Google’s Panda Update Has Changed How SEO is Done

Posted on July 31, 2011 by admin

Google’s Panda update was designed to eliminate low quality websites from its search results. Google wants to provide a better user experience by eliminating “sites that are just not very useful.” Google wants to deliver searchers to the information they seek, faster and more consistently.

So what does this mean in how you should approach SEO for your site? It means focusing on quality first. Make the content that you provide high quality, unique and engaging with visitors.

  1. Remove low quality content. Get rid of the dead wood. Keep the pages that engage your visitors and use your analytics to find pages with high bounce rates and low time on pages. Remove duplicate content or junk pages.
  2. Visitors first. Approach SEO by providing a better user experience. Address the question that your visitor came searching for. Provide valuable and original content. Google will reward sites that best fulfill search queries.
  3. Add good quality content. The emphasis is on producing interesting content that people actually want to read. Provide new content rather than rehashing other web pages, blogs or articles. The Panda update penalized article syndication websites that have the same (or similar) articles as may other syndication sites.
  4. Linkable content. Link building is now and will always be a central part of SEO. The best way to do this is by providing content that people will want to link to. Create content that people will want to share.
  5. Analytics. Use your analytics to improve visitor interaction. Constantly change and improve the pages on your site that have the highest bounce rates. The same applies to low “time on page”. You want each page on your site to engage and interest visitors.

The future of SEO is to focus on quality first, not volume.

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How to Write Your About Us Page

Posted on July 24, 2011 by admin

The About Us page is the second most often visited page in the typical website. This is the page that people turn to when they are deciding if they should trust you. It is the place where you can humanize your business.

This is the only page on your website where you are expected to write about your company, your founder and even your employees.

The About Us page is a chance to cement a relationship and connect with someone who is curious about your business. They are there to learn about what you do. They are looking for signs of trust and credibility. Let customers see the human side of your company. Show your personality.

Visitors will look to see if you are a real company with a physical address. Tell them a little about your company. Instead of including a long history of your company, simply state when your company was founded and how long you have been serving your industry.

Describe how you are different and better than your competition. Share your company philosophies, awards and certifications. If you have important affiliations, this is the page to include them.

The About us page should be concise and easy to read. Its main purpose is to build trust with your visitor. People want to feel safe and secure before they buy from you or even give you their email address.

You can add a “Meet the Staff” page where you show short profiles on the key staff members. Include the key people that interact with customers.

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Basic Info On The Polyethylene Storage Tank

Posted on July 18, 2011 by admin

Storage tanks can be made from various materials. Choices range from plastic materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene to fiberglass, concrete, stone and even steel, either bolted or welded, carbon or stainless.

The polyethylene storage tank is beginning to gain more interest each day, due to its major benefits of being both economical and durable. These benefits are the result of the way plastic tanks are made. Producers use the rotational molding fabrication process which allows the end product to be virtually leak-proof.

The rotational molding process is known as the most common and effective process to be used in producing large tanks for water storage as well as other liquids. The fact is that the three steps involved in the fabrication of the polyethylene storage tank are bullet-proof. Plus, the only holes cut into the tank are for the manway on the top and any tank fittings that are installed on the sidewall.

The result is you having a tank made in a single leaf-proof piece at a very economical price, because the rotational molding process, as well as the materials used, are relatively inexpensive.

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How to Use H1 Tags in SEO

Posted on July 15, 2011 by admin

H1 tags are the second most important on-page SEO factor after Title tags. H1 Tags are the main web page headline. They should contain your most important keyword phrase and grab an arriving visitor’s interest. Additional keywords can be placed in the H2 tags.

Use your H1 tag to define your page title. It signals the search engine what topic your web page is about. Choose a keyword phrase that summarizes the content on the page.

Heading tags are used on the headlines on your web page. Heading tags (H1 through to H6) are given much more importance by search engines than regular body text. They should be used to reinforce your page’s overall keyword theme.

Use your most important keyword phrase for a page within your H1 tag. H1 tags are given the most importance by Google. You will want to use only one H1 tag on each page. A common mistake made by designers is to waste this valuable SEO tool on non-critical text. Posting dates or “Welcome to Our Site” will not help your search rankings nor does it communicate what you do to an arriving visitor.

You can adjust the size and color of the fonts heading tags through CSS. Using CSS, you can still include these important structural tags without sacrificing your page design.

If your page requires multiple headlines, use H2 tags or H3 tags on these. Use keywords in these heading tags as well. Think of heading tags structure as an outline format for your web page with H2 being a section of the page and H3 being a sub-section.

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Employee Awards Program

Posted on July 9, 2011 by admin

Each person has their own definition for what the term ‘employee awards’ means to them. Because of the difference in opinion, defining an employee awards program can be challenging. There are three major variables to consider when planning an employee awards program: first you must determine what types of awards are suitable for the event, followed by the necessary quantity and budget you have allocated for the event.

When selecting employee awards, you should always keep the unique characteristics of the recipient in mind. Match the award to the achievement and personal style of the recipient, carefully taking color, shape, and size into consideration. We have outlined a series of sample questions that you can use to gauge which employee awards your recipients would prefer.

To determine the quantity and budget for your event, it is important to relate the rewards to your corporate goals. Use them as a benchmark to determine which employees were productive and have earned their awards. Your budget will depend on the impact you want to make on each recipient. Read this article to identify which program works best for you and the impact they make on the recipient and organization.

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15 Tips for Writing SEO Optimized Web Pages

Posted on July 2, 2011 by admin

SEO copywriting isn’t hard to do. Targeted keyword phrases are weaved into marketing text so search engines take note of the important phrases. Use keywords as a central theme in your messaging, your page headlines and your hyperlinks.

  1. Three second rule: Internet users are active, not passive. If they don’t immediately see what they are looking for, they are gone within 3 seconds. First impressions are critical.
  2. Plan of action: You should storyboard out the sales process and then write the text to give the results you are after.
  3. Get their attention: When they first arrive, they need to immediately see your sales pitch, your offering and even your order button. Don’t make them scroll down or switch pages.
  4. State the benefits: Benefits are what sell. Benefits are what features mean. Features are what products do.
  5. Anticipate Questions: Focus on the benefits and answer your visitor’s questions “So, what’s in it for me?” “What am I doing here,” “How do I do it,” and “Where can I go next?”
  6. Be Brief: Writing for the web is different than writing for print. Writing for the web is brief and to the point with shorter paragraphs, shorter sentences and fewer words.
  7. Keywords: Your most important keyword phrase should be used a minimum of 3 times. Once in the headline, once in the first paragraph and once in text that will be hyperlinked to another relevant page on your site. Other keywords should be used 1-2 times.
  8. Headline: The headline sets the tone. It grabs attention…or not. It reveals a promise. It raises hopes. Your headline has to be the most powerful text on your page.
  9. Easy to scan: The main points should stand out in sub-headlines, lists, images, colors, italics and indented text.
  10. Keywords in Bold: This is because bold text will attract people’s attention to important words. Google is aware of this and they take extra notice of bold text.
  11. Enough Text: An optimized web page should have a minimum of 300 words of text. 400 is better. Break up your content into small articles for easy reading the way a newspaper does.
  12. Call to action. End your page by asking for some sort of action. Have questions? If you need answers call, email, click on live chat or whatever action you want your visitor to do. Better yet: Buy now!
  13. Back up what you say: Web visitors don’t believe hype. If you want to be believable, you have to back it up. Reference your sources.
  14. Start strong and finish strong: Grab their attention when they arrive, and astound them with your finish. Put your best material at the beginning and the end.
  15. Avoid Duplicate Content: In fact, try to make your copy as unique as possible. Search engines will discount or penalize content that is the same as on other web pages.
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Five Elements of a Great Logo

Posted on July 1, 2011 by admin

Branding is how you make your company memorable. Your logo is a visual icon of your branding. You use your logo on your website, business cards, letterhead, brochures and in your email. It represents the ‘face’ of your business.

A great logo is memorable, creates a visual impact and helps your company become easily remembered. So, what makes a great logo? It is simple, memorable, represents the company and has the illusion of action.

  1. Simple means that it is not overly complex, can be reduced to a small size on a business card and doesn’t have many complex and competing elements. Simple also means good contrast and a bold look.
  2. Understandable: A good logo is easy to read and comprehend.
  3. Memorable means being unique and distinctive, graphic (not just letters), not being cluttered in look and something that has a unique look. The colors, shape and font should be used in combination to help the business stand out and not blend in.
  4. Represents the company and is meaningful and appropriate for the company. It should have permanence so it won’t have to be changed.
  5. Illusion of action means the logo has the appearance of motion and doesn’t just sit there. Action attracts interest. The challenge here is to keep it simple while still showing action.

A simple great logo may not be easy or quick to create, but it is powerful in your company’s branding for marketing strategies or Internet marketing.

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Home Page Optimization is More Than SEO

Posted on June 29, 2011 by admin

Your home page is the entrance to your website. You need to attract visitors and then you need to close the deal by converting visitors into buyers. Your home page needs to greet with a relevant and persuasive message. The design needs to be professional and build trust.

  1. Design: Your design should enhance your message, build credibility and build trust. It should speed communication of your message.A showy design detracts.
  2. Message: Visitors arrive looking for a solution to a problem. Make your central message clear. You have only a few seconds to communicate your benefits and how you are better than your competition. Use your page headlines, your graphics and your navigation to communicate your message.
  3. Action: Drive your visitors toward an action. Make it clear and highly visible. Placing an online form in the upper right quadrant of your web page makes it the most visible. On email request forms ask for the minimum amount of required information.
  4. Interact: Make your website interactive. Deliver more than they are expecting. Your site could have free reports, instant quotes, price and feature comparisons, or even free samples. Try and deliver a concierge level of service.
  5. Trust: People won’t do something that puts them at risk. People arrive to your site suspicious and thinking “Can I trust these people?” Show your phone number and address. Show social reviews and testimonials.
  6. Traffic: You will create a highly targeted website around a focused topic. You can use organic SEO or an Adwords campaign to bring in highly targeted traffic. Focused and targeted traffic will bring in targeted leads that will convert better.

Your SEO services company needs to be good at much more than SEO.

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11 Tips to Make Your Website SEO Friendly

Posted on June 28, 2011 by admin

Before you start down the path of SEO, you need to make sure your website is search engine friendly. This means your website is structured to make it easy for search engines to scan and detect your website’s content.

  1. Title Tags: The Title tag which is the most valuable of the META tags because it is considered visible text. Make the Title Tag unique for each page. Use your most important phrase at the beginning of the Title tag and then the company name at the end.
  2. Page URLs: Name pages with keywords phrases that describe the page. Separate keywords with hyphens. Avoid using dynamic database generated queries that have a “?” in them.
  3. File structure: Create a flat file structure and keeping the number of levels to a minimum. Extensive use of subdirectories and sub-subdirectories is harmful to rankings.
  4. Flash / Frames: Avoid doing all Flash websites or adding splash pages to websites because of the SEO implications.
  5. New Code: Built with XHTML / CSS: Instead of using the older method of using tables common in HTML 4, text and other page elements are arranged using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). The code is simpler and easier for search engines to index.
  6. Download Speed: All pages should be quick to download. Optimize page size and image sizes to allow a fast download speed. Search engines are applying importance to this.
  7. Text Navigation: Providing HTML navigation links so that search engines can easily crawl the website. JavaScript or image based links are more difficult for search engines. Include text links to the primary pages at the bottom of each page.
  8. Heading Tags: Include Heading tags in your designs. These can range from H1-H6. H1 tags are the most important for SEO.
  9. Page Text: Unique, original, keyword rich content is the key to make your website search engine friendly. 400-600 words of text is ideal. Use your keyword phrases in the visible body text 1-2 times, in the page headlines, in hyperlinks and in emphasized text.
  10. Add a blog: Adding a blog to your website is a great way to attract search engine spiders. Each post should be enriched with keywords that are focused on your topics. Each posting adds one more page to your website.
  11. XML Sitemap: Include an XML sitemap to make it easy for search engines to locate all pages on the website.
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Would You Rate Your Business as Above Average?

Posted on June 27, 2011 by admin

Every business strives to be better than average. It is the American way. So, what is “average” for a business? These are business statistics that help define what is average.

  1. The average and median age of company founders when they started their current companies was 40. (kaufman.org)
  2. The average small business operates at a loss for the first three years of its existence. (from wiki.answers.com)
  3. Average annual sales are $4 million. The average business has $4 million in sales. According to the US Census Bureau (2007 data published 2009) there are 7.2 million businesses in the US. The two largest sectors of these businesses are retail (15%) and Professional services (12%).
  4. The average annual revenue of a small business is $3.6 million according to Entrepreneur. The average annual revenue of a small business with a website is $5.03 million. (entrepreneur)
  5. The average employee (all occupations) receives an average annual wage of $44,410 (2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics)
  6. The average business has no employees. Although the average across all businesses large and small is 20 employees. About three quarters of all US business firms have no payroll. Most are self-employed persons operating unincorporated businesses. So the average business has no employees. This is according to US Census information (2008).
  7. The average small business doesn’t have a website. According to a WebVisible and Nielsen Online study, only 44% of small businesses have a website. The percentage increases with the size of the business. Of businesses with revenues of $10 Million to $500 Million in size, 84% have websites.

 

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