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November 6, 2013 by

LinkedIn SEO For Small Businesses

Thank you to Mike Kawula for the opportunity to contribute to his recent blog post about tips to help small businesses use LinkedIn.  There were some pretty interesting, and potentially helpful, tips in this post:

One thing I mentioned is how an optimized LinkedIn page (personal page or company page) can be optimized for the search engines.  Most people don’t know that it is possible for their respective LinkedIn pages (including a company’s product/service pages) to rank in the search engines for specific phrases.  Consider adding this strategy to your SEO efforts by using intelligent link building services to your LinkedIn page.

Feel free to contact me with your questions.

Filed Under: LinkedIn, SEO Tagged With: , , ,
November 5, 2013 by

Google Penguin Update Recovery Tips Podcast

The other day I was invited by JenningsWire/AnnieJenningsPR.com to be the guest on a podcast.  I was asked these kinds of questions regarding the recent Google update and what kind of Google Penguin update recovery tips may be useful to help businesses (both local and national) improve their search engine optimization (SEO) efforts:

  • Google had its Penguin 2.1 update in the beginning of October. What took place?
  • Why is link building still important? Shouldn’t people just be focused on social media now?
  • Some SEO professionals recommend to their clients that they build links in “tiers”. Why do you think this is the case?
  • What else is missing from most companies’ SEO efforts?
  • Researching keywords has changed recently as well. What recommendations do you offer that are unique and not commonly suggested?

You can listen to the podcast here or click the image below:

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The audio content is roughly 10 minutes long.  One of the topics we covered is about using intelligent link building in the upcoming months.  Click this link for more information to read a recent article about which types of links to consider for your new link building efforts.

Filed Under: Backlinks, link building, Podcasts, search engine marketing, SEO Tagged With: , , , ,
October 30, 2013 by

Best Tier 1 Links For Penguin 2.1 Recovery Strategies

If you follow the search engine algorithm updates then you may be fully aware of the impact that the recent Google Penguin 2.1 update had worldwide on searches for both local and national keyword phrases (queries).  There are many new elements to SEO now including:

  • link disavow tool usage
  • anchor text ratio modification
  • trust elements like privacy policies, disclaimers, etc.
  • page loading times and mobile capabilities

One way to help clients recover from any recent Google updates is to give their algorithms verifiable proof that you are offering Google’s users (and the same with Yahoo, Bing and other search engines) quality information and relevance.  You must show the algorithm that your desired web property (website, social media account, YouTube channel, etc.) is authoritative.  A great way to do this is to increase the amount of properly-formatted Tier 1 links.

Tier 1 links are those web pages which have authority and you are comfortable having point directly to your desired web property.  Which Tier 1 link types, however, has been the subject of much discussion after the Google Penguin 2.1 update.

Greg from SearchSimplicity.com was kind enough to let me publish a guest post on his blog this morning.  It discusses the roughly 30 types of Tier 1 links which have the potential to be “friendly” to the search engines after the recent updates.  A good percentage of these link types also have the ability to drive direct traffic, eliminating sole dependence of your web traffic coming from the search engines.

Here is the article:

If you need help with these types of links then you are welcome to contact me or discover more about buying relevant links here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,
October 23, 2013 by

What To Do After Your Online Video Has Been Produced

One of the questions I have received recently in the post-Google update environment (called the “Penguin” and “Panda” updates) is how to get more traffic to a client’s online videos after they have been produced.  Many business owners mistakenly think that their video can go “viral” much like the entertainment videos they see on YouTube like those of animals, babies, sports, and other non-business-related videos which get shared in high volume.

The first thing to consider is that you will need to have realistic expectations.  A simple slide show video, or even a well-produced corporate video from a Dallas video production company, is likely to never reach tens of thousands of legitimate views on a site like YouTube.  What you will want to achieve is the realistic goal of reaching 50-100 qualified prospects (either local or national) per month once the marketing process starts.

Should you use a video-sharing site like YouTube, instead of hosting the video on your website with a service like Amazon S3 or a similar one, then there are several ways to get your video in front of potential customers/clients.  Here are just some of the ways:

  • Optimize the video (and your YouTube) channel for the keywords you research which are likely to be entered (aka “queried”) by your first-time prospective customers
    • This will help you to rank within YouTube for the desired phrases
    • This will help you to begin to rank in Google for the same keyword phrases simultaneously
  • The link to your video can be sent to your current e-mail lists with the request for your audience to share the video or endorse it on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
    • This is because your e-mail and social media list members likely have peers, friends, family and others they know who could be potential customers as well
  • Use paid advertising WITHIN YouTube to have your video appear on relevant searches AND competitors’ videos
    • This is a little-known tactic which can help you get a quality video in front of people who otherwise would not know that you exist
  • If you are introducing a new product, service or concept to the marketplace then consider embedding your video inside a paid press release distribution service
    • You can target specific industries and/or geographic regions as part of this paid distribution service
    • Your video will get exposure online to people who may be looking for one thing, but if they see your announcement + video then they may be convinced to contact you for the better alternative
  • You can embed your YouTube videos inside LinkedIn company product pages
    • This is terrific for B2B and other searches done within LinkedIn
    • It also helps with the search engine optimization for your videos
  • RSS syndication of the videos on your YouTube channel so that they get embedded on relevant websites which you do not even know exist
  • Many other methods of video marketing distribution to reach first-time prospects who have never heard of you personally, your business or your brands

Obviously all of this deals with the method of video exposure and distribution.  It also assumes that you have quality content to share which is NOT merely a sales pitch.   By “quality” I mean any of the following (this is NOT an inclusive list) which add “value” to the experience of the visitor:

  • Educating people on how to do something
  • Entertaining them and/or intriguing the viewers to the point where they simply must click through to your website or call you
  • Proving that you are an authority on a subject (e.g. a recording of you presenting at a seminar or conference)
  • Testimonial videos
  • Using animation or other videos to give reassurance and possible solutions to  high-emotion topics (e.g. financial problems, family matters and the like)
  • Proving or disproving an urban myth pervasive in your industry
  • Slide show video showing a step-by-step process of what a customer may experience at his/her home or office (e.g. a driveway repair project)
  • Etc.

Knowing how to distribute your video intelligently can give you a competitive edge, especially in a region like the Dallas Fort Worth area.  For example, let’s say that you have a terrific new service which can be fulfilled in all 200+ towns which comprise the DFW region (all counties).  The problem is that your business is based in a city other than Dallas or Fort Worth, so you may believe that you are at a disadvantage due to the competition (in the physical world) coming out of those two cities.  You could be based in Denton, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Arlington or any of the other larger DFW cities which also may have steep competition for what you are selling.

By using a combination of intelligent video marketing, you can grow your business in the larger cities and towns without having to be located specifically in that area.

Feel free to contact us with your questions about your specific situation and how we nay be able to help you.

 

Filed Under: lead generation, videos Tagged With: , , , , ,
September 19, 2013 by

Dallas AdWords Consultant – What You Can Expect

If you represent a business in the Dallas Fort Worth area, or any major U.S. city, then you may have considered using online paid advertising to reach prospective customers or clients.  Many businesses like the choice of Google AdWords because it offers them flexibility in three ways:

  • advertising on the Google Search Network (Google search engine results pages)
  • advertising on the Google Display Network (showing up on relevant websites and blogs/forums which permit Google to run ads)
  • advertising within YouTube, including targeting specific phrases or even specific competitors

Regarding using the Google Search Network, which is the one most commonly used by businesses looking to reach out to those directly searching for their products and services, you may not be familiar with all of advanced options within your account.  While the natural tendency is to say “skip it”, neglecting these could cause two issues:

  • your ads do not get enough exposure due to issues like your ad’s “Quality Score” or other concerns
  • you may be paying more per click than you should be

If you are considering a consultant to help you with your online pay per click (PPC) strategy, especially if you use AdWords, then here are some of the topics which should be analyzed within your account:

* Reviewing account settings and coordination with other Google services such as Webmaster Tools, Analytics, YouTube (if so desired), etc.

* Campaign settings analysis which includes narrowing campaigns to one device, whether or not optimized for clicks, percentage of ad scheduling, ad rotation, combining display with search network, etc.

* Ad Group analysis which includes multiple ads for split testing, limiting keywords per ad group, etc.

* Keyword analysis which includes percentage of broad match vs. phrase/exact match, adding/editing negative keywords, Quality Score analysis, problem status keywords, etc.

* Ad management analysis which includes:  Disapproved Ads management, altering display URL if needed, campaigns having ads with ad extensions, punctuation on the headling (e.g. “?”), etc.

* Ad copy analysis which includes call to action, any scarcity/urgency/intrigue, keyword in the ad

If your business spends $5000 a month or more on the Google AdWords Search Network, then it is possible that your consultant can help you get more clicks for the same ad spend each month; or you may be able to get the same number of targeted clicks while trimming 5% or more from your monthly ad spend.  Sometimes the percentage savings can be even greater if your consultant discovers wasted money on clicks which are not relevant or are poorly performing due to the page where the prospects are being sent.

As a side benefit, enhancing your pages where paid traffic is being sent also has the potential to improve your SEO efforts in the other search engines.

If you spend a respectable amount each month in AdWords, and you would like assistance to enhance your ROI, then you are welcome to contact us with your questions.

 

 

Filed Under: AdWords, pay per click Tagged With: , , ,
August 20, 2013 by

Reaching The Entire DFW Market

Some business owners throughout the Dallas Fort Worth region truly can serve the entire DFW market and even additional markets.  Unlike smaller services which can serve a realistic radius of 5-10 miles (or an even smaller radius), these businesses have a different vision such as:

  • there is enough profit margin in the transaction to justify the time and expense to travel to a small town across the DFW Metroplex and conduct business
  • the business is so unique, or perceived to be so specialized, that prospective customers across the region want the product, service or other benefits associated with the particular business
  • the business can ship products and/or already has representatives near to the smaller towns in DFW

One question is which types of businesses can justify marketing to a wider radius than just the regular small 5-10 mile radius which is common with many local businesses?  Another question is how to reach the smaller towns without having to become a member of each local chamber of commerce or placing ads in every newspaper or print publication across the region?

Types Of Businesses Which Qualify

Here is just a short list of the types of businesses which can pursue larger-radius marketing at the DFW level or even state-wide:

  • Corporate relocation services
  • Specialty legal and financial services
  • Industrial products
  • Higher end home improvement services (e.g. interior design, remodeling, etc.)
  • Custom home builders
  • Surveyors
  • Higher end home repair services (sewer line installation, etc.)
  • Etc.

How To Reach All Of DFW And Beyond

The first thing you need to know is that there are over 200 towns and cities which comprise the DFW region.  This is not just Dallas, Collin, Denton or Tarrant Counties either.  The neighboring counties also are included as there can be highly-qualified prospects in the small towns throughout every DFW county.

To narrow down the options of how to reach these people, and do so in a budget-sensitive manner you have a few options:

  • TV ads — obviously you must be hyper-vigilant about your budget and any tracking you can generate here
  • Same with radio ads
  • Classified ads are a great way to get exposure.  Be sure to optimize your ads to include the towns and cities which you serve; and be sure to play nice by the terms of service and posting rules for the various online classified ads you intend to use
  • Direct mail targeting specific neighborhoods in specific zip codes.  A good mailing list broker, who can highly target your prospects across the region, would be a very wise investment here
  • Paid press release distribution can be beneficial, especially if you mention specific towns in your content
  • Pay Per Click (AdWords) is a smart way to start.  You can target each specific town, but you want to send the traffic to optimized (town-specific) landing pages on your website.  Also, be sure that there is some sort of benefit easily visible to the prospective customer and a “call to action” (e.g. “call today” or “download this coupon”)
    • Note that there are other pay-per-click services besides Google AdWords, Yahoo’s advertising, and Bing’s advertising services.  Please contact us for these alternative options where your competition may not be advertising
  • For business-to-business (B2B) advertising in the Dallas Fort Worth region you may consider targeted advertising within LinkedIn
  • You can do demographic-based targeted advertising, especially town by town, in Facebook.  Just note that:
    • depending on the devices your prospects use, you may not get complete exposure on Facebook to those using mobile devices
    • you likely will have a higher conversion rate if you send the traffic to a page you control within Facebook.  Most Facebook users don’t like to be led automatically off of Facebook at first, so consider sending the traffic to Facebook page you control regularly which has consistently-updated benefit-laden content (coupons, discounts, helpful tips, entertaining videos, etc.)
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  This is one of the trickier, but possibly soundest ways to get hyper-targeted prospects.  You can have created for you a multi-niche website (or a blog which resides alongside your website) which has town-specific optimized pages.  Ideally, the content on each of the 200+ towns is unique including article content, images, any embedded videos, etc.  Just so long as the combination of text/images/videos is unique you should be good, especially for phrases people type in which may have relatively low competition in the search engines.

The latter option (the blog/website with town-optimized pages) gives you additional benefit.  For example, here is a website which has town-optimized pages for varying business niches.  Here is one for a series of highly-related niches.  And here is a site with optimized pages for just one niche.

The benefits here are:

  • That you can control specific content for each town or city in which you want to market.  For example, if you want to give coupons in one town but not another you can do so
  • You have optimized pages to which you can send your pay per click (PPC) traffic such as traffic Google AdWords.  This increases the odds of gaining a higher “quality score” for your ads (assuming everything else is done right) and possibly saving money by reducing your per-click costs
  • The optimized page could rank well in the search engines for the times when the phrase is entered alongside the specific town (e.g. “your business Plano TX”)
  • You even go “deeper” than the specific towns.  For example, if you want to offer incentives to people in specific HOA’s or parts of a town then you can do so.

If you would help on any of these topics then you are welcome to contact us with your specific needs.  Thank you for your time and consideration to share this post.

Filed Under: AdWords, internet marketing, lead generation, local marketing, online marketing, pay per click, search engine marketing, SEO, small towns Tagged With: , , , , ,
August 12, 2013 by

Benefits Of A Dallas Fort Worth PPC AdWords Consultant

If you are looking to grow your business in the Dallas Fort Worth region, whether you are seeking new local or regional customers, there are several ways to get traffic to your website and other web properties.  Of course, you would like to have all of the traffic you can handle coming to you from no-cost sources.  These sources include:

  • ranking well in the search engines for high-traffic broad terms people enter (keywords) relevant to what you are selling
  • ranking well in the search engines for terms (keywords) which are indicative of someone wanting to do business with you right away
  • free press release sites
  • people promoting your services on local online forums which have high degrees of trust
  • people promoting (endorsing) you to their colleagues and friends on sites like LinkedIn
  • having your video “go viral” on YouTube
  • getting free media coverage from the websites of local TV, radio and newspapers across DFW
  • etc.

Unfortunately, you may not have the initial budget, luck or skill to consistently get that type of traffic to your website or other web properties (e.g. your Twitter and Facebook pages) where people can do business with your Dallas Fort Worth-based business.  You also may have a new website where you want to test how well the website’s aesthetics help to convert first-time visitors to call you, e-mail you, download a free e-book, or take some other “call to action”.

In these types of situations you may want to consider using some form paid advertising.  These can include paid press release online distribution services, demographic target ads on Facebook, and the more traditional pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.  The benefits to this last type of advertising can include the following (and more):

  • You can control how much you want to spend on a per-click, per-day or per campaign amount
  • You can choose whether you want to advertise on the search engine results pages and/or on relevant websites which either focus on Dallas Fort Worth topics or are being looked at by people with DFW I.P. addresses
  • You can determine if you want your ads to appear on mobile devices, laptop/desktop devices or all devices
  • You can control (to some degree) what time of day, and what days of the week, your ads will run
  • There are call tracking capabilities (in some regards) which can help you determine the effectiveness
  • You can run ads which have a maps “marker” indicating your place of business in the DFW region

Google has its pay-per-click (PPC) or cost-per-1000-impressions (CPM) ad network which every Dallas Fort Worth business owner can use.  This is called Google AdWords.  The AdWords system permits a business owner to:

  • include goal tracking and other conversion tracking
  • integration with Google Analytics
  • keyword-level tracking
  • targeting specific sites which have placed an “open billboard” for Google to place relevant ads
  • etc.

From the same login and password you even can promote your specific YouTube videos and do pay-per-view (PPV) marketing, which is the YouTube video equivalent of traditional pay per click advertising.  In that instance you can promote your video to rank in YouTube for when people make specific searches inside of YouTube; or you can pay to get placement on a specific video which you believe would attract a certain percentage of that video’s viewers to your business’ video.

As you can see, this type of advertising can be more extensive than you may have first considered.  One note to consider is that many DFW business owners are overpaying for clicks during their initial attempts at Google AdWords or other pay per click marketing.  There are several ways to either:

  • get the same number of targeted clicks for a lower per-click price
  • get more targeted clicks for the same monthly advertising spend

Hopefully you can understand the possible need for a pay per click (PPC) and AdWords consultant in Dallas Fort Worth to help local businesses make intelligent decisions.  Click the link to learn more about that type of service and what to ask when you seek assistance to help you get more from your advertising budget.

Filed Under: AdWords, pay per click, video marketing Tagged With: , , , , ,
June 3, 2013 by

Thoughts When You Want To Buy PR5 Backlinks

I have added an updated blog post on the various thoughts to consider, and questions to ask, when you are looking to buy PR5 backlinks or any other links on pages with “authority”.  There are many factors to increasing the odds of your ranking # 1 in the search engines, and they go far beyond backlinks.

Nonetheless, an intelligent strategy employed when you buy high PR links should be a consistently good move.  People have asked me why high authority links vary so widely in price, from both the permanent links as well as those which cost money each month.  Many of the reasons why are explained in this new service offered:

Your options include finding an already high-authority site in your niche and paying for the link.  Likewise, you can find a page with PR5 and put your link on that (with contextual content or without) for a monthly fee.  You also can own the PR5 page by purchasing a quality domain and configuring it to meet your audiences needs with valuable, unique content and then include the desired keyword in the anchor text of the link.

These pages can further be shared with social signals such as sharing the helpful page on Facebook or LinkedIn.  You even may want to include images and/or videos if you are allowed to place your own blog post on the site, assuming that the content will remain on the page with the PR5.

You also have to see how many links are pointing to the site where your link will show up.  If there are too few links then that page’s PR is on “shaky ground” and may lose authority during the next search engine update.

Again, there are several factors to consider when looking to buy a PR5 link.  Make sure that where your link ends up truly has authority and relevance in order to give the end user a quality experience.  Be sure to click the link above to find out more about we can help you with your specific needs and budget.

Filed Under: Backlinks, SEO Tagged With: , , , ,
May 30, 2013 by

SEO For Agencies

A marketing, advertising or online media agency representing large clients often are under the obligation to give their clients maximum exposure to first-time customers (or clients) or those who have not used the company’s products or services for a long time.  One such way is to help the clients their websites on top of the search engines.  While this is terrific, it may not be enough to help the clients ultimately get what they want:  more first-time customers or clients who are not already on their contact lists or social media pages.

Here are several things for any agency to consider when a client wants to “rank on the top of the search engines”:

  • SEO, by its nature, is a game of “leap frog”.  By being able to help the client outrank the current website at the top position, it is probable that one day someone may leap frog your client.  Many clients think that once they reach the # 1 position that they will stay there indefinitely.  This, obviously, is a myth and needs to be explained at the outset in order to manage expectations
  • The search engines, especially Google, are forever changing their algorithms to give THEIR users maximum experience.  Remember that each major search engine is, or is a part of, a publicly-traded company… and they have to make quarterly revenue figures!  They do this by taking “market share” away from other web properties so that the new fan of the search engine, ultimately, will one day start clicking the ads which generate revenues for the search engine.  This means that the client must provide enough dollars AND help to the agency (content, tips, images, videos, etc.) which give the agency and any SEO outsourcing firm it uses the tools needed to keep the search engine’s users happy
  • You must spend the time up front to choose the RIGHT keyword phrases!!  This means really getting inside the heads of the prospective customers & clients to figure out what they type into the engines, in some respectable quantity each month; and then you need to know the phrases which are indicative of a searcher who is close to taking action today.  While it is great to rank for a generic phrase like “weight loss pills”, it also helps your client to rank for a phrase such as “weight loss pills free shipping” as it is indicative of someone looking to buy today.  Obviously, an agency’s clients need to experience a ROI as quickly as possible so helping them get new customers and clients as soon as possible makes sense
  • There are other factors such as helping the agency’s clients with their on-page SEO factors.  These include giving the search engines more confidence to promote your clients at the top of the page.  Such factors include having the keyword on the page (but not too frequently!), page loading speed, lowering the “bounce rate”, making sure that all links work properly, all page redirects are in order, there is a visible sitemap, there is a privacy policy and terms of service and/or disclaimer which is unique to the client, etc.
  • Would the client be happy seeing something other than their website rank at the top?  For example, if the client sees his/her company’s LinkedIn page rank # 1 – while the website ranks # 8 – for the targeted keyword phrase would this be satisfactory to the client?  If not, what about optimized videos or a Chamber of Commerce directory listing or the client’s BBB page?  The reason why this discussion is needed with the client up front is that the search engines – to keep their users happy – are to favor websites which already have built-in “authority”.  All things being equal, the search engine’s end user would not have a problem (thus, preventing “defection” to another search engine and clicking on THEIR ads) if he/she sees legitimate and recognized authority sites ranking near the top for their desired phrases.  By promoting such pages which mention your client, it is possible to see those pages skyrocket faster because:
    • most of those properties have tons of quality links pointing to them
    • are mobile-friendly
    • have good page-loading times
    • tend to have lower “bounce rates”
    • etc.

All of this is a lot to consider rather than just promising a client that an agency will “rank his/her website at the top of the search engines”.  By taking the time to address these issues, both sides can have realistic expectations and then craft intelligent strategies to go after those goals.  Doing so, ultimately, should keep the client happy because everything is being done to help the client get more customers or clients through the search engines.

If you represent an agency and would like any help with your clients then you are encouraged to contact me.   Additionally, here are some of the possible link building services for agencies which might interest you.

Filed Under: agencies, SEO Tagged With: , , , ,
May 23, 2013 by

Next Best SEO – Presentation From McKinney Texas

I want to thank Debra Pope for the invitation to present to her Networking University members who attended the workshop. It took place in the area of McKinney and Allen Texas on May 14 2013.

During the presentation I covered what is known as “Next Best SEO”.  This is where business owners, who simply want the phone to ring with prospective customers or clients, have additional options besides just attempting to rank their respective websites in the search engines.  What many of the attendees didn’t realize is that their websites, or ones given them by a corporate office, may – in fact – be violating several of Google’s best practices.

We covered many of the ways in which a business can grow through the use of internet marketing, of which SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) were just a part.  We briefly reviewed other online marketing techniques such as video, pay-per-click, press releases, online classified ads, etc.

The attendees also learned that each major search engine is, or is part of, a publicly-traded company; and each wants to make ITS quarterly figures!  The goal, then, is to give each search engine’s users the best possible content in a way which is user-friendly, is authoritative and relevant.  One way to accomplish this is to rank OTHER web properties – in addition to the companies’ websites – in order to help get the phone to ring.  Several examples were included in the presentation.

Four (4) action steps were given at the end of the presentation to help any business begin to improve the chances of receiving a call, e-mail or walk-in from a first-time customer or client by SEO efforts on other web properties.  These were labeled also as “promote the promoters” strategies.

Feel free to download this PDF from the workshop:

If you are interested in getting help to promote your website or other web properties which mention you favorably (or otherwise give authority) then you are welcome to contact me.

Thank you again to everyone who attended!

Filed Under: internet marketing, lead generation, local marketing, online marketing, Presentations, search engine marketing, SEO, Tips, Training Tagged With: , , , , ,
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