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Archive for the ‘Web Tips’ Category

Cited from Website Magazine

In the past it was easier to achieve high search engine rankings by “gaming” the system with questionable SEO tactics. But as search engines have evolved, many suspect SEO practices have been rendered useless. However, if you visit any SEO forum or upstart SEO blog, you will see many of these outdated tactics still endorsed as legitimate techniques. In an attempt to end the misinformation, below are five popular, yet outdated SEO tactics that no longer work — and some legitimate alternatives.

1) KEYWORD STUFFING

In the late 1990s, search engines were unsophisticated. The more frequently a keyword appeared in a page’s content, the better it ranked. This practice of “keyword stuffing” was an easy way to manipulate search rankings. Since then, search engines and their algorithms have matured.

What to do instead:

Stuffing pages with keywords can have a negative impact; as Google actively imposes penalties on gamed content. So if you want your keywords to have maximum impact, it’s far better (and safer) to employ legitimate SEO practices, such as:

• Creating content for people, not search engines

• Making sure keywords are present in prominent regions of your Web page; such as headers, subheads, title tags and meta description snippets

• Structuring a website so that important keyword pages are high up in the site architecture and easily found by both search engines and people

2) BLOG COMMENT SPAMMING

Many search marketers and webmasters still aggressively drop links in blog comments as their primary link building strategies. This outdated SEO tactic is better known as blog comment spamming. To address the abuse, Google introduced nofollow link tags (a signal to search engine spiders to ignore a link) and is known to devalue links in blog comments.

What to do instead:

Rather than comment spam, try producing something of value. Creating well-written, engaging and thought-provoking content is one of the best ways to attract quality links, naturally. Good content often generates editorial links — naturally occurring links from other blogs and news sources that search engines value far more than comments in blog posts.

3) SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION

I’m still amazed by how many companies offer search engine submission as a service. I’m equally amazed by how many professional Web developers and designers still believe that submitting to search engines is necessary. It is not. Google’s ability to discover and index new content is so advanced that search engine submission is obsolete. So, paying a company for a search engine submission service is a waste of money.

What to do instead:

To ensure that your new website gets discovered quickly, get links. This can be as quick and easy as dropping a link to your website on a social media platform. For example, if you have a Twitter account, tweet a link to your new website or add it as your profile link. Twitter is crawled by search engines constantly; so a link to your new site will be discovered quickly. To increase your chances of getting found, use a site like Ping.fm, which offers the ability to post a message and link to dozens of social media sites simultaneously.

4) META TAG OPTIMIZATION

There was a time when meta tags (snippets of information embedded in the area of a page’s code) played a large role in influencing search engine rankings. This was particularly true of the “meta keywords” attribute; a common way for site owners to reinforce terms important to their websites. However, unscrupulous site owners and SEOs abused the meta keywords attribute by including misleading terms entirely unrelated to their content.

What to do instead:

These days, Google is on record as saying they pay no attention to the meta keywords tag. So, the era of keyword stuffing meta tags for impact is officially dead. If your objective is to optimize a website or blog pages to rank for more keywords, try using category and tag systems to better label and organize your website content. Actively tagging your posts and pages is one of the most effective ways to enhance functionality, usability and overall “searchability.”

5) LINK EXCHANGES

Exchanging links or reciprocal linking is a popular method of building links. Website owners exchange inbound links with one another in an attempt to improve site rankings and traffic. Reciprocal links in moderation are not really an issue; as interlinking is glue that binds the Web. The trouble occurs when website owners actively engage in link exchange schemes to intentionally influence rankings — which Google deems a violation.

What to do instead:

Rather than participating in link exchange schemes, offer testimonials to business vendors you work with. Providing testimonials is an easy way to get a link to your website in return for writing something favorable and sincere about a vendor.

SEO, like any other industry, undergoes changes as it evolves. Be sure to avoid the outdated techniques mentioned here. Not only will your website suffer in rankings (to the satisfaction of your competition), but even worse — your site might be penalized for banned tactics.

As Cited from Website Magazine

Your website’s landing page is the most valuable ammunition in your company’s marketing arsenal. The impact of this page extends beyond clicks or conversions because your entire brand experience is what the potential customer sees. So why do so many companies seem to take a site’s usability for granted?

There are seven serious usability mistakes that most corporate websites commit. Interestingly, these common errors are often products of sound principles that Web designers mistakenly apply:

1. Too Much Introductory Text on Your Landing Page.

The worst kind of filler copy usually starts with, “Welcome to our site, click on the blah, blah link to get info on our new blahblah…” Telling people what to do on your site is futile. The user will go where he or she feels like. People generally read very little on a website. Instead, users scan the page, picking out words that are relevant to them.

2. Not Showing What Your Site Offers to Users.

Many sites are horrible at explicitly stating what they offer and how their services or products differ from those of their key competitors. Instead, they hide this information in industry jargon that may be lost on users. Keep in mind that users will only spend a few seconds to scan the site for what they need.

3. Using Gratuitous Animation and Graphics on a Site.

The dirty secret among Web designers is that we love to see cool animation and graphics, even if these don’t contain real content. Using generic stock photos that have nothing to do with your content can distract users from the main goal on your page — to take action.

4. Not Showing Users Where They Have Been on Your Site.

Knowing what pages have been visited is a basic function that all navigational designs should support. Flash sites are notorious for this basic omission. Only one-third of corporate sites use link color to show users at a glance where they have been. Without this basic browser function, the result is navigational confusion and users re-visiting the same page twice. This usability mistake is especially hard on elderly users who rely on changing link colors to determine visited and unvisited links.

5. Not Telling Users What the Site or Company Does on its Landing Page.

One of the most popular links on a website is the “About Us” link. Most people click to find out what the company does or what the site is all about. It’s popular because tag lines and advertising copy are so generic and content-free that users have to work hard to find out who you are or what you sell. If your landing page tagline under the logo doesn’t tell me who you are, then as a user I’m lost. As an example, I pulled these tag lines off the sites of national companies without the benefit of a logo. Do you know what the business is?

1) “Making sense of investing.”

2) “The strength to be there.”

The first example is easy: it’s investment brokerage Edward Jones. The second takes more thought. Did you guess a deliverable goods company? The New York City Fire Department? Wrong. It’s actually AIG Insurance. If a huge national brand can have this disconnect, imagine the difficulty of an obscure slogan from a not-so famous company trying to establish a brand on the Web.

6. Using a Heading to Label a Search Area.

Sites that label a “Search” area with an information field, followed by a “Go!” button waste space with extraneous labeling. Like most search engines, your site’s internal search should have as few elements as possible to communicate its function. Best practices here dictate that your button be labeled “Search” only.

7. Making a Home Page Link on the Home Page.

You should never have a link that points to the current page. If the user clicks it, he or she wastes time and begins to question whether they really are on the home page or not. Disable or highlight the link of the page the user is currently on to avoid confusion.

Usability is a core function of any website. After all, if users can’t easily get the service, product or information they need from your business, then why have a website at all?

Article cited from Buzz Bizz Studios

Over the last few years, it has become the buzzword for many marketing professionals. I personally think that the concept can be very effective, but as many powerful concepts, you have to handle it correctly. For the positive, it allows people to present themselves in a compelling way. For the negative, if everyone is trying to make a name for themselves, how can you be seen and be heard among all the noise?

To help outline the basics, we borrow tips from a personal branding guru, Guy Kawasaki. From his book “Art of the Start”, we highlight five secrets of personal branding success.

• Make Meaning, Not Money. If you’re into personal branding with the goal of making money, stop now. You will attract the wrong kind of people into your life. Instead, start with the goal of making meaning. Try to align your actions with your long-term goals. Kawasaki suggests two ideas for inspiration; right a wrong, or prevent the end of something good. How can you make the world a better place?

• Make a Mantra. In three words or less, what are you all about? Kawasaki believes that mission statements are useless. He says, make a mantra instead. FedEx stands for “peace of mind.” What do you stand for, in the simplest terms?

• Polarize People. Personal branding pundits often advise against being a “jack of all trades,” or a generalist that isn’t very good at something specific. Guy believes in being great for some people rather than trying to please everyone. Embrace the thought of people strongly siding against you as much as with you.

• Find a Few Soul Mates. We’re all on this journey together. It’s silly to think we are alone in our careers or in life. Find people who balance you. Then make time for them. You’re only one person, so surround yourself with people whose skills round you out.

• Don’t Let the Bozos Grind You Down. There are people who will dislike you. People will disagree with you. That’s a fact of life. So never let criticism bring you down. As you live out your mantra, it’s your responsibility to be strong in the face of “no,” and “you can’t do that.” Ignore people who say “you won’t succeed”. Use this negativity as motivation. Prove these people wrong.

It all boils down to one question. What is your essential quality? Identifying what you can do for people will help define your personal brand. The more benevolent, the better chances you have of making a strong personal brand.

Cited From Web Site Magazine

When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), one truth is everlasting: The landscape is continually changing. And often, when it changes, the resulting shift in rankings can be seismic. Google’s announcement of Caffeine is one example. The new partnership between Microsoft Bing and Yahoo! aims to provide a long-term competitor to Google and will impact search results across many major Web properties.

For an example of search’s ever-changing environment, look no further than a popular search on Google. Search for “Xbox 360” (click image below for larger view) and you will see more than just organic results from websites that mention those keywords. A broad range of content appears, including news, paid advertising, shopping feeds and social media results, including user updates from Twitter. This means that publishers and merchants need to concentrate on more than just increasing organic search placement for an Internet marketing plan to succeed.

Search Basics
Several factors have traditionally produced consistent SEO results. Content is still king, in many ways. Compelling content with proper keyword density and keywords highlighted in titles and meta tags remains very valuable to improving search engine rankings. Link building — inbound and outbound — adds strength to your site in the eyes of search engines, giving your site credibility and respect. Site structure is also important — if it’s easy for search engines to index your content, rankings are not only more easily achieved but longevity can result, too.

Social and SEO
As it stands today, no shift in search is more important or prevalent than social media. Every day, millions of people communicate with social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. Reaching these people can be a critical component of any successful online marketing campaign. However, every social media strategy needs to be more sophisticated than simply starting a Twitter page and posting your company’s latest specials.

Social media and SEO marketing programs can strengthen each other. A high-quality social media campaign that is interactive and engages audiences can improve search engine rankings on two fronts — both in organic listings and as a source of inbound links. At the same time, applying smart SEO practices to social media content — such as keyword-rich updates — will increase the reach and visibility of your social media campaign.

It is important to use your social profiles as a way to attract attention by making sure that the right keywords are highlighted within them. This way, when a user searches for your brand, business or industry, your profile will appear in results. A nice side effect is that the more results containing your brand, the less room for your competition. It’s also important to be active on your chosen social media sites. Along with making your own posts, build friends and followers by being involved in communities with similar interests. Social bookmarking tools like Digg and Delicious will help promote your own activities along with helping you share useful information with your followers.

Video and Feeds
Feeds have also become a valuable tool in the new SEO landscape. This includes RSS feeds with the latest company news, press releases, blog posts or social media updates. It can also include product feeds — another reason why it’s important that your products and shopping carts can be easily indexed by search engines.

A relatively new concept is video SEO. Since acquiring YouTube, Google presents many video results in regular searches, often on the first page. Applying SEO concepts to videos can not only increase their placement in various searches but also improve the overall ranking of an entire website.

Getting Personal, and Local
Search engines are constantly looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. One way has been attempting to deliver individual users with as much personalized content as possible. Localized search results have become increasingly expected by users in recent years, as they seek information relevant to their specific geographic area. Even as a small business, it might make sense to have offices (or even phone numbers) in different parts of the country or world to help improve search results in localized searches.

Beyond localized searches, search engines are continually looking for ways to drill down searches with results as individualized as possible. The new Google Personalized Search is just one example of this. Not only are search engines taking factors such as location into account when delivering results, they are also considering previous search history and other sites users have visited in the past. The reality is that, in many cases, no two searches will produce exactly the same results.

Because of concepts like personalized searches, it’s important to feature customized content. Microsites that are targeted to specific areas of interest, demographics or geographic regions are one way to do this. You might build a microsite for teens, or city and state pages for different parts of the country. These sites also give places to post fresh content on a weekly or even daily basis — something that search engines like to see.

The bottom line is that basic SEO concepts are still critical, just not by themselves. In order for SEO campaigns to be truly effective they need to be paired with smart marketing campaigns that involve every aspect of a company’s online brand. As with any marketing campaign, it’s very important to think about your target audience when designing an SEO campaign and how and where you can most effectively reach them.

Cited from: Web Site Magazine

The impact of social media on today’s Web is unmatched; dare I say, even by search. When it comes to “going social” with our websites and business there are as many benefits as there are drawbacks, however. Along with the multitude of brand advocates you will acquire, you are sure to encounter more than a few, very vocal detractors along the way — such is business on the Web. What’s more, the social Web moves fast — much faster than any one person can keep up with. Enter reputation management, a practice that has not gone unnoticed by businesses both large and small.

A business and personal reputation is measured by your consumers’ perception of the brand’s products and services. However, so much focus is spent looking inward that we often miss all the activity going on elsewhere — the origin of many, if not most opportunities and threats. As such, using reputation management solutions and services that accurately and affordably help manage brand equity and awareness is a wise investment.