Web Strategy

The first thing clients say to me when requesting SEO is invariably centered around rankings. "I want to be position so and so, for such and such a keyword." And I am certain that this is a situation familiar to many of you providing SEO services. However, search isn't always about ranking. And rankings aren't an overnight success story - they take time to achieve. In the meantime there need to be other indicators of success. There are a range of metrics possible to use to act as such indicators, many of which are key to gauging small business SEM success. Ranking high for "xyz" may deliver huge volume of visitors, but not sales. On the other hand, capturing niche rankings for "uvwxyz" and "abcdefg" may deliver less traffic, but actually better sales, not to mention may be easier to achieve in a shorter lead time.

Search engine optimization has changed dramatically over the past few years. The shift is from one of web page optimization and link hounding to content and engagement optimization. In short, search engine optimization and social media are now undeniably intertwined. It has become extremely difficult to achieve any measure of success for important keyword phrases without the use of social media.

Think local. Depending upon who you listen to, somewhere between 20% and 40% of all searches have a local component-a place name, or some other inferred geographic qualifier. So, what's your catchment area, what are the towns, villages, locations, urban areas, landmarks, counties, states, and even countries that you're looking to serve? Add those to your list too

The study found that local search - the practice of using online search tools to find local businesses, products, or services - grew 58% in 2008, reaching an annual total of 15.7 billion searches. By comparison, overall core US web searches grew at a much smaller rate of 21% year-over-year, nearing 137 billion searches by the end of 2008.

There are certain skills that you must firmly grasp before you tell folks you're an internet marketer.

Baseball cards come alive

The following examples with Google Analytics will help you get more insight in your local traffic. Basic knowledge of Analytics is assumed. Google Analytics (GA) should already be set up for the website in order to continue the following examples.

Great post about the importance of content in a small biz SEO strategy

anking well in the search engines when prospects are out there searching for the kinds of solutions you provide has become an essential component of the marketing mix... When it comes to simple SEO for your small business remember this math formula - Content+Competition+Customer = Conversion

If you're thinking of exploring social media for your company, go for it! But before you do that, here are five important tips you need to know:

Keyword optimization is the simgle most important aspect of reaching the top of the search engine results. It's amazingly simple to do, but so many people miss the most important concepts.

Even though you're not producing written content, what you put down on paper before you record will make all the difference. Let's look at outlining your audio presentation first before discussing the copywriting techniques that work as well for audio as they do for text.

Today, I'd like to cover how to make that single post you're composing more likely to earn the attention it deserves. Let's dive into the list

Great tips on building content outposts so your content can spread organically

We always talk about how budgeting your time for web strategy development is as important if not more important than budgeting money. This is a great post on how you can manage your time most effectively.

Effective social media management is quickly becoming a key skill in the 21st Century and will help you to be more productive as the way we use the Internet to communicate develops. Here's some simple steps you can take to manage your social media time more effectively:

Great tips on budgeting time for your online reputation management

Monitoring your business' social media presence is incredibly important. You need to respond to people talking about your brand and understand how people view your company. However, a common concern is that it takes up too much time.

Great list of terms dealing with Google Local search results and local SEO

A collection of terms and definitions from a number of Google's patent filings on Local Search (not everything discussed in these patent applications have been incorporated into Google Local search - but the interesting thing about many of these patent filings is exploring whether or not they may have been).

An excellent post about localized search engine optimization and all the ways your small business can target local search. The items are prioritized so you know which to focus on first.

It is my hope that this study will help small business owners confused by Local Search, or those strapped for time, to prioritize their marketing efforts.

When considering the tools of social media and how they relate to your business communications needs, it's important to think about two parts of the equation: possibility + function. These tools open up new ways to communicate, which is great. It also means that you have to consider what the functional goal of that communication means to your need.

As you push traffic to your website and expand your brand name, you lose out if you don't use the power of online video. Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO) is a vital and necessary component of a competitive website, and it's not as difficult to implement as you may think.

"Bring wine to the picnic." In this case, Conn was talking about the idea that if you show up and try to market, people will be frustrated and will shut you out. Instead, if you bring something of value to people, they'll be more likely to accept you.

What we, as intelligent marketers, need in the end is an econometric model that allows us to use multiple variables to determine the outcome of our social media campaign.