If you’re like us, then you know how satisfying it is to see your company’s name control the first few pages of a Google or Bing search. You know that ranking highly in the first few pages will increase the number of visitors to your site, and in turn, hopefully increase the number of customers. However, are you sure that all the information found in such searches is positive? A recent blog post by V3 Integrated Marketing explored the idea that maybe not all news is good news. This post looked beyond standard search engine optimization (SEO) and explored the concept [...]
Category: Search Engine Optimization
You may have heard the term “inbound marketing” thrown around recently. As an internet marketing agency, we use inbound marketing tactics daily, for our clients and for our own internal marketing efforts. But what is “inbound marketing”, anyway? And how does it differ from traditional marketing techniques? Traditional marketing techniques involve things like advertisements, billboards, and cold calling which can be costly and often ineffective. Since your message is going out to all sorts of people who don’t necessarily want your product or are not ready to buy, traditional marketing can often feel like a shot in the dark. Inbound [...]
“For people without disabilities, technology makes things convenient. For people with disabilities, it makes things possible.” – Judith Heumann, U.S. Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. How would you use a computer or mobile device if you couldn’t….See? Hear? Use a Mouse or Keyboard? Touch the Screen? People with disabilities use a wide array of assistive technologies to help them navigate these obstacles, but websites & applications must be built properly for the technology to work. For most businesses, the most important thing to consider is your website’s accessibility. To make sure [...]
Working in the world of digital marketing I am often asked for the “secret recipe” for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While there is not a simple, secret ingredient needed for optimizing a website, sometimes it is what you are doing that can hurt your ranking more than help. 1. Only Feeding Engines While search engine optimization is important, your visitors matter most. Many websites go over the top with copy or links meant for search engines. Countless home pages have paragraphs of what could be referred to as “SEO copy” below the footer at the very bottom of the page. [...]
Like a storefront, websites don’t last forever and require consistent maintenance. As the Internet continues to change and grow, your website is vulnerable to virtual decay without proper upkeep. Take a look at the following list and see if it’s time for your website’s redesign. 1. Customers are welcomed to your site with an animated clip or splash page This once trendy feature is now a thing of the past, and a nuisance for current or returning visitors (not to mention users with smartphones and tablets). A welcoming page can take too long to load, causing visitors to leave [...]
Have you set up a Google+ account for your business yet? Now might be the right time. Google announced yesterday that all Google Place pages would be transitioned to Google+ Local pages. As a business owner, you will see that more information about your company is visible right from the search page. Your photos and reviews (if you have received any) have prominent placement below the map. The Google+ Local page itself also puts a high premium on images and reviews. The review system has changed from the 1-5 stars rating to a 0-30 rating from Zagat, whom Google merged [...]
Google has recently launched a new algorithm change, called the “Penguin update.” According to Google: “The change will decrease rankings for sites that we believe are violating Google’s existing quality guidelines…this algorithm represents another improvement in our efforts to reduce webspam and promote high quality content.” So, what does this mean for you and your company’s PageRank? Marketers and business owners consistently create content and count on SEO for top rank on Google Search, but content is now being crawled in a slightly different way. While keyword use and placement is still important, being found on Google Search will require a little more [...]
You may have read headlines recently declaring that “SEO is Dead.” That sounds scary, but it’s a little misleading. In reality, search engine optimization practices are just evolving (like all technology does), and it’s important to evolve your thinking so you don’t become extinct! While basic SEO is still relevant, there are a few additional factors to take into consideration when planning for search ranking success. Here are a few tips to help your growing business increase its visibility as the search landscape evolves: 1. Create Fresh & Different Content When searching on any given search term, you’re almost guaranteed [...]
At some point recently, you have probably heard of the new social media craze, Pinterest. It has been written up in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and Mashable as well as many other notable blogs and columns. But you might be wondering to yourself, how do I use it and can I use this for my business? Pinterest is a website where users can create virtual bulletin boards, filled with pins of their interests: recipes, quotes, fashions, anything their social media loving heart desires. In an arena where positive pin etiquette is encouraged, Pinterest is an upbeat social media [...]
Google search has gone social with its inclusion of the +1 button on Google Search results and in Google AdWords advertisements. The Google +1 button was launched for websites in a few months ago, and the intrigue surrounding its effect on search results and consumer behavior has been a hot topic. The +1 button on Google Search allows users to +1 items they find relevant, offering a recommendation to others. Your +1 recommendation will be displayed alongside the search result, in conjunction with being displayed to your circles on Google+. This feature serves not only as a relevant feature for Google [...]
You may have heard the term “inbound marketing” thrown around recently. As an internet marketing agency, we use inbound marketing tactics daily, for our clients and for our own internal marketing efforts. But what is “inbound marketing”, anyway? And how does it differ from traditional marketing techniques? Traditional marketing techniques involve things like advertisements, billboards, and cold calling which can be costly and often ineffective. Since your message is going out to all sorts of people who don’t necessarily want your product or are not ready to buy, traditional marketing can often feel like a shot in the dark. Inbound [...]
“For people without disabilities, technology makes things convenient. For people with disabilities, it makes things possible.” – Judith Heumann, U.S. Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. How would you use a computer or mobile device if you couldn’t….See? Hear? Use a Mouse or Keyboard? Touch the Screen? People with disabilities use a wide array of assistive technologies to help them navigate these obstacles, but websites & applications must be built properly for the technology to work. For most businesses, the most important thing to consider is your website’s accessibility. To make sure [...]
Working in the world of digital marketing I am often asked for the “secret recipe” for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While there is not a simple, secret ingredient needed for optimizing a website, sometimes it is what you are doing that can hurt your ranking more than help. 1. Only Feeding Engines While search engine optimization is important, your visitors matter most. Many websites go over the top with copy or links meant for search engines. Countless home pages have paragraphs of what could be referred to as “SEO copy” below the footer at the very bottom of the page. [...]
Like a storefront, websites don’t last forever and require consistent maintenance. As the Internet continues to change and grow, your website is vulnerable to virtual decay without proper upkeep. Take a look at the following list and see if it’s time for your website’s redesign. 1. Customers are welcomed to your site with an animated clip or splash page This once trendy feature is now a thing of the past, and a nuisance for current or returning visitors (not to mention users with smartphones and tablets). A welcoming page can take too long to load, causing visitors to leave [...]
Have you set up a Google+ account for your business yet? Now might be the right time. Google announced yesterday that all Google Place pages would be transitioned to Google+ Local pages. As a business owner, you will see that more information about your company is visible right from the search page. Your photos and reviews (if you have received any) have prominent placement below the map. The Google+ Local page itself also puts a high premium on images and reviews. The review system has changed from the 1-5 stars rating to a 0-30 rating from Zagat, whom Google merged [...]
Google has recently launched a new algorithm change, called the “Penguin update.” According to Google: “The change will decrease rankings for sites that we believe are violating Google’s existing quality guidelines…this algorithm represents another improvement in our efforts to reduce webspam and promote high quality content.” So, what does this mean for you and your company’s PageRank? Marketers and business owners consistently create content and count on SEO for top rank on Google Search, but content is now being crawled in a slightly different way. While keyword use and placement is still important, being found on Google Search will require a little more [...]
You may have read headlines recently declaring that “SEO is Dead.” That sounds scary, but it’s a little misleading. In reality, search engine optimization practices are just evolving (like all technology does), and it’s important to evolve your thinking so you don’t become extinct! While basic SEO is still relevant, there are a few additional factors to take into consideration when planning for search ranking success. Here are a few tips to help your growing business increase its visibility as the search landscape evolves: 1. Create Fresh & Different Content When searching on any given search term, you’re almost guaranteed [...]
At some point recently, you have probably heard of the new social media craze, Pinterest. It has been written up in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and Mashable as well as many other notable blogs and columns. But you might be wondering to yourself, how do I use it and can I use this for my business? Pinterest is a website where users can create virtual bulletin boards, filled with pins of their interests: recipes, quotes, fashions, anything their social media loving heart desires. In an arena where positive pin etiquette is encouraged, Pinterest is an upbeat social media [...]
Google search has gone social with its inclusion of the +1 button on Google Search results and in Google AdWords advertisements. The Google +1 button was launched for websites in a few months ago, and the intrigue surrounding its effect on search results and consumer behavior has been a hot topic. The +1 button on Google Search allows users to +1 items they find relevant, offering a recommendation to others. Your +1 recommendation will be displayed alongside the search result, in conjunction with being displayed to your circles on Google+. This feature serves not only as a relevant feature for Google [...]
