September 24, 2011

Four SEO Tools for Small Businesses

Getting your website noticed is one of the most important things that you have to carry out especially if you want to be profitable, and gain an edge over your competitors. While you can hire an SEO company to do this for you, it costs a lot of money.

And so, here are a couple on-site and off-site tools that you can use in order to do so:

#1: Google Webmaster Tools
Not only does this tool work as an onsite tool but also as an offsite one. Statistics on factors such as impressions, keyword visibility, average position of keywords, time spent on your site, click through rate and indexing issues can be obtained, all for the purpose of helping you improve your target keywords.

#2: Xenu’s Link Sleuth
This tool is not only useful for site audits but can also provide you with information such as broken links, lost mail servers, and even produces the different types of code being used on specific pages. The best part is that it downloads directly on to your desktop and is user-friendly.

#3: Google Insights for Search
Primarily, this tool helps you find out how many times a particular keyword is searched for in different parts of the world, or even in general. Not only can you find this information city-wise but also find keywords that are closely related to the one that you running a search for.

#4: Rank Checker
This tool is very useful for those who want to check multiple rankings and don’t have much time, working effectively if you want to do a quick competitor analysis or know where you page lands for different search terms.

Filed under Search Engines by on .

September 17, 2011

Four Tips to build consistent traffic with Social Media

If you are looking for traffic for your blog, there is no doubt that a significant amount of it comes from social media. However, since this source is so erratic when it comes to traffic volumes, most bloggers tend to dismiss it.

So, here are a few tips to build consistent traffic using social media as one of its sources:

#1: Post Regularly
In order to generate consistent traffic from social media, remember to blog regularly as traffic to the older posts (which are as old as two days) die down soon enough. With each new post, traffic can be generated to your blog, and all you have to do is continue posting new blogs.

#2: Use specific social media communities for specific purposes
The truth is that not all social media sites and their users have the same preferences. Therefore, you have to find a site where the audience is interested in your blog and post it there. However, StumbleUpon is one of the largest sites, and most likely to generate traffic to your blog no matter what you’ve written on.

#3: Build a relationship with those who vote for you
Perhaps the way by which you can keep a loyal audience is by getting to know the people who voted for you, and by doing so, you can add them as friends or thank them for their support.

#4: Focus on topics that have worked well in the past
If you know what topics have worked in the past, one of your best strategies is to write about topics that are similar to these. In all probability, writing on these topics will work again.

Filed under Marketing by on .

September 15, 2011

How to Find the Right SEO Agency

Now that you have a website, you will need to develop an effective internet marketing campaign in order to get people to your site — after all, even the best-designed and most visually-attractive website is useless if it does not incorporate the proper techniques of search engine optimization (SEO). Without a customized SEO campaign implementation, your website will be unseen to search engines as well as web surfers. This means your site won’t have traffic. And we all know that no traffic means zero sales.

While you have the choice to learn internet marketing and SEO, you may not have the time or energy to manage your campaign on your own. So how do you find the right SEO agency to do the job for you? These days, many website owners turn to independent research companies to help evaluate and compare the best internet marketing agencies and tools on the market. When searching for SEO companies, for example, an independent research agency can provide you with an easy-to-read list of facts about the company, such as how long it has been in business, how many active clients it has, and what is its client retention rate. An independent agency can also provide information about services and pricing.

Filed under SEO Elsewhere by on .

September 10, 2011

Benefits of using the Google SERP Checker

One key aspect to knowing how well your website is doing, in terms of the rankings, is by making use of SEO ranking tools.

While most people are aware of the fact that Google uses an algorithm to determine which sites deserve a higher ranking in the search results, it is still unknown as to which factors actually determine a site’s ranking as it is being changed around so much.

To say the least, getting your website in the first few search results is something that needs to be experimented with, and thus, most entrepreneurs must understand that this takes a while.
Thus, in order to know whether or not the changes that you are making works, you have to use a tracking tool, one of which is the Google SERP Tool.

Yet the benefit of this tool is not just being able to monitor your website’s rankings but to also monitor how your competitors are doing. In being able to do so – you should be able to keep track of what your competitors are doing right if they are ahead of you.
Even if you are way ahead of them in the search rankings, it’s still good to know what they are up to in order to stay ahead.

One important thing to keep in mind is that you should use this tool only if your website is doing fairly well when it comes to search engine rankings. Or else, it will not be able to track the effects of the changes that you make to your website.

Filed under Webmaster by on .

September 3, 2011

Three outdated SEO Tactics, and how you can change them

Search Engines have around for a while now, and are getting smarter and better at knowing the ranking that each and every website truly deserves.

So, in order to stay on top of your game, here are three outdated SEO tactics, and alternatives that suggest what you should do instead.

#1: Purchasing Links
Most people tend to buy links from other websites to boost their ranking without realizing that this is a violation of Google’s Webmaster guidelines. If Google finds out, not only can the consequences include you dropping in the rankings but being removed from the search results.
The only way by which you can avoid this is to generate content in the form of podcasts, articles and videos that will attract traffic, and back links.

#2: Internet Press Releases
As there are a lot of companies that will release your press releases for you so that your company get some online attention and back links, this strategy does not work because getting links from unknown sites will not improve your rankings, and you end up spending a lot of money for nothing.
Instead, try and find websites where you can get in touch with journalists who need sources for their stories.

#3: Adding your website link to blog comments
When posting comments, some people add their links as well, and this is not only annoying for blog owners but it doesn’t add any value SEO-wise. It’s always best to leave helpful and encouraging comments.
Only promote your website when the content posted on the blog is relevant to what you have on offer.

Filed under Search Engine Marketing by on .

August 26, 2011

Three Tips for Effective Email Advertising

There is a fine line between promoting your business, service or product by email well and finding most of your emails end up in a Spam folder. If your email advertising isn’t producing the results that it should be able to, there is something wrong.

 

Here are a few tips that could help avoid your emails from getting on the Spam list:

#1: The Right Target Audience

In creating your email list, you have to ensure that you are targeting the right audience for your product or service. There’s no point in finding an audience that has no need or interest in your product or service. Most of all, whatever message you send them, you should in believe in it in order for it to make an impact on them in such a way that they show interest in your product or service.

#2: Personalization makes a difference

As opposed to sending a general email to everyone, it is far more effective if you address it personally to each and every person you are sending the email to. Write the copy of the email as if you are talking to each person in a one-on-one conversation while remembering to use words that are bound to capture his attention.

#3: One message at a time, please

Perhaps the worst thing that you can do when you send emails of this nature is to write a huge email with big words and with several points that will take a lot of effort on the part of the reader to comprehend much less show interest in. So, keep it simple and send one message with just one point to make about your product or service.

Filed under Advertising by on .

August 19, 2011

How to Deal With Writer’s Block

One of the most common issues that content writing poses is that of writer’s block. Yes, these are days when you just cannot write. Your thoughts don’t come together, and often causes writers stress. They also result in missed deadlines and angry clients.

Is it possible to overcome writer’s block?

The truth is that no matter how difficult it seems, there are steps that you can take in dealing with writer’s block. Here they are:

#1: Writing Schedule

Find your sweet spot when it comes to writing.. When you do find this spot, ensure that you spend this time working on your projects. You will find that you will be able to finish most of your work in a few hours.

#2: Take Time Off

Sometimes when you haven’t taken time off, you experience writer’s block and this is a sign that your ideas need some time away. It’s not a bad sign actually as this process often is fruitful, and you’ll be ready to get back to work soon enough.

#3: Work on more than one project at a time

Variety is the spice of life, and sometimes it gets boring working on only one project. It is advisable to multi-task on several projects at a time to ensure that this does not happen.

#4: Find your own writing space

In one sense, it is a good idea to find your own writing space because this will ensure that you are able to concentrate fully and write well, thanks to the environment that allows you to think cohesively. This is a factor that you just cannot ignore!

 

Filed under Blogging Tips and Guide by on .

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