01
Jun
by Jen
Search Engine Optimization, that is. If you own or update a blog or website, then you need to know the basics of optimizing a page for search engines to find.
Most people think that the index (or home) page of your website is the most important. Well, I won’t argue with that completely – but when it comes to using your website as a marketing piece, it needs to be more than a business card. By optimizing each article or page on your website individually, you will help Google list your website in organic search results when people are looking for YOU.
Here are a few tips to help Google find your website:
1. Your website or blog is built with clean code. Pretend YOU are a search engine spider. What do you look for on a website? Do you want the content to be easy to find and easy to read? So do search spiders! Search engines want your website code to be clean enough that they can find the content within the jargon.
2. Do your search engine research. Without giving away all the goods, I would say start with Google Suggest and Google Insight, and see what some popular trends and topics are. Then go into your search engine key word tool and find the exact phrases that will key Google to display your website.
3. Use your keywords in the correct formula to get Google to notice you. Its easy. Use the key phrase in the title of your page, in the first paragraph, and the last paragraph. There are lots of other rules that will help you out, but that will get you started.
11
Dec
by Jen
Never lose an appointment again! Google Calendar lets you schedule events via text message, get reminders via text message, and you can access it from any computer!
Got a text message this morning from a client I was meeting with: “My computer died and so did my calendar. What time is our meeting tomorrow?” How many times do our computers crash or our PDA/cell phones stop working?
Lucky for Mac users Google Calendar syncs with Apple’s iCal now, and for everyone else it syncs with Outlook, XP and Vista!
Check it out: calendar.google.com
Sep
by Jen
With all of the new technological advances out there… we barely have to think for ourselves anymore! Just wanted to let you know about a new Gmail feature that recognizes when we forget attachments, and can remind us to do so! The new Gmail Attachment Decoder will save us from embarrassment.
What other advances do you think teams like Google may reveal in the future?
09
Sep
by Jen
What is SEO? Wikipedia defines it as improving quality traffic to your website via search engines with targeted key words.
Basically, the higher up your search results appear, the more targeted customers will come to your website.
Why is it critical? Galleon-SEO in the UK said it perfectly:
- 87% of all visitors come from the top listings
- The majority of people online use search engines
- 3.5 billion websites compete for the top slots, but only a few make the top listings
So, you don’t JUST want an online business card? How are people going to find your site if you are not in those top listings?!
“My friend and interactive media strategist Adam Broitman calls Google a “reputation management system.” I love it. Essentially, what Google knows is whatʼs true, as far as the uneducated are concerned. So, how does Google come to accept you as the authority on something? There are a few measurements to that at present.
- Inbound links from other sources – if someone is linking to your website, you must have information of value, especially if that someone whoʼs doing the linking is important.
- Outbound links to quality material – this is actually more for human love, but certainly helps prove that youʼre a lively presence.
- Readable, searchable pages – if Google can tell what youʼre talking about at your website, you probably are trying to offer something to the world.
- Constantly updating content – Google values freshness over staleness (donʼt we all?)
- Listed in directories – Google wants to know that youʼve submitted your site for inclusion in the more prominent search engines and website directories.
- Mechanical quality – Google has a lot of other things it values, like well-written websites that follow standards, and itʼs a little bit of learning to understand them all.
- Hubspot makes a free Website Grader tool that would help you understand a bit.”
We also do a free
website report card but ours is not automated and therefore not instant. Also, we have several SEO packages that we offer.
