for those who don’t have time to sleep).  SEO scored.  Content Strategy seemed to be sleeping on the field.

Halftime Results:      SEO – 1      Content Strategy – 0 

On to the second half.

In the second half, Content Strategy has warmed up, awake and ready to defend.  SEO still maintains energy.  Who will prevail? The power plays are detailed with a Google keyword search.

After reading an article in the New York Times about the restoration of the Ghent Altarpiece completed in 1432 by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, I wanted to do a little more research on the topic.  It was one of those moments where I wanted to expand my mind into realms other than CSS manipulations and HTML basics.

Now, I assume we all love Wikipedia, but, really, how veritable is the content? Wikipedia has SEO covered with multiple keyword mentions and multiple links within each page.  It comes up first, always. I for one do not solely take its words to heart. I find it to be a good source of quick information but not for the serious researcher, which I was for that day…

On down with my Google search – keyword search specifically “Ghent Altarpiece” – I found multiple articles on the subject matter, forums discussing the paint techniques and juxtaposition of this figure next to that figure, and Museums’ curatorial notes on the subject of this single piece. Very few had the heft I was searching for. The ball was rolling towards the goal but no score.  Content Strategy had a wall of defenders at the goal.

I needed bulk. I was searching for content.  I considered running to the library but the internet is much more accessible. So I kept searching and found the site I was reaching for, through my relentless demand to find the content. As the viewer I was working with Content Strategy, and thereby Content stole the second half and managed to kick the ball in the goal.

Content Strategy’s defense prevented SEO’s offense from scoring, pushing SEO back time after time, and finally making the goal.  It was a well played game.

Final:      SEO – 1      Content Strategy – 1

Recap

The winner of the SEO vs. Content Strategy battle is a tie.  It may have had a few questionable flags thrown in, but all in all, you can’t have one without the other. SEO is unquestionably the most popular and visible. It’s the offense.  Content Strategy is the heart of the matter.  It is the defense, strong and impenetrable.

Put SEO and Content Strategy on the same team and you will have a winner every time.

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