SEO Tips

Summary Of Matt Cutts New SEO Video In Relevance To Google

2006-08-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching Matt Cutts new SEO video. It offers some great tips in terms of what Google deems important. If you didn't already know, Matt is an employee of Google.

The following list is in order of importance to Google:

1. Having a website that the search engine spider can crawl. Simple html pages work best (Example: http://www.leominsterbibletalk.com/)

2. Create a sitemap page for your website and submit your sitemap to Google to crawl at the following URL: http://www.auditmypc.com/free-sitemap-generator.asp

3. Have good content that other sites will want to link to. Syndicating your content is a good idea. This makes it easier for other sites to place your content on their site with a link back to your site.

4. Having a website that offers something unique or something about your site that sets you apart. Perhaps something viral, like a free ebook, tutorials, useful tools, etc.

Other information revealed by Matt Cutts:

The website description used in Google's organic listings are query dependent. Google will either use the DMOZ directory listing (if one exists and Google deems more relevant to search query) or it will use the website's description meta tag.

How To Achieve A #1 Ranking On MSN In Three Months Or Less - Case Study

2006-06-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

Challenge: An established machine shop in Tyngsboro, MA, called Eastmar Inc. needed a website to showcase their services and bring in new business. The challenge was to design a website quickly, optimize it for the search engines using the keyword phrase “cnc machining” on a fixed budget, and rank #1 “organically” in the search results. It turned out after conducting extensive keyword research that “cnc machining” was a VERY competitive keyword search phrase, but I was confident and assured the client it could be done. (Note: I never guarantee #1 or top ten ranking because you never know…. what works one day, may not work the next)

Result: A nine page fully optimized, search engine/user friendly website went live on 4/23/06 with the only cost (excluding my fees) going to web hosting - $120 and registering a domain name – less than $10. This was a LOW budget tactical operation in every sense of the word. All on-page SEO tactics were implemented including adding the main keyword phrase “cnc machining” in the title tag, meta description and keyword tags, H1 and H2 tags, ALT tag, bolding the keyword phrase within the content, and making sure the last thing the search engine spider see’s is the keyword phrase on the page. Very little off-page optimization was ever completed. The end result on 6/20/06 (less than 2 months into the project): - #1 organic ranking on MSN for the search phrase “cnc machining” out of 1,131,085 results.

Gosh, I love MSN!

By the way, if you want to hire an Online Marketing firm that can and will deliver results –visit our site: http://www.market-vantage.com/

Convert More Website Visitors By Adding Video and Live Chat Support

2006-06-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

Adding video can increase sales when you can personally discuss a certain product and how it works, the benefits of using it, and what “headaches” it can relieve or in other words, make their life easier.

With live chat your visitors can instantly discuss their needs with you in “real-time” with “real-time” chat support.

Both options can easily transform your website into an interactive website with a salesman that can offer help to customers as they browse your site. Your customers will appreciate this extra feature and will also be able to learn about the products through listening or watching video instead of just seeing a product on a page.

Another important benefit of using video on your website can be to show visitors/customers how to use a specific product, how to install or setup the product or perhaps answering most frequently asked questions. With video you not only have a salesperson explaining the product, but you also have a technician showing how one can use your product.

Video or live chat can significantly boost website conversions as people are more inclined to purchase products if they can tell that your website has real people behind the scenes that are available to help answer any questions they might have.

Improve Website Conversions Through Persuasive Copy

2006-05-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

Does this describe your company and your website? You have a great product or service, but you simply don’t present it in such a way that gets people to buy or take some type of further action. People bounce right of your site faster than you can flip a switch.Question: What's the quickest way to get people to leave your website?

Answer: Having a BORING headline that doesn't grab the visitor’s attention or compel them to take further action.

You may be getting tons of traffic to your site, but if your website doesn't convert, it’s like putting a bunch of coins into a broken coke machine over and over again, hoping to get a drink that never comes. What’s worse, if you’re paying for that traffic, it hurts your bottom line. Having a high conversion rate allows you to outspend your competitors on advertising and still make money, which is a tremendous competitive advantage.

The first step is to know what emotional buttons to push with your prospects and differentiate yourself from the rest of your competition by showing them you're credible and that they can trust you enough to buy from you – or at least begin the buying dialogue.

It's NOT about all the fancy, wonderful features your product or service has or how long you've been in business. What your website visitors REALLY care about is how you are going to solve a problem or need, and how quickly, easily and cost-effectively you can do it.

In other words, does your copy make it clear what's in it for THEM?

Below are four best persuasive copywriting tips that I use and have found to convert VERY well. Follow them, and let them change the way you think and write web copy in order to dramatically increase your conversion rates.

1. Figure out the one or two biggest benefits of your product or service or headaches your product or service eliminates and construct a compelling headline using this information.

2. Focus your content on "benefits" and not "features" and write as if your prospects are sitting across the table from you. Explain to them why they should buy from you or choose you over your competition.

3. If you want to sell more, you have to put your prospects at ease. Offer them a guarantee! Example: "Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you are not completely satisfied with our product then simply send it back to us within 30 days or less and you will receive a complete refund."

4. Add testimonials to your website. This adds third-party credibility and endorses your offer. If your prospects see that you've helped others with the same "pain" as they have, then they will be more inclined to buy from you.

Always include compelling reasons why your product or service is superior to others, why they should believe what you say to be true, and why they should immediately respond to your offer.

Implement the above action items and you will see a significant BOOST in conversion rates from your website.

Click here if you would like to download the above article in a pdf document.

The Importance of The Title Tag and SEO

2006-04-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

Did you know the title tag is one of the most important elements of SEO?

Search engines will rank each page of your site based on how well it is optimized for certain keywords. Therefore, if you wanted a site to rank well for the keyword phrase "network attached storage" then you would create a page that was all about this phrase.

Makes sense, but without a properly written title tag the search engines may never rank your site well for the keyword phrase your targeting.

A title tag should be included on every page of your site. It tells the search engines what the page is specifically about. In the example above, if you were targeting the keyword phrase "network attached storage" then you might want to have your title tag written with the following words: Network Attached Storage

Although, I found out that having too many words in the title tag may not be a good thing.

Recently I was perplexed as to why my client was not ranking well for the phrase "network attached storage" on Google. In fact, they were no where to be found on Google for this phrase even though the phrase was in the title tag and there were a good number of sites linking to this page. I took a whole day comparing their page to competitor pages that ranked well on Google for the same phrase. I found a number of similarities including the number of inbound links to the page, page rank of the sites linking to the page, anchor text, keyword density, etc.

The percentage of the keywords in the anchor text wasn't as high as the other sites and I noticed the competition had a few more sites linking to their pages, so I decided to focus my "off-page" optimization efforts on getting more sites to link to my client's "network attached storage" page.

Next, I focused my attention on "on-page" optimization. I noticed although the title tag had the words "network attached storage" in it, the tag read "network attached storage filers from..." As I mentioned previously, my client did not rank for "network attached storage" on Google, so I decided to type in "network attached storage filers" to see where the client would rank. The client ranked on the second page. To my suprise, just by adding that one keyword "filers" to the end of my keyword phrase made all the difference in where the page ranked in Google. So, I thought to myself what if I was to remove it from the title tag.

I concluded the main reason the site was not ranking for "network attached storage" was the title tag was too long. I immediately changed the title tag, Google spidered the page again a few days later and sure enough the site was now ranked 149 of out 48 million plus other pages. While 149 is not great, it is a good starting point from being nowhere.

Effective Search Engine Optimization

2006-03-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

Any successful SEO implementation should include the following:

1. Extensive Keyword Research - Research specific keywords or keyword phrases that will most likely bring the most relevant/targeted traffic to your website. Compile a list of relevant keywords/keyword phrases to optimize for on your home page, landing page, and any other pages of your website. Never try to shoot for very general keywords such as "jewelry" or "furniture". Rather, shoot for more targeted keyword phrases such as "M2 design bracelets" or "swivel recliner".

2. Site Design Geared Towards Targeted Audience - Design your site content and navigation according to your keyword research and for your target market/audience. Never design your site just for the search engines, rather design your site for your "live" audience (visitors). When it makes sense to do so, plug your keywords into your navigation or web content. Your keyword research will reveal what people are searching for in various ways. Make sure your sites navigation and content showcase the various ways in which people are searching for what you have to offer. Make sure you also include your keywords/keyword phrases in the title/meta/keyword/ALT/Heading tags.

3. Website That Is "Spider/Crawling" Search Engine Friendly. - Use a Free HTML Validator to ensure your site is browser friendly and has no broken links. Having links that don't work will greater reduce your credibility with any potential prospects that tour your site. Make sure your site is more rich in content and less in fancy flash animations/javascript and images. Its not that these don't serve a purpose or should never be used its just that search engines cannot interpret Flash and graphics. Having a large number of images can also slow down how fast your site loads. Use the Website Speed Test to see how fast your site pages load. Its also a good idea to use HTML links in the top-level main navigation on each of the pages of your site.

4. Descriptive Anchor Text (visible text within a clickable text link) For All The Internal Links Of Your Site - Good descriptive navigational links will help your visitors find their way around your site and find what their looking for. Make it as easy as possible for your visitors to find their way around and use "call to action" links/buttons to get your visitors do what you want them to do once they find what their looking for. Do this and you will see a vast increase in conversions/sales and a greater ROI (return on investment) for your business.

5. Site That Is "Link-Worthy" - Having other sites link to yours is a vital element of any successful search engine optimization, as all of the major search engines place a good deal of emphasis on your sites overall link popularity.

Finally, is your site full of great content and information about your products/services? Does it clearly state the benefits and how it solves your target market/audience problem or problems? Is it a great resource for others? As a visitor can I easily find my way around your site? Does it capture my attention enough to keep me on the site or will I get bored and leave right away? Will other website owners be inclined to link to your site? These are the type of questions that you must answer in order to have a site that others will want to link to.

Any good web analytics tool will measure these results and give you a good indication of how your site measures up to desired results. If you hire an SEO consultant or SEO firm make sure they set you up with one. Eliminate the guesswork as much as possible and make decisions based on monitored website behavior.

Black Hat SEO

2006-03-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

You may have heard the term "black hat techniques" or "black hat seo", but what exactly does this coined phrase mean?

Anything that deceives Search Engines and/or the end user is "Black Hat SEO". This would include artificial link building, fake traffic, page redirects that take the user to a totally unrelated website then what he/she thought they were going to, mirror sites, hidden links and text, keyword stuffing of title, meta, alt image tags, spamming, etc.

These techniques should never be considered as they will get your site banned from the search engines.

Be very cautious when considering to work with any SEO consultant or SEO firm that implements these unethical seo techniques or "guarantee's" top search engine rankings. Always check references and look for consultants or firms that practice "ethical SEO implementation".

Free SEO Tools

2006-03-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Here's a list of some free online SEO tools that I find very useful. The site that provides the first seven tools listed here, also provides the source code for each of them so you can add these great SEO tools to your own website:

Google PageRank Prediction - This tool provides an estimation of your future PageRank. PageRank is a Google developed formula to determine a web page's "inbound link ranking". It's often referred to as "PR" value.

Backlink Checker - Find other websites linking to your site and their PageRank, Description, Language and Size.

Rank Checker- Find out what your ranking is and how popular your website is to users and search engines. You'll also find out which search engines have indexed your site.

Link Popularity - Find how many links your domain has indexed on the search engines.

Website Speed Test - Find out how fast/slow you website loads.

Meta Tag Generator - When your site is spidered/crawled the meta tags help identify what your website is about. This tool will help you configure them very easily.

Spider View Of Your Website - This tool will show you how most search engine spiders/bots will index your website for the keywords you specify.

Free HTML Validator - Validating your HTML will help insure that it displays properly on all users browsers.

Keyword Density Analyzer - This free tool will crawl your site and report back the percentage and number of times a particular keyword or keyword phrase shows up on your web page.

Natural Link Building Process Methodology - Obtaining One-Way Inbound Links

2006-03-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

The overwhelming consensus of most seo consultants today is that one-way, authoritative inbound links appear to be the way to go on Google in terms of increasing one’s page rank and search engine rankings for specific keywords.

Here are some Ideas for generating one-way inbound links.

1. Writing and submitting articles on relevant subject matter to content/article directories

2. Writing testimonials for industry specific products/services in exchange for a link back to home page

3. Writing an information ebook on relevant subject matter and offering free distribution (viral marketing technique)

4. Writing and publishing a press release of the company

5. Submitting website to targeted directories (Yahoo, Dmoz, Industry Specific)

6. Participating in online forums/discussion boards that allow a signature that links back to home page

Non-suggested link building ideas

1. Reciprocal links exchange (a thing of the past, no longer weighted heavily by Google)

2. Paid text links/ paid text link ads thru a text ads broker (Risky, not natural and Google may penalize sites for doing this in the future. As an alternative, you may want to locate relevant sites with a high PageRank (PR) of say 4 and up and that have very few outbound links. Contact these sites directly or you could have an SEO firm handle this for you, you may have to pay for a permanent link on their site or you could convince them to link to you for offering them something of value in return.)

3. Link Farms - a group of sites that are setup to link to one another (Google could ban a site for participating in this)

4. Other non-ethical seo, spamming methods that could potentially have one’s site banned from Google or other search engines

Choosing A Search Engine Marketing Firm For Your Business

2006-03-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

Each day more companies are turning to the Internet to provide a targeted way to market their product/services and generate leads and sales. Marketing on the Internet provides a greater return on investment and is more cost effective then most traditional marketing avenues. It can be incorporated with conventional offline marketing to result in lower cost, expanded reach, better measurement and accountability.

For companies to be successful they need to concentrate first on the foundation of their business – their products, services and customers. A combination of specialized technology and skills is required for Internet marketing due to the ever changing markets.

Any search engine marketing firm that you choose should concentrate on two key areas that have a direct impact on your business and have access to the latest commercial seo tools. The first area of concern should be helping your business increase the number of relevant visitors to your website. This can be done thru optimizing your site for the search engines or pay-per-click advertising on Google Adwords for example. Sponsored or paid advertising on such sites as Google Adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing can provide an immediate flow of targeted website traffic provided one has properly chosen the right keywords for your business offering. The second area of focus should then be on what I call “conversion optimization”. This is basically increasing the percentage of those visitors that respond to your business offering before leaving your website.

Here’s a list of questions a search engine marketing company should be able to help you with

Which search terms really matter when it comes to attracting the maximum number of relevant visitors to your website?

How does your company’s website stack up against your competitors
for those terms?

What specific type of action do you want your website visitors to do? Examples: Sign-up for newsletter, download company brochure, schedule a live demo, etc.

Where is your company dominant and where do you have opportunities to grow?

If you choose the paid advertising route in the beginning to generate immediate targeted traffic then a good search engine marketing firm should be able to help you streamline the process from the impression of your ads to conversion, testing the offer that is presented at each step, and boosting overall conversion rates. A Web Analytic tool is absolutely essential in helping you better understand visitor behavior, identify user experience issues, time spent on your site, and overall campaign conversion tracking. Be sure a web analytics tool is part of the seo services you decide to invest in.

Why Choose Market-Vantage For Your Search Engine Optimization/Marketing Needs?

Our methodology is structured, but not rigid. It is tailored to match your business needs because every business is different. We learn as much about your business as we can, right from the start. Only by understanding your company’s offerings, the types of audiences you are trying to attract and the actions you want them to take before leaving your website can we advise you properly and implement cost-effective Internet marketing strategies and programs. What makes us different from most of our competitors is that we don't just focus on driving traffic to your site. While traffic is important, we work on the whole process of on-line lead generation and sales, from impression to response to conversion. We also believe that Internet marketing, rather than being considered an expense, is an investment that ultimately should be carefully measured and found to deliver a positive return.

Contact Us Today
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Contact: Hans Riemer
www.market-vantage.com