Archive for July, 2012

SEO Writing and Readability.

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

Exploring the key to balancing Search Engine Optimization with readability.

Life is a balancing act. We hear about balanced budgets in the news, a balanced diet from our doctor and there’s a ton of other forces which require balance in our everyday lives.

Even the plots of familiar fairy tales are based on finding the right balance. Think Goldilocks and The Three Bears – Goldilocks had to try the bowl of porridge that was too hot and the one that was too cold before she found the one that was just right.

Article writing and marketing isn’t any different in that we see many situations that require a delicate balance. One of the most challenging balancing acts in article marketing is the one between search engine optimization (SEO) and readability. The ultimate goal is to satisfy the complex and constantly updated search engine algorithms while also producing creative, natural-sounding and readable articles.

Conscious (Or Unconscious) Desire to “Stuff” – When you’re writing articles solely for the sake of search engine optimization, there’s a desire to inflate the number of instances of your keywords so you can stand out in the eyes of search engines. The result is something we call keyword stuffing – a situation where there are so many instances of the same keyword throughout the article that it doesn’t sound natural. When a reader experiences this, they leave your article and look elsewhere for the information.

Too Few Keywords – If your article goes off-topic and doesn’t stay focused on your targeted keywords, the search engines may not recognize your article or index it. Articles like that may be easy-to-read, but they won’t get you any closer to optimizing your content for search engines.

Finding the Balance – “Don’t even try” sounds almost too simple, so think about the writing process like this:

  • Before you write, decide what keywords to build the article around.
  • Create a title that includes your chosen keywords.
  • Write the article in your own words. (Don’t even try to ramp up the keyword density of your keywords, just write.)
  • Check to see if the keyword density is around 1%. (1 instance of the keyword for about every 100 words)
  • If the density is significantly higher or lower, remove or add a couple to get closer to 1%.

 

 

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OFT Investigation of Groupon a Warning to Online Marketers and Webmasters

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

Having a website is all about putting your business in the best possible light, and making your products and services as attractive as possible to web users. However in your attempts to get more customers, it’s important that you don’t push too hard, and ensure that you stay within the parameters governing promotional activity and advertising on the Internet.

A stark reminder of this fact came this week when it was revealed that the popular online discount firm Groupon is to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), following a large number of advertising breaches recorded by the Advertising Standards Agency.

A press release on the ASA website states that it is referring complaints about Groupon to the OFT, relating to:

  • Failure to conduct promotions fairly, such as not making clear significant terms and conditions
  • Failure to provide evidence that offers are available
  • Exaggeration of savings claims

It goes on to say that is has, “serious concerns about [Groupon’s] ability to adhere to the advertising code,” and has, “formally investigated and upheld complaints against Groupon’s advertising on 11 occasions [and] also informally resolved 37 cases.”

According to the Guardian, the OFT has actually been investigating Groupon since July, but this has only now come to light following the ASA’s referral. Just last month a promotional email from Groupon offering discounted cosmetic surgery if they purchased by midnight was banned by the ASA, “because it encouraged recipients to hurry into a decision to purchase cosmetic surgery.”

The ASA and you

All this provides a timely reminder that since March of this year the ASA has widened its remit to cover virtually all online promotional content, including:

  • ‘Advertisers’ own marketing messages on their own websites
  • ‘Marketing communications in other non-paid-for space’ (such as social networking accounts)
  • ‘Marketing communications on all UK websites, regardless of sector’

What this means is that all the rules and regulations which have long applied to TV and print advertising etc, also apply to your own website. So when you’re conducting your latest promotional drive and creating content for SEO and content marketing purposes, keep a close eye on whether any assertions you make can be substantiated, and whether your marketing messages may be construed as misleading or socially irresponsible.

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Importance of Professional Web Design

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

Do you think your website has been professionally designed to meet the current market trends? How big or small your business might be, your website would be your online identity. Moreover, having a good online presence is important in today’s Internet era. It is good to know that websites that feature only the services and products may not have profitable results compared to their competitors. Therefore, it is advisable to choose the right professional web design services to help your website rank high in search engines. Read this article to know more about professional web design.

What is professional web design?

The word “professional” generally refers to a person who has experience, knowledge and reputation in their respective field of expertise. Therefore, for a professional web design, web designers should have complete knowledge and understanding of the web design concepts, website design tools, latest design technology, and Internet marketing techniques too. Businesses should go for professional web design, due to the various reasons such as user-friendly aspects, easy to navigate features and to provide appropriate information to their prospects. However, the businesses new to Internet marketing can hire a professional web design company to help them design a website keep in mind the quality as well as the goals and objectives of their customers.

Importance of Professional Web Design:

Firstly, with the increasing popularity of the Internet, the importance of a professional web design that has been successfully created as well as managed has good search engine rankings. Moreover, studies have confirmed that many people search on the Internet for information about services and products rather thus making online marketing more competitive and challenging. However, due to professional web design not being easy, many online marketers hire a professional web design firm to help them do so.

Secondly, with the advent of the Internet, shopping has become easier for people and in most cases, people trust those websites, which have good design, look professional, and rank high in the search engines. Having a professional web design firm would help your website would help you convert prospects in to buyers once they visit your website.

Thirdly, professional web design is important for online promotion and successful marketing. Who would not like to have flourishing website that drive the targeted traffic also resulting in profitable results? If you also dream the same, it is good to have a professional web design to enhance your business.

How to Hire a Professional Web Design Firm:

It is true that there are many professional web design firms to help businesses but make sure the professional web design firm you are planning to hire is informative and has expertise in web design services. It is advisable that businesses should analyze their reputation and experience of the web design companies before hiring. Make sure the professional web design firm understands the goals and objectives of its clients as well as delivers prompt and high quality services. Moreover, ask about the various projects handled by the professional web design firm you are planning to hire and make sure to check for their online rankings. Professional web design is not easy therefore; hiring an experienced and professional web design company would make things easier for you.

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Web Design SEO

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

There are so many websites out there that have not been optimised for search engines at all, the question is should web designers optimise websites for search engines as part of the overall solution?

Well it’s perhaps a little unfair to criticise web designers for not doing SEO as standard since it is an entirely different skill set, however my opinion is that to be in the web design market these days in order to add value to clients some basic knowledge of SEO is essential.

Of course having the skill sets is one thing, but doing SEO properly is a time consuming process so arguably it should be an optional service in addition to website, and really if a client want their website to produce results for them, then they should be seriously considering this.

However I do believe that every site should have basic SEO included, this means that HTML title tags can be made relevant to the website itself, and the website should be search engine friendly making it easy for either a customer to complete the SEO themselves or an SEO consultant to manage should the design firm not offer SEO services themselves.

Unfortunately this does not seem to be the case most of the time and customers are often left with what might be a great site from a design or technical point of view, but just does not produce results for them.

My advice would be to find a web design company like Onit Solutions that actually offer design, development and SEO in-house, this way you should be confident in the knowledge that your website should look great, be technically good and actually produces results for you.

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Hiring the Best SEO Expert

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

To the uninitiated, search engine optimization (SEO) is the method of creating website content that attains the highest possible rank with regard to a particular keyword or a certain set of keyword. Most visitors to a website arrive via searching of related content on popular search engines. Hence, hiring a SEO service provider is often considered the most practical system for ensuring the success of an internet-based business. The SEO industry, however, isn’t formally regulated; a business owner must choose his SEO provider carefully enough so as to ensure the best return possible on his investment.

Many people, these days, claim to be SEO professionals but don’t have any formal training. Ideally, you must hire someone who would be able to demonstrate a commitment to stay atop the industry as a Google Advertising Professional or a SEO Certified Professional.

Inquire about the SEO expert’s approach to linking. Usually, link building programs are vital to the success of a website in the long term. SEO endeavours can fall flat if the correct link building exercise isn’t undertaken. A good SEO expert would offer competitive link analysis, research and a customized strategy to promote the content of your website.

Search for an expert who understands and values teamwork. Search engine optimization exercise often requires the help of an analyst, copywriter, marketing professional, website designer, advertising expert etc. It’s highly unlikely that a single person would comprise all these skills. Besides the SEO expert, you may have to hire other professionals. Ensure that all of them are comfortable to work as a team.

Check references. Search engine optimization would seem mysterious to those who aren’t employed in a high tech filed. A legitimate SEO expert, on the other hand, would be more than eager to give you the names of projects he has worked on. He can also give instances of traffic-increase work undertaken by him for increasing page ranks on popular search engines.

Remember, when a SEO expert claims of guaranteeing a page-one rank of your website on popular search engines, this is a sure indication that his services are not legitimate. Almost all major engines can change their algorithms and formulae sans any notice. They, in fact, do it quite often. So, it’s never possible to guarantee a top-10 or similar ranks consistently. A top-ranked page can be dropped from the engine altogether.

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