Archive for the ‘SEO Techniques’ Category

The Top 5 Search Engine Optimisation Mistakes

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Is your website search engine optimised? When properly utilized, search engine optimisation techniques can increase your overall website traffic, ultimately driving your business’s revenue. Search engine optimisation refers to the process of making your website friendly to both search engines such as Google, Bing or Yahoo as well as to individual visitors. When incorporating these techniques, there are several common mistakes business owners should work proactively to avoid.

1.Lack of Targeted Keywords

Targeted keywords refer to individual words or phrases that describe your business. For example, if you own a travel business based in Houston, Texas, a list of possible keywords that a searcher may type in looking for your business may include Houston travel agencies, Houston travel consultants, or Houston Texas travel business. Consider which keywords best represent your individual business, as these will help you to search engine optimize your particular business’s website.

2. Content that Lacks Lustre

The content placed on your website is not only a reflection of your business, but in many cases, is the first impression made on a first time browser. To not only attract a visitor’s attention, but to capture interest by search engines such as Google, your content needs to be relevant, consistently updated and user-friendly. Incorporate the list of targeted keywords developed naturally into your content, working to remain within a density level between 1-2%. Last but not least, ensure that there are no spelling or grammar mistakes within any of your content.

3. Not Following The Rules

While many businesses claim to understand how to work around the search engine’s rules in order to obtain page rank, these practices are considered unethical and in many cases will have your website removed from the searches all together. The best search engine optimisation practices involve developing content on your site that is relevant to your business, regularly updating it and incorporating natural keywords. Avoid the attraction of the quick fix; work to develop a well written website that will attract visitors now and in the future.

4. Improper Use of Meta-Tags

Title tags, keyword tags and description tags are quickly becoming an old-school way of utilizing search engine optimisation techniques as search engines are placing less and less emphasis on them. however, they can add value to your website and the ability for searchers to find your business online. Include them for every page of your website to increase the opportunity for your page rank to be boosted.

5. Websites That Are Not User-Friendly

Many businesses spend too much time focusing on search engine optimisation techniques alone, failing to focus on ensuring that once a visitor lands on their site, they will want to stay there. Focus on building a user-friendly website that grabs the visitor’s attention and that ultimately increases the opportunity to capture a sale or their information for a drip marketing program.

By avoiding these five common mistakes, your search engine optimisation program will have a greater opportunity for success.

SEO Techniques Your Business Can Utilize

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Search engine marketing, or SEO, is now the primary method businesses online utilize to attract online visitors to their website. In addition to traditional internet marketing & SEO techniques, there are a variety of alternate content marketing strategies that businesses can consider.

Traditional SEO Techniques

As a beginning internet marketing SEO techniques, businesses should incorporate target keywords into their website’s content. A primary keyword should be selected that best represents the business, and several supporting keywords should be chosen to supplement. These keywords should be used in each of the website pages’ titles, meta descriptions and page content. A 1-2% keyword density is recommended by most internet marketing SEO experts as it lends for the most natural reading for visitors while still attracting the attention of search engines for marketing purposes.

Content Marketing Techniques

In addition to incorporating keywords into your website, other SEO concepts that have proven successful for a variety of businesses include:

  • Article Marketing- Keywords can be beneficial when included in your website’s static page content as well as the dynamic pages. In order to remain highly ranked on the major search engines, you will need to not only incorporate your chosen keywords into the primary pages, but also in regular article and blog posts placed onto your company’s website. You can also post articles onto article directories with links either embedded in the content or in the resource box. Be sure to use new content as duplicate content is frowned upon by search engines such as Google.
  • Opt-In Programs- Many marketers fail to consider what will happen once their targeted lead lands on their website pages. What is the intended outcome? Are you seeking to capture the visitor’s information to incorporate into your other marketing programs, or are you seeking a direct purchase? It is important to note that most first time website visitors do not generally make purchases. So, if you are new to SEO techniques, you may want to begin with installing opt-in programs into your website’s pages. Opt-in programs work as a give-to-get concept. Your business is providing something of value and in return, you are getting the prospect’s contact information to use for future marketing programs. You could offer website visitors a free ebook, report, book chapter, or any other valuable information as an incentive to capture their name and email address.
  • Email Marketing- Once you have captured email information from potential customers, you will want to utilize an email marketing campaign to drip market to them. Email marketing is one of many proven internet marketing SEO techniques. You can manually send emails to prospects, or you can leverage a company specializing in these campaigns such as Constant Contact or Aweber.

When these alternative content marketing techniques are used in combination with your traditional internet marketing & SEO concepts, your business will be more likely to experience the level of website traffic and internet sales expected.