professional wordpress themes

Total Or Unique Visitors, What Is the Difference?

On November 23, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

New webmasters might be confused about the difference between visitors and unique visitors in your analytics program. If you’re not sure which metric is the more important of the two then perhaps you need to spend a little more time analyzing your traffic. Your Visitor count is the total number of visitors in the [...]

New webmasters might be confused about the difference between visitors and unique visitors in your analytics program. If you’re not sure which metric is the more important of the two then perhaps you need to spend a little more time analyzing your traffic. Your Visitor count is the total number of visitors in the reporting period you are observing. Unique visitors is the number of visitors who have visited your site for the first time. Which is the more important metric for your site depends a lot on your site’s mission and your goals, but for most website owners, both metrics tell a story. Total visitor count is an important metric because it tells you precisely how many people who have been on your website. That’s important for determining your conversion rate. 1,000 visitors resulting in 100 sales equals a 10% conversion rate. You can build from that.

Unique visitors are important too, however. Most visitors will not purchase on the first visit. If you have a high unique visitor count relative to your total visitors then that means you are not getting many repeat visitors. That could be a telling sign that your content is not compelling enough. It could also mean that you are losing opportunities to convert traffic and close sales. Maybe your calls to action need work or you are losing visitors somewhere else within your sales pitch. Whatever the case, a high unique visitor count relative to your total visitor count means that most of your site visitors are not returning.

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

When To Optimize Your Website Yourself

On November 22, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Many webmasters, business owners and marketing folks are sometimes more concerned about saving money than making it. Ever heard the expression, “Penny wise, pound foolish?” Save a buck today, lose two or three tomorrow. That’s what happens when you try to optimize your own website and don’t know what you’re doing. You’re likely going to [...]

Many webmasters, business owners and marketing folks are sometimes more concerned about saving money than making it. Ever heard the expression, “Penny wise, pound foolish?” Save a buck today, lose two or three tomorrow. That’s what happens when you try to optimize your own website and don’t know what you’re doing. You’re likely going to fail or you won’t be patient long enough to wait for the results you hope to get. Often many times I have seen people that don’t take the time to truly understand how search engine optimization works, try to rush it or have unrealistic expectations and then vow that SEO does not work. I can assure you that search engine optimization is one of the most cost effective and best return driven mediums to drive targeted visitors to your website. But is there a time when you can, and should, optimize your own website? Yes. There may be times when performing the SEO work on your site is to your advantage.

The obvious time to optimize your own website is when you have taken the time to learn it on your own and have ample time to perform the on site optimization and ongoing link building and reporting efforts. You’ve studied it long enough and you’ve experimented enough with the tools that you can make it happen. I’m not talking about having read one e-book written in 1995. I’m talking about having actually tested some of the things that you’ve learned and you understand SEO well enough to employ its mysteries without giving up when things don’t go right. Because, inevitably, your first efforts are going to appear to fail; they actually may be succeeding, but you just won’t see the results for a while.

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

Is Article Marketing A Thing Of The Past?

On November 21, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

More and more, I see articles popping up as guest post’s on blogs and as premium content on websites. Of course, people are still using article directories to mass submit their articles to a variety of websites as well. But is that still an effective way to do it?
It is true that article marketing has [...]

More and more, I see articles popping up as guest post’s on blogs and as premium content on websites. Of course, people are still using article directories to mass submit their articles to a variety of websites as well. But is that still an effective way to do it?

It is true that article marketing has changed a lot in the last couple of years. The top-tier search engine marketers today are writing premium original content and sending it out to other websites for a link back. That’s becoming much more effective than the old school way of mass distribution. But I wouldn’t count mass distribution out just yet, just pick better places to submit your articles, such as eZine Articles, HubPages or Work.com.

People said the same thing about website directories. They’re no good, the provide no benefit any more, and they are a thing of the past. Not true. High quality directories such as Yahoo! Directory, Best of Web, Business.com, etc. still provide good links to marketers who know how to leverage them. True, they’re not as powerful for link building as they used to be, but that is mainly due to the search engines wising up to the ways of spammers and implementing controls to detect it. True directory submissions still work.

But keep in mind that getting an article in an article directly is no guarantee that you’ll be published elsewhere. It’s also no guarantee that you’ll see an ounce of benefit from your articles. The best guarantee of effective article marketing you have is the writing of great original content that provides value and to submit it to excellent article places, I have mentioned, but spending time developing relationships with top sites in your industry and submitting content is still a great way to leverage article marketing as part of your relevant link building program.

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

The Major Issue with the SEO Industry

On November 21, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Somewhere over the last few years the search engine optimization industry went in many different directions at the same time. Take ten industry people and each might have a different view point or approach when it comes to search engine optimziation, why is that? Isn’t the goal across the board the same? What else could [...]

Somewhere over the last few years the search engine optimization industry went in many different directions at the same time. Take ten industry people and each might have a different view point or approach when it comes to search engine optimziation, why is that? Isn’t the goal across the board the same? What else could the goal be besides building up a business or website online?

Like everything else in a young and rapidly growing industry fundament things often times break down over time requiring a revamp or clean up to get things back on track and working how they were initially designed to work. Is the search engine marketing industry going to have to go through a clean up phase? Often times I speak with potential clients and they have been badly burned or seriously confused on how or why they need SEO for their business to grow online. The whole concept of search engine optimization should have a general theme across all vertical markets and cause very little confusion. I think in the next few years or maybe sooner we will see some very significant changes to how these online marketing efforts are handled. Who knows they might even come sooner than we think. With Google coming out with one of its most important search engine updates in the next month or so we will all likely see a significant change in how search engine results display information. This is still a very young industry and will most likely go through many rounds of significant changes and improvements but the abuse has taken its toll on not just the search engines but also many of the businesses and with the social element growing stronger each day the race to include social chatter in search results is on.

This is a very quick moving industry. A change in the search engines can happen one morning creating a domino effect for some time to come. What Bing and Google need to understand is that when done correctly an SEO expert is only helping in organization and clean up of the online information. A nice written meta tag and description is going to be much more helpful from a user stand point than one that is almost blank. The problem is getting the entire search engine marketing industry on the same page. I think it will happen and we are already seeing the wheels spinning for these changes in the industry to occur.

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

Top Online Brand Survey – Your Company?

On November 20, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

An interesting survey by the Forrester Blog: Google, Yahoo! and Amazon are the most trusted brands online. I’m really not surprised by Google and Amazon, but I’d have thought that Yahoo! lost more ground. They were in second place in 2007 and still hold onto second in 2009 even though they’ve lost ground with consumers. [...]

An interesting survey by the Forrester Blog: Google, Yahoo! and Amazon are the most trusted brands online. I’m really not surprised by Google and Amazon, but I’d have thought that Yahoo! lost more ground. They were in second place in 2007 and still hold onto second in 2009 even though they’ve lost ground with consumers. Amazon gained and still is in third – barely.

If I were to hazard a prediction here, I’d say by the next survey, Amazon will hold second place behind Google and Facebook, Microsoft, and YouTube will all have gained higher recognition with at least one of them possibly passing Yahoo! I also think MySpace will fall off the list and be replaced, possibly by Twitter.

But here’s the question: What does it take to make the list in the first place? Trustworthiness, helpfulness, and relevance. So does that mean if you develop those three qualities for your website that you’ll stand a chance to be on the list in the next survey? Probably not. But I do think that if you gain a reputation for those three qualities within your niche then you could be one of the most trusted authorities within your niche and industry online. Don’t you think?

Having a trusted brand online goes way beyond a solid search engine optimization and pay per click advertising program, it means your company is truly a leader in your marketplace. For instance, I have a client that is a manufacturer of restaurant equipment. Yes, I have helped them achieve top search engine rankings, a robust pay per click advertising campaign in all three search networks and have even gotten them active in social media. What I have found is that everything performs very well for them online since they have been a true leader in their industry for over 40 years (well before the web existed!). So the point is it takes a good amount of work, energy and innovation that goes way beyond marketing efforts to become a top online brand in a given industry. Are you and your company up for the task?

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

What to Ask When Interviewing SEO Firms

On November 19, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

If you are looking to hire an SEO firm for your next search engine optimization campaign, you’ll want to conduct extensive interviews. Don’t just interview one SEO firm. Interview several. And ask them all the same questions so you have a basis for comparison. But what questions?

At a minimum you should ask any potential SEO [...]

If you are looking to hire an SEO firm for your next search engine optimization campaign, you’ll want to conduct extensive interviews. Don’t just interview one SEO firm. Interview several. And ask them all the same questions so you have a basis for comparison. But what questions?

At a minimum you should ask any potential SEO firm you are planning to work with the following questions:

  1. What new SEO tactics have you added to your portfolio of skills within the last three months? – Search engine algorithms are ever evolving and you want your SEO to be as well. That doesn’t mean they should take unnecessary risks, but they should constantly be testing new tactics and strategies. This question is designed to uncover an SEOs current knowledge of those.
  2. Where do you think the SEO industry will be in 5 years? in 10 years? – A good SEO has a handle on where things may be headed in the future. If an SEO can answer the previous question with ease then he should be able to answer this question too.
  3. Have potential SEOs critique your website for strengths and weaknesses and provide you with a report for improving your site’s SEO. – This will give you a chance to see the SEO in action. Is he methodical? Does he approach the site with a plan or does he just pick random sections out one at a time?

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

Does Your PageRank Affect Your Rankings?

On November 19, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

A recent reader of this blog asked me an interesting common question that I wanted to share with everyone, “If my Google PageRank moves up to a 3 and my competitor’s PageRank remains a 1, will that push me above them in Google’s search engine rankings?”
Sadly, the answer is no. PageRank and search engine [...]

A recent reader of this blog asked me an interesting common question that I wanted to share with everyone, “If my Google PageRank moves up to a 3 and my competitor’s PageRank remains a 1, will that push me above them in Google’s search engine rankings?”

Sadly, the answer is no. PageRank and search engine rankings are not related in that sense. PageRank is an authority number assigned by Google based on an algorithm associated with several factors that determine your site’s trustworthiness that in directly affects your rankings in the Google for specific keyword phrases. It is not used by Google to determine your rankings for keywords. It is amazing to me that in 2009 that some webmasters, business owners and marketers still put emphasis on Google PageRank when determining the goals of your search engine optimization efforts. As I have said many times, (yes I do often sound like a broken record!) the goal of your SEO campaign should be to increase relevant visitors to your website over time from the search engines.

That said, Google does use some of the same factors in its ranking algorithm as it does in its PageRank algorithm. But there are ranking factors used to determine keyword rankings that are not used in PageRank. For instance, keyword placement in your URL is a factor that Google may use for search engine ranking purposes, but it doesn’t affect your PageRank at all. Other factors such as quality content, internal linking, etc do not affect PageRank, but are used to rank you against your competitors in the search results.

Bottom line, don’t expect advances in your PageRank to affect your search engine rankings. The two are not related at all…and focus your energy on marketing your website and business online and to become an authority in the eyes of your visitors and the search engines.

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

YouTube Direct – Upload Videos to Your Site!

On November 18, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

YouTube now has a way for webmasters to allow site visitors to upload YouTube videos directly to their websites. But the program is designed for news sites like CNN.com and Huffington Post. That doesn’t mean that bloggers can’t participate, however. I think the program will likely be available to most websites in some sense.

But what [...]

YouTube now has a way for webmasters to allow site visitors to upload YouTube videos directly to their websites. But the program is designed for news sites like CNN.com and Huffington Post. That doesn’t mean that bloggers can’t participate, however. I think the program will likely be available to most websites in some sense.

But what is YouTube Direct? YouTube Direct is a platform that gives webmasters the ability to get user generated video content without developing their own application.

Here is a video that clearly explains YouTube Direct:

There are some advantages to being able to do this. First, you can keep your site visitors on your site a little longer. But, even better than that, you can have videos uploaded directly to your website instead of you going to YouTube and embedding videos, which can be a time consuming process. The big question is, will YouTube Direct provide webmasters and marketers with any search engine optimization benefits.

I think so, possibly. If videos are uploaded to your website then it’s possible that the search engines will index those versions of the videos. The videos will still exist on YouTube’s servers, but if you use Google Customized Search then visitors will be able to search your website to find video content. And, more importantly, searchers using the search engines to search for video content related to your niche may find it in the SERPs. That’s a huge ‘may’.

The other possibility is that searchers looking for video content will find those videos on YouTube and will have to click over to your site from there. It remains to be seen just how many SEO benefits webmasters will receive from YouTube Direct. Even without SEO benefits, however, it looks like a good deal. I’m just hoping for the best.

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

Yes, SEO is an Investment

On November 18, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Too many businesses large and small look at search engine optimization as a nuisance and an expense, since when is promoting your business online a nuisance and expense? Search engine optimization and marketing should be viewed as an investment. When you approach you’re online marketing from just a rankings stand point it can be quite [...]

Too many businesses large and small look at search engine optimization as a nuisance and an expense, since when is promoting your business online a nuisance and expense? Search engine optimization and marketing should be viewed as an investment. When you approach you’re online marketing from just a rankings stand point it can be quite difficult to see the value in search engine marketing.

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

How Many SEO Tools Do You Need?

On November 17, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

No matter what kind of job you are doing, having the proper tools is essential to its success. The same is true of search engine optimization. But what are SEO tools and which ones are the right ones for you?
This question can be answered in many ways. The basic SEO tools, of course, are a [...]

No matter what kind of job you are doing, having the proper tools is essential to its success. The same is true of search engine optimization. But what are SEO tools and which ones are the right ones for you?

This question can be answered in many ways. The basic SEO tools, of course, are a keyword research tool and your text editor. Why is a text editor an SEO tool? Because in that editor you create your web pages. You design your page designs and you put your keywords and links to good use. But that’s a very basic tool and is a bit of a no-brainer. Unless you are building your website with a content management system, your text editor can be viewed as an SEO tool.

But there are other tools. Many SEOs use Google Alerts for research. By subscribing to alerts for your important keywords, you can keep tabs on what people are saying about those keywords and use that information to build a better website.

Another tool SEOs often use, and should, is a tracking and analytics tool. Which one you use is largely a matter of preference, but you should find one that you are comfortable with and use it. An analytics tool (such as Google Analytics or Go Stats) can be useful in helping you find new keywords to target and to hone your marketing by focusing on keywords that your site users focus on in searching for information on your site. There are multiple uses for a good analytics tool, but every SEO should have one.

Link checkers are another SEO tool often found in a webmaster’s arsenal. The link checker is useful in making sure that your site links remain unbroken and actually lead somewhere.

Are these all the tools that you will ever need to perform SEO on your website? No. There are plenty more that you might find useful. But suffice it to say that with no tools at all you are likely not to succeed in your SEO efforts or your online marketing efforts. With the right tools, you’ll be much better equipped to handle your website’s needs.

Here is a great place to find excellent free SEO tools:
http://www.addme.com/tools.htm

0 Comments
Leave A Response

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
Page 30 of 61« First...1020...2829303132...405060...Last »

Seth Godin: Sliced Bread

Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers

Anthony Parinello: Your Price is Too High

©