Monthly Archive for August, 2011

Lisa Barone

• 10 Things EVERYONE Should Know about SEO In 2011
• Manage Your Online Reputation When Disaster Strikes
• Weekend Coffee Links: Hurricane Edition

You don’t have to spend too much time in the SEO world to know that there’s a heck of a lot of contradictory information about there. As an SEO consultant, what is common knowledge to you reads like black magic rocket science to someone else. And sometimes that can be okay – it’s job security. But when it’s NOT okay is when the person infected with Bad SEO Information-itis is your boss. Or a client. Or that designer you’ve been tasked with working with. Or anyone else you need to have a basic understanding of SEO so that YOU can do your job without their meddling more effectively.

What do you wish your boss/client/person in the next department knew about SEO? If you could drill one thing into their brain to help their SEO education and make your life easier, would what it be?

Below are ten things about SEO I wish everyone knew.

1. SEO comes now, not later.

If you come to Outspoken Media freshly after new redesign and ask us to fix your designer’s errors, we may just charge you more than we would had you come to us first. Why? Well, as punishment for making everyone’s life more difficult.

The time to think about and plan for SEO is before you’ve launched or redesigned your Web site. It’s before all those content pages were purchases and before you’ve done much of anything. SEO comes now, it doesn’t come later. On Twitter, Ryan Jones commented he wanted businesses owners to stop thinking of SEO as a condiment they could throw on at the end. And I’d agree 100 percent. The sooner you bring SEO into the conversation, the better off you’ll be. Otherwise, you waste a lot of time cleaning up mistakes.

2. SEO is an investment into the long-term health of your Web site

There are quite a few marketing tactics that you can employ today and see results as early as tomorrow. For the most part, though, search engine optimization is not one of them. SEO is an investment into the health of your site that will get stronger with time; it’s NOT an overnight solution. And that’s why working with a reputable and trustworthy SEO vendor is so helpful – because you need them to help you set realistic expectations and to instill the faith that you will see results once the engines catch up to what you’ve got going on. A good SEO will be able to deliver on what they’ve promised you, but their job is made harder when they’re splitting their time between doing the work and having mini-therapy sessions in the CEO’s office. ;)

3. SEO does not equal shiny Meta tags

Though some really enjoy whispering myths that all SEOs do is rework Meta tags and explain the concepts of linking, it really is just a tad more complicated and involved in that. When we take on an SEO project, we have a long list of areas that we’re looking at when we complete that initial SEO site audit. Sort of like how a brain surgeon doesn’t just grab a scalpel and go to town on your inner lobes. There’s a science involved; a process. There are a lot of working parts that must be balanced to get the desired outcome. Otherwise the person dies.

In SEO, it’s your site that dies. And, by association, your business.

SEO may not be as complicated as digging into someone’s brain, but if you don’t know the inner workings and what’s involved, it may as well be.

4. Just because you read it on a blog or in a forum doesn’t make it true

Read. Verify. Test.

Always.

You should never believe anything you read on the Internet unless you are able to do these things. Yes, even if you read it on your most favorite, trusted blog or Web forum. Everyone has off days. Others are just bored or looking for page views.

5. SEO is not your IT department

Being serious about search engine optimization means making it part of your entire business process. That conversation may start with your IT department and your developers, but it has to progress beyond that in order to be successful. SEO isn’t just the concern of your IT department, but that of your content department, your marketing division, your link builders, your public relations people, your sales team, etc. Instead of locking SEO up in your IT room and creating an unhealthy battle between SEOs, Developers, and those that have to deal with both – let’s break down the wall and do this together. SEO isn’t anyone’s job, it’s everyone’s job and it needs to be treated that way inside your organization.

6. Your keywords actually matter

You can’t pick keywords out of the air and decide that those are the ones you’d like to rank for. Because as @Netmeg mentioned on Twitter yesterday, some keywords aren’t worth going after. Either because you don’t have the resources to go after them or because they’re not the keywords that are going to convert for you and deliver ROI. As an SEO client, you don’t need to know the total ins and outs of keyword research, that’s why you’ve hired an SEO consulting firm, but do know the basics. You should understand that, as Casey Yandle so eloquently noted on Twitter, rankings mean nothing unless they convert. Anything else is a vapid distraction you can’t afford.

7. [Click Here] is never suitable anchor text

Speaking of keywords!

You’ve identified them, yes? Someone on your team spent time doing research, running numbers, and pinpointed which terms will best convert for you? Awesome. So now use them. Adele Kirwer believes that [click here] is never suitable anchor text, for anything EVER, and I have to agree with her. Don’t make your SEO kick you.

8. Your rankings don’t tell the whole story

Where you fall in the eyes of the search engines is obviously important. In many scenarios, it’s what you’re paying your SEO services provider for. However, do be aware that there are many OTHER metrics you’ll want to look at.

Like what?

• Increased conversions
• Time on site
• Better visibility
• Brand sentiment and authority
• Share of voice

With everyone getting personalized results, there’s a lot more to think about when it comes to SEO and there’s a lot more to watch. Your SEO vendor should be able to present your data to you in a way that helps you see the full view, not just the trail you took to get there.

9. It’s not all about you

SEOing your Web site means making it easier for your audience to complete THEIR objective and to meet THEIR goal. It’s about giving them something to connect with and maybe even inspire them. It’s not about you. None of this is about you.

10. In 2011, it’s not whether you’ll invest in SEO, it’s how

If you have a Web site that is responsible for driving leads to your Web site and converting users, than SEO is something that your business needs to make an investment in. So you can stop having that pointless mind battle with yourself and use that energy to decide HOW you will integrate SEO into the core of your business.

Ask yourself:

• How can you better marry SEO into your sales process?
• How can it be used to improve the content you’re putting out for users?
• What does your SEO activities mean for customer service?

It’s the tiny things that lead to big results. When you’re worried about how SEO will fit into your organization, start small. Then build out.

Those are ten things I wish everyone could learn about SEO. They’re not even hard things, they’re basic things that would help move this conversation forward. What one thing do you wish you could hammer into your boss or your client’s mind? Or maybe what do you wish you knew sooner?

Read more posts on Outspoken Media »

Article source: http://www.businessinsider.com/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-seo-in-2011-2011-8

Sitefurnace, a Portsmouth based SEO company has launched its website this month and has already attracted several local clients with it’s range of services, all focused around local search and Google places optimisation

Online PR News – 31-August-2011 –Sitefurnace, a Portsmouth based SEO company has launched its website this month and has already attracted several local clients with it’s range of services, all focused around local search and Google places optimisation

As a small business, the internet has become an essential part of any marketing campaign designed to create brand awareness or generate new customers. There are many aspects to creating an online presence and this is where Sitefurnace aims to position itself.

Every business is different and has individual needs and goals and so having a resource that can help guide them through this process is a very valuable thing.

The owner of the company Paul Martin said “I used to run a small carpentry business before I committed fully to Sitefurnace and soon realised the power of the internet for gaining new customers.

My services are especially designed to help local firms, and the opportunities created by Google’s recent shift towards local search are very exciting to say the least. I still find it quite unbelievable how many businesses are missing out on lots of extra customers by not doing some very simple affordable things.

I believe I can help 90% of businesses with their web presence and improve their bottom line. Everything that I do for your business has one objective in mind and that is to provide a positive return on your investment. When I do that I have a client for life”

Google places is one of the most dramatic changes in the way the internet search giant has presented its search results in recent years. It’s like Google has suddenly decided that local business is where it wants to concentrate on and has completely redesigned the search results pages.

Many businesses are still unaware of this change an the opportunities it presents. Even just simple things like claiming your listing can have a huge impact on your exposure to the local population.

Paul has written a guide to help small business take the first step and claim their places listing the right way. It can be downloaded for free here: Google places guide

Paul says “The guide I have written is for those business owners that want to have a go themselves and optimise their listing. Sure it takes time but I’ve outlined every step for you to make it as easy as possible. However time is a commodity most small business owners do not have and so that’s where my Google places service comes in.

Aside from optimising your listing you need to build what are called citations, essentially entries into directories around the web and this is a very time consuming mundane job that most people prefer to pay someone else to do. Most SEO firms doing this sort of work use generic directories for this but I use specialist tools to find out what citations are relevant to your business sector and location giving you a much more powerful service”

If you want to order this bespoke Google places optimisation service then click the link.

Sitefurnace is company specialising in SEO Portsmouth and you can visit their site here http://sitefurnace.co.uk

Article source: http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/164907-1314645284-portsmouth-seo-company-announces-new-google-places-seo-solution.html

If you ask any local SEO what the nature of our industry is like, you’ll get a range of answers from ‘exciting‘ ‘high-growth’ to ‘ever changing’, ‘full of opportunity’ and ‘challenging’.

The local online advertising market has seen strong growth over the last few years and this positive trend is expected to continue. Research group BIA/Kelsey forecasts that local online ad revenues will double between 2010 and 2015 to US$45 billion (US market only).

While SEO is distinctly different from online advertising, the objective for clients is the same. National and local businesses need to reach local consumers and the Internet has taken over from traditional local media as the primary channel for reaching their critical local markets.

So on paper, the future for the local SEO market appears positive. But what is life ‘on the ground’ like for local SEO providers up and down the country and across the world? The 2011 Local SEO Industry Survey sets out to answer this question.

2011 Local SEO Industry Survey Findings

The survey (conducted by BrightLocal.com) polled over 1,150 local SEOs* on a range of topics covering annual turnover, services and  prices, growth predictions and which SEO tasks they enjoy or dislike the most. The survey is ongoing, but the initial responses have been processed and the following charts and analysis are the output.

These charts represent the key findings of the survey. Full survey findings can be viewed on the BrightLocal research portal. Read on for some key insights for local SEOs based on the data collected thus far.

1.  Client turnover: 31% of SEOs turned over less than $30,000 in the last 12 months

Client turnover volumes vary significantly between the different types of SEOs.

• 31% of SEOs turned-over less than $30,000 last year with this figure rising to 51% among Freelance SEOs.

Unsurprisingly, it was National Agencies which claimed the highest turnover with 33% earning in excess of $500,000. However, just 4% of Local Agencies were in this earnings bracket.

2.  Clients: Local SEOs handled more clients this year than last year

The survey found that business is booming for SEOs with the quantity of clients being handled per SEO increasing across the board year on year.

• 50% of SEOs claim to have between 2-10 clients – up 14% year on year
• The number of SEOs with over 20 clients has grown 10% in the last 12 months

3.  Growing Competition: 31% of respondents are new to SEO in the last 12 months

One of the most interesting and controversial findings from the research is the number of SEOs who are new to the SEO industry.

• 31% of respondents were not practicing SEOs (with active clients) 12 months ago:

Key Insight: While it’s exciting that the local SEO industry is growing rapidly and attracting new talent, the influx of new SEO providers is a cause for some concern.

The SEO industry already suffers from a negative reputation caused by poor service being dished out by too many inexperienced and underqualified SEO providers.

The entry barriers to joining the local SEO industry are virtually nil – a cheap website, an online Google Places training seminar and a friend’s business to practice on. At least that is the pitch that many wannabe SEOs are sold on. This quick-fix career opportunity often results in below-par performance for clients which tarnishes the reputation of the local SEO industry as a whole.

4.  New Business: 46% of local SEOs claim that they do not actively seek new clients

It appears that new business is not hard to come by for local SEOs.

• 46% of local SEOs claim that they do not actively seek new clients.

For those SEOs who do actively engage in lead generation (inbound or outbound) the results are very promising.

• More than 50% of all SEOs claim to have a 70-100% success rate in converting leads to customers.

5.  Future Growth: 82% of local SEOs expect to grow their business in next 12 months

Confidence is not short among local SEOs with the majority believing that the next 12 months will result in greater revenue and them taking on more employees.

• 82% believe that they will definitely grow their business in 2011/2012
• 78% expect to increase the size of their team

Key Insight: A major contributing factor to this growth is the appreciation among local business owners of the value of good online visibility. Local businesses can no longer ignore the Internet and many are investing in the opportunity because they hear about or see their competitors doing it. It’s no longer first-mover opportunism that drives the market but the fear of being left behind.

This is evident in the following chart which shows that 64% of local SEOs claim that it is easier/much easier to convince potential clients of the benefits of SEO.

6.  Pricing: most SEOs charge between $100-$250 for Google Places optimization

When it comes to pricing their services, the survey found that the mean price* (i.e. the price which most SEOs charge) for a full Local SEO campaign is $500-$1,000, while the mean price for just Google Places optimization is between $100-$250.

Key Insight: Given the potential sales value that a well optimized Google Places profile can generate, this price point is very low. The squeeze on prices is (most-likely) a result of:

• a competitive marketplace with many local SEO providers competing for business
• the limited budgets that a typical local business has to spend on marketing

This pricing level is a concern for the long term prospects of many local SEO providers as it restricts earning and investment potential. With turnover levels as low as they are can SEOs afford to invest in themselves (i.e. training) and new technologies?

SEOs need to find new services which increase the value of their offering and develop more efficient working practices which allow them to make more profit per client. Without these advances, the life for a typical local SEO will remain a struggle.

Other Findings

The survey also explores attitudes towards Social Media and its effectiveness for local businesses. It also asks SEOs to list the typical daily SEO activities they tackle and which they like/dislike the most.

• Link Building Directory submissions were considered the most tedious and boring tasks that SEOs undertake
• The majority of SEOs wish they had more time for new business development and personal self-marketing (e.g. blog writing, conference attendance, twitter)

Full survey results are published on the BrightLocal SEO research portal – (www.tbc.com)

Benchmark Your Business As Part Of This Ongoing Survey

*Local SEOs can still take part in the survey which runs until December 2011. SEOs can benchmark themselves directly against similar SEOs; the survey is split into 5 strands based on ‘type of SEO‘:

1. Freelance SEO
2. Local Agency
3. National Agency
4. In-House
5. Web-designer/Other

All survey responses are charted and displayed at the end of the survey so you can quickly compare your situation to others like you. Click here to take part in the survey .

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: Featured | Locals Only

Article source: http://searchengineland.com/6-key-findings-from-the-2011-local-seo-industry-survey-90161

It is important to state at the outset that “Critical Thinking” by “Doc” Sheldon Campbell is intentionally not a “how to” book. You won’t find any instruction or direction from the author as to the rudiments and mechanics of search engine optimization (SEO).

Rather, the author seeks to introduce critical thought as an overarching approach to the scientific method required for successful SEO practice. Campbell starts by examining the all-too-common issue of information overload (in SEO), reflecting on personal experience when first learning SEO and the problem of where to seek knowledge and how to filter the vast range of information in any meaningful way.

“I realize now that what I did was far from efficient…Something like checking restrooms at all the gas stations in town, in hopes of finding a few pearls of wisdom scrawled on the stall doors.”

I asked Campbell in advance of reviewing the book, if the interest in critical thought (per se) pre-dated his SEO experience.

“I was an engineer in a former life, and a business management consultant for the last 15 years prior to “retiring”, so critical thought has always been a big piece of my makeup. In fact, I can trace it to a conversation with my father when I was about 10 or 11 years old. It’s been the way I address all questions, and it’s served me well.”

Format

“Critical Thinking” is a qualitative piece of research, compiling a range of responses to a series of open questions, set to a group of contributors. Using a range of themes, (from mentoring, to tools, to future developments) Campbell introduces each chapter with personal reflections and some background to the chapter’ question posited to a range of 31 active industry participants, each with a variety of backgrounds and a wealth of experience. Questions include

• “What do you believe is the single greatest challenge facing SEOs today?”
• “What is the one aspect of internet marketing that you feel yields the greatest results?”
• “If you could follow one single source of information pertaining to your internet work, which would it be, and why?”

Contributors come from all over the globe and reflect different specialism within SEO and closely related disciplines and are Alan Bleiweiss, Andrea Scarpetta, Andrew Bleakley, Anthony Verre, Barry Adams, Dana Lookadoo, Danny Sullivan, Dean Cruddace, Debra Mastaler, Eren McKay, Gabriella Sannino, Garrett French, Heather Lloyd-Martin, Hugo Gill, Ian Lurie, Jahnelle Pittman, Jey Pandian, Joe Hall, Joshua Titsworth, Justin Parks, Lyena Solomon, MJ Taylor, Michelle Robbins, Rand Fishkin, Rebekah May, S. Emerson, Steve Gerencser, Taylor Pratt, Thomas Fjordside, Tim Nash, and William Slawski.

Recurrent Themes

A number of recurrent themes appear throughout the responses in “Critical Thinking” that should serve to direct further test and research for the reader; particularly a feeling that link volume and anchor text is either already being downplayed or will be usurped in the recent future; that social mechanism and social data layers are pretty much already integral to understanding optimization; that over-reliance on too many data points may often obscure solution and that producing the best solution-oriented content you can for your audience should be (if not already) a primary focus.

Best Bits

At 180 pages, and with some repetition and overlap, it’s quite difficult to pick out stand-out points, as each contributor brings additional perspective and occasional originality; plus a reading of “Critical Thinking” is by nature quite personal (given it isn’t instructional) though I’ve attempted to précis a couple of aspects.

In particular I found question 2 “If you could mandate just one change to the dynamics of search ranking, what would that change be?” to be most entertaining, with responses ranging from “Removing the maps from the desktop searches” (Andrea Scarpetta), to “Remove all links that aren’t in the flow of page content from the ranking equation” (Ian Lurie), to “As a searcher, I’d like the ability to choose the algorithm that I use to search with. Let me decide whether I want the help of a reference librarian to power my results…” (William Slawski).

I also asked the author if it were possible to choose any one standout point that resonated with him. Campbell states:

“There were several that struck me as insightful, and of course, those that agreed with my own sentiments resonated most. I think that was most striking in comments by several people, indicating their belief that the impact of links in ranking pages would continue to diminish. That was a bit gratifying, since I published that notion over a year ago (and took a bit of ribbing for it, at the time).

The response that resonated with me the most in that regard, however, was Michelle Robbins’, in Chapter 7, Foreseeing the Future, where she said:

“In the next year or two, I think brands, the social graph and off page factors will continue to grow in importance where web page – or more accurately, whole web site – rankings are concerned. With personalized search, mobile and other location aware searching, as well as social sharing, reviews, etc. – the ability for a search engine to develop a better, holistic picture about the content of a site overall (vs. just a given single page) will continue to improve. As for optimization, I see larger teams comprised of individuals specializing in specific channels (social, ppc, apps, mobile, offline) working together on more integrated campaigns – a more traditional agency style approach, with brand development as the primary goal.”

That, to me, is an inevitability, which has been voiced by very few SEOs.

In terms of the best bits about the format, Chapter 16: “Takeaways” is an extremely helpful summation of the most salient points in each of the preceding chapters. Again, the author isn’t dictating thought but suggesting the most critical points on which a reader may wish to focus, while recognizing that this will of course be quite personal, based on the reader’s own knowledge and experience. I must say that due to the vast amount of content and occasional repetition this chapter is most welcome.

Room for Improvement?

Yes.

There was a lot of repetition in response, which is quite natural given that we have 31 industry-leaders; however it would’ve been nice to see the number of responses (per question) limited to the top 10 to 20 most original and disparate, with respondents rotated so each contributor gets “air-time.”

In addition, the author could have taken more of a heavy hand in evaluating what we can actually learn about the scientific method (thereby critical thinking) from the responses given at the end of each chapter. As an example in question 5 (If you could only follow one single source of information pertaining to your internet work, which would it be, and why?), only one respondent (Slawski) cites a primary data source (USPTO) as a single source to follow; which could have led to a critical evaluation of types of data sources, their usage and limitations – thus teaching the reader more about “how to think”, not “what to think”, which is the authors stated ambition.

What Did I Learn?

1. I need to add “The Blind Five Year Old” – to my reading list; as recommended from Jahnelle Pitman (thanks) and completely new to me.
2. I must set aside some time to really get to grips with Schema.org (thanks Alan Bleiweiss and Taylor Pratt)…
3. …Starting with a reading of the Google paper “Webtables: Exploring the Power of Tables on the Web” (thanks William Slawski).

Overall

Definitely worth a read for those experienced in SEO practise but seeking a little inspiration, reassurance or re-invigoration.

Save up to 30 percent! Register now for SES Chicago 2011, the Leading Search Social Marketing Event, taking place November 14-18. Hurry, pre-agenda rate expires September 1!

Article source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2105403/Critical-Thinking-for-the-Discerning-SEO-eBook-Review

Market Press Release – August 31, 2011 1:06 pm – Day by day, competitors of your site have been increasing. So, if you want to give tough competition, you have to adopt some of the best strategies. None other strategy is as best as SEO. It is one of the necessary parts of any online business for promoting. Various types of SEO services are available in the market such as article submission, directory submission, link building service, blog commenting, content writing, press release, etc. many companies are there that offers affordable seo services as they are very demanded. Many online businessmen are thinking whether they will get the best and competitive service at affordable rate. The answer of this question is yes, now, everyone can get cheap as well as best service that will be helpful in rising rank on the major search engines.

If you are establishing a new business or have an exiting one, you have to require some or other service that promotes your business on high level. If you have a new business, you require more promotion as you have to catch clients. This can be done through various SEO services. So, it is advisable for you to adopt different types of SEO services in order to see your website on the top of major search engines such as Google, MSN, Yahoo, Bing, etc. if you are taking help of many SEO service, it will not only offers you huge traffic but also you will get more quality backlinks to your website. It is advisable to catch all SEO service at one time so that you will get advantages from all sides. Thus, one can generate more income as well. One can find many SEO companies such as blurbpoint, where you can buy number of affordable seo services.

Their professionals are offering 100% customer satisfaction service after evaluating their website. Client’s websites are to be evaluated as they can know what the requirement of this site is. After evaluation, proper solution is also to be provided. They are using various methods by which they can gather huge traffic for your website. Your websites are to be submitted into various web directories so to get quality backlinks. Social bookmarking websites are also to be used for getting high traffic to your website. Apart from that, forums relevant to the website are also to be dome with an intention to get huge traffic. So, if you also want to get advantages for your website then simply go through blurbpoint and enjoy high ranking through Affordable SEO Services.

For more information, visit: http://www.blurbpoint.com/advanced-seo-services.php

Article source: http://www.marketpressrelease.com/Blurbpoint-Offers-Affordable-SEO-Services-for-All-Business-1314792385.html