How to Animal Proof Your Website

“Animal proof?” you ask. Yes, animal proof, in particular panda, penguin, and pigeon although we’re sure more. What are we referring to by naming pandas, penguins, and pigeons? None other than the almighty Google’s algorithm changes. While each change effects different aspects of the web and search, all of the changes are focused on done with the same intent. To improve the quality of results and reduce spam. Google’s focus since their inception is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Therefore they are constantly trying to figure out how to do that more effectively and efficiently. One of the reasons that they have to work so hard is because so many people are trying to “game” the system and thus the reason that many sites were hurt by the updates. Outside of technical errors, which Google has had, most of the search results changes have been in an effort to control or eliminate spam and provide better quality results. Here-in we can put together an animal proof plan for continuing to grow and market your website. Think of it like a coin – heads and tails, but they both part of the same coin.

1. Heads – Content is still King

Unique and useful content is still the king of the internet. People are looking for it and Google wants to serve it up. The problem sometimes arises that we have different meanings of useful and unique content or trouble figuring out how to create it. For instance, many stores sell the same item and yet Google can’t just provide a list of stores and say you choose. They want to try to organize the information to help you make the best choice with the best information. Therefore they can’t simply provide results that all say the same thing. They need information that is unique. Those stores which take the time to make their information more unique than others will often find it being crawled and indexed more relevantly than those whose content is left as the manufacturers description only. Here’s 4 rules of thumb to keep in mind for content.

• Unique. Don’t just use the same description everyone else uses – or the same information that you give to your sales reps or affiliates. Create content that is unique to your site. Don’t be afraid to include your personality or experiences within the content as those are parts of what make you unique.
• Staleness. Nothings worse than opening the bag of potato chips and going to take your first bite and finding out the kids had left them open and now their stale. Google feels the same way…. at least about content. They don’t want to serve content to a user that is outdated and doesn’t contain fresh information. They want to see you actively adding relevant content to keep things fresh and to prove that you are continuing to provide up-to-date information for their users.
• Focus. It never ceases to amaze me when non-writers go to put together some information. It’s usually just ambiguous information without a clear cut focus or it is all “corporate speak” and doesn’t pertain to the needs of users. Just because you know your industry jargon for instance, does not mean that your potential client does. We need to create content based on what the user is looking for. In addition, content needs to be created in a focused direction, which should cover topics, keywords, or lists that the user would be looking for. Now don’t go keywords stuffing your articles or creating spammy content, but do take the time to actually look at what people are searching for and then include that within your content.
• Great Content. Engage, entertain, and educate. Keep those three rules in mind when you create your content and you will fast be on the path to creating great content that both the user and the search engines will love. Don’t make the content all about you, but rather make it all about reaching “them”.

2. Tails – Authority (links)

Yes, Google wants great content to serve up but they also want it to be correct content. The way that they determine the authority of the content is still largely based on the links that you have. Think about it, if you have something that is really beneficial to people (like great content) they’re going to be more like to tell each other about it – hence the links. And of course if you can get a brand or noted authority to tell someone else about it, it is valued even higher. Hence why .gov and .edu links tend to carry more weight. They are from more highly trusted resources in Google’s eyes. Of course Google has worked hard to determine what links look good and what don’t but here’s 3 rules to keep in mind when thinking about links.

• Natural. You need both the link and your link portfolio to appear natural. Therefore you wouldn’t have all the links coming back to your site using keywords as anchor text, nor would you want them all using “click here”. A proper balance of your URL, business name and keywords should be used when possible. You can even include your geography, for instance, a phrase like Utah SEO, would bring in both the location you serve and the type of service you offer.
• Lead with Value. Give people something to link back to. Provide a valuable resource, tool, or report. Something that takes some time and effort and can provide great value to another person – but give it away for free!
• Bad Neighbors. Nobody enjoys bad neighbors and neither will your rankings. Take the time to look at the links that you have and make sure they’re from good neighborhoods. Don’t be fooled into thinking that every link is a good link. On the other hand don’t be fooled into thinking that every link has to be the perfect link. Just be sure to disavow any of the poor ones and don’t try to get anymore of those.

There you have it, 7 rules based around the two sides of the coin will keep your site animal proof and your site in great shape to continue to grow and provide more and more value to people. Take the time to implement each one into everyday procedures on your site and you will soon be gaining the rankings you have been looking for as well as making the world a better place!

Top 4 SEO Strategies.

SEO or search engine optimization is a new and exciting way to get your blog or website more incoming traffic in the form of views.  Are we utilizing the this free marketing tool to its fullest potential?  Here are the top five strategies to get your site going.

Number One: Get Quality Links

The first step is to get good quality links.  Part of running a good blog or website is to have good links that people are going to want to share and that they can relate too.  These should be  links that have some good substance be relevant to what your posting about.  Part of this could be posting on a bigger site as a guest.

Number Two:  Get Google Authorship

Google is the biggest search engine out there.  There is a good chance that this is where most of the optimization is going to happen.  Google plus is a great tool.  Have all the authors that write on your blog start a Google plus profile so people can see all the writers.  That way others will see what that they are real people and not a computer.

Number Three:  Set a Canonical URL

This means the single best URL.  If there is more then one you need to note which one is preferred.  So you can get the hype for the right website.   This also helps to get the full value out of the website.  A good URL can also be used as a hook to get more viewers or traffic to your page.

Number Four: Responsive Design

We live in a world where data is at the tips of our fingers with tablets, smart phones.  Not to mention all the data and Wi-Fi that is available searches can be done anywhere and at any time.  With this knowledge your website needs to be compatible with all forms of technology.

If this seems over your head then you can hire a SEO company who will do it Al for you and who have the expertise to get the job done the correct way.

Social Media Marketing VS Email Marketing: Which is better?

There are many disputes about whether email marketing is something of the past now being replaced by social media marketing. While social media marketing is critical to your business success in this day, studies have show that you shouldn’t give up on email marketing either. The number of people subscribed to your email newsletter list may not be as large as the people that your social media reaches however your newsletter subscribers are more invested in your business and will be more like to visit your site. Your email marketing also has a larger conversion rate than social media marketing. If you website is focused on sales than this is an important factor. Email marketing has a 30% greater conversion than social media.

When your readers opt-in to your email list there is a certain level of interest to your content, meaning they want to know about your products and services, specifically. This interest creates a better relationship with you and your readers. They are a little more invested in your business right from the start. Your email list becomes your target on demand source, they are much closer than social media audience.

Social media marketing is geared towards sharing your status and updates with followers. As your connecting with your readers social media marketing what you are writing is typically much shorter, short and sweet. It is generally less direct and a more entertaining approach. People who find you on social media are more like to stay on social media platforms.

In short, email marketing and social media marketing both have their place in your marketing strategy. Too many are willing to throw away email marketing because of their social media however both are very effective in what the do. If you are able to leverage the strength of email marketing as well as the popular social media marketing your campaigns will be that much more effective. If you are interested in tips and tricks on increasing your marketing strategy contact your SEO company to help formulate the best way to incorporate both email marketing along with your social media marketing.

Facebook Marketing tools that will increase your strategy

Facebook is one of the most well known  and used social media websites online. How do you take advantage of Facebook in your marketing plan to help grow your business? Well it isn’t as hard as you might think, just a few simple steps will lead your marketing strategy into the right direction. If you focus on just a few of these in a month you will start noticing a change.

1. Fans – Facebook is all about how you connect with your fan. On you posts ask them questions, share your content or write content of their own on your Facebook page, or feature a fan of the month. Get your fans involved.

2. Events – Remember how Facebook is all about your fans, events are a fun and often innovative way to connect with your fans. Throw an online party or scavenger hunt, be informative by hosting a webinar or press conference just be creative.

3. Contest – Issue a fan challenge and award fans who are being interactive, offer a fan contest for sharing, host a video contest, or sponsor a contest for other companies or blogs.

4. Collaboration – Guest post on another page, review a colleagues’ product, host a blog tour and then integrate it, giving back to your fans and others in your niche will always pay off in the long run. Local companies are always great to work with like this company.

5. Ads – Using ads can be helpful if you target the right people, same interest, likes, locations, gender, etc. Including a call to action or video in your ad will set you apart from others and be more eye catching. Don’t just advertise your website, think about events your hosting, activities your participating in, or a new product line. You want your ad to set you apart. The use of QR codes are a great way to help your fans get to where you want them to go specifically. Send them straight to your products or event page so they don’t get lost in transition from one site to the other. QR codes are also great for store locations, virtual tours, or other product options.

Best Keyword Research Tools for 2015

Keyword research is the basis for content optimization. Without well-organized keywords, it is difficult for search engines to understand what your site is about. SEOs use keywords in specific places that they know search robots are crawling. If you have the right keywords in the right places, your SEO efforts will have a higher chance of succeeding. Of course, for a successful SEO campaign, it is essential to address other important marketing factors. For this, it is best to hire an SEO Salt Lake City company that has the right tools and resources already in place in their infrastructure.

What Are Keywords?

Simply put, keywords are the things internet users are searching for. Keywords are the little search queries people put in the Google search bar. By inserting keywords into certain elements on your website, you make it easier for search engines to find your page. The more your page clearly matches the keywords a user has put in the search query, then your website will appear higher in search rankings. *Many websites use the same keywords. This is where other SEO factors come into play. But more on that some other time.

How To Find My Keywords

To start with, your keywords should match the topic of your website. For example, a great starting keyword idea for an ice cream shop site would be “ice cream shop”. This is a very broad keyword, so you would want to do more research and narrow down the niche for this keyword. There are bajillions of ice cream shops in the world, and you want to be listed in the first 10. This is where keyword research tools come in.

There are tons of keyword research tools available, most of them cost a monthly subscription. If you are not a full time SEO, it doesn’t make sense to pay for a subscription. Many tools offer trial periods or a limited version for free. My favorite keyword research tools are: MySEOTool, SEMrush, and Google Adwords Keyword Planner.

Each of these includes information on how competitive ranking for a particular keyword is going to be. It helps also, to have backlink information, which only SEMrush provides. SEMrush used to be just a keyword research tool (Wordtracker) and now it has expanded its suite of services. For the small business man, Adwords should be sufficient. It is free to search for keyword ideas suggested by Google and you can then implement the keywords into your meta data and other important SEO spots.

3 SEO tips to increase your Google ranking

So you want to increase your Google ranking but you are not sure where to start? Well here are a few tips that will help you determine how to increase your ranking by tweaking your site just a little bit. The first thing that you can do to increase your Google ranking is to check the speed of your site. Every page should load within 1-2 seconds (if not faster). Back in 2010 Google announced that they would take speed into consideration to increase customer satisfaction and profits across the board.

Second, your website needs to be up-to-date ALWAYS. Having fresh content makes it so that your readers will stay on your page longer and are more likely to share it on social media sites. This is what makes blogging so popular because bloggers are constantly adding new content. When your website is stagnant not only will readers get board because they have seen it before but Google recognizes that people aren’t staying on your site and will drop your ratings.

Third, and probably one of the most important in our day is to make sure your site is responsive, compatible with mobile devices. Wither it be for a mobile device, tablet, laptop, or desktop you want to have your readers have a good experience. Responsive websites are the way to go. If you don’t have a responsive site it will be worth the effort to switch it over. With the number of mobile devices accessing the internet growing everyday verse laptops or desktops, Google ranking will look at your reader’s mobile experience; bounce rate, etc. to determine your ranking.

Remember that your Google ranking isn’t going to change overnight. Following these tips and many others you can find here, your ranking will increase, it may take months to change your ranking but with a little bit of patience and constant updating you will begin to see improvements.