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New Websites Should Focus On The Tail

On April 21, 2010, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

The online space grows more competitive each and every day and the importance of finding niches and certain areas to be visible in is becoming even more evident and important. If you are targeting a space that clearly has a great deal of competition it will be very important to go after the long tail keywords as well as the broad to be able to achieve some sort of rankings fairly quickly. Being a new website in a competitive environment requires a great deal of time, patience and experience. Don’t expect to rank quickly going after the broader search terms. Long tail keyword phrases will be your friend so you have to use them.

The most important advise that I can provide for a new website or new business owner is to spend the time doing your keyword research! Keyword research should be based on the existing content of each page of your website, so conduct the keyword research after you write your content. This is a big mistake that I see many people make that are new to the search world. They sometimes write content to rank well in the search engines, your content should always be written with your audience(s) and visitors in mind.

Continuing on and about the long tail track here…The mindset of many websites is to try and rank for the broad keyword phrases to pull in the largest amount of search volume. When first getting involved in search with a new website you have to be realistic. Don’t be in denial when you first launch your website because you could potentially short change your business. Try to go after some of the low hanging fruit in your industry to get some new business and sales. This will allow you to pull in some new clients and build some quick credibility in the industry for yourself by wowing some new clients. As you build your reputation in the industry your website will slowly grow in power naturally and start to climb for the much broader keywords in your industry. Don’t assume that you belong in the search results for the broad keywords right away. You have to earn those spots and that takes time.

Like any industry you have to slowly pay your dues to achieve visibility and respect to achieve the high rankings in search results. Once you have that than you will see your rankings climb for the top industry keywords.

Can New Websites Rank Well?

On April 7, 2010, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

The search engines grow more and more littered with new websites, web pages and more blog posts and articles than we know what to do with. How is a new aspiring website ever supposed to be able to break into the search results for any type of keyword phrase? Even third string keywords with much less search volume are becoming very tough to be visible for. This is why it is even more important to really focus on marketing and branding your business online and focusing much less on breaking into search results.

Prime example on why all businesses need to take a slightly different approach when trying to market a new business online. The days of only focusing on ranking for search results are slowly coming to an end and the need for strong branding and marketing is really starting to play a significant role in all SEO related campaigns. Don’t get me wrong, a well built and optimized website along with a strong effective link building campaign is always going to be a very important aspect for any growing and new starting business but websites are going to have to start taking a vastly different approach to market themselves in search results.

Rick DeJarnette from the Bing Community Search Blog had this to say:
“If you are in an industry that has a few heavy-hitter, powerhouse websites as competitors, whose webmasters have worked hard to develop great content and earn authoritative backlinks, it can be as frustrating as chasing your own tail for a smaller upstart to compete with those sites using the same primary keywords. Competing in the long tail can be a great way to mop up some otherwise untapped business and begin to develop a name and reputation for your website. It’s always better to compete for a high rank for a few keywords in the tail than to merely settle for a middling or worse rank for the most popular keywords in the head (settling for mediocrity is what most webmasters do, and thus why there’s so often good opportunities for the taking).”

This is important to understand because a new website is going to take some real time to rank for any primary keywords. Spend your focus worrying about some of the long tail keyword phrases that already exist in your industry that could be available for you to build your business now rather than later.

Tagged with: affordable search engine optimization • arizona search engine optimization • arizona SEO • Business Online • Campaigns • Community Search • Dejarnette • Heavy Hitter • Internet Marketing • marketing • Mediocrity • More Blog Posts • New Business • phoenix SEO • Phrase • Powerhouse • Prime Example • professional search engine optimization • Reputation • search engine optimization • search engines • Search Volume • seo consultant • seo expert • Untapped Business • Upstart • Web 3.0 • Web Pages • Websites Rank • Websites Web

Important Reminders About Keyword Research

On February 28, 2010, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Depending on what type of website or business you have you will most likely be conducting different types of keyword research during the initial onsite search engine optimization process. If you have a smaller service based business with ten pages on your website you will take a different approach than if you have an ecommerce [...]

When conducting keyword research for an ecommerce website you have to take into account all your categories and products. Don’t assume the search volume is going to be generic across the board. There will be many different types of branded keywords along with category based keywords that you will come up with. The goal is to not overwhelm yourself. If you are relatively new to the search engine optimization industry take things slow at first. Start with all your high level pages and maybe category pages and make a column for each URL in your spreadsheet. Now start conducting keyword research while thinking really hard what a person would type to make it to that specific page. If you are feeling good about it you can include all your product pages as well and get it all done in one swipe. Get ready for very large lists of keywords though. Don’t be surprised if some pages generate thousands and thousands of keywords. It will take some time to really sift through all of them and chose the cream of the crop. Remember that you should never target more than 5 keywords per page so if you see a page is generating hundreds and thousands of keywords and you feel confident with what you already have will work feel free to move onto the next one page.

Keyword research is a very important step when optimizing a website. Don’t worry though because if you find out later on that you missed a really good phrase or word to target you can easily introduce into the website at that point in time. In fact, I typically recommend keyword research is completed (after the onsite optimization is completed) every 1 to 2 years. This is because of the long term nature of SEO and also this will give you enough time to gather data about the keywords that you have incorporated on your website.

Some industries keywords change all the time because of new industry buzz terms springing up frequently. Imagine what those websites must have to go through. For the most part though once you optimize a website you don’t have to do it again unless you change your content or find that there are new buzz words in your industry that have made their way into search volume.

Tagged with: affordable search engine optimization • arizona search engine optimization • arizona SEO • Cream Of The Crop • Discovery • Ecommerce Website • Hundreds And Thousands • Internet Marketing • Keyword Research Tool • Many Different Types • Onsite Search Engine • phoenix SEO • Phrase • professional search engine optimization • Reminders • search engine optimization • Search Volume • seo consultant • seo expert • Spreadsheet • Swipe • Web 3.0 • Will Take Some Time • Wordtracker

How Will Mobile Search Impact Your Paid Campaigns?

On December 9, 2009, In SEO, by Search Engine Watch

Monitoring search volume data is key to determine how to best optimize your PPC campaigns. …

Tagged with: affordable seo • arizona search engine optimization • arizona SEO • Campaigns • Mobile Search • phoenix SEO • Ppc • professional search engine optimization • search engine optimization • Search Volume • seo consultant • seo expert • small business seo • Volume Data

How to Properly Conduct Keyword Research

On December 8, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Search engine optimization comes with many steps and efforts but at the end of the day it all start with your website. Before you think about generating links and other search engine marketing efforts it is important to take a deep breath and jump into the pool of keyword research. The key is to research highly targeted keyword phrases that directly relate to the content you have written for each page of your website. Remember the search engines rank individual pages for specific keywords, not entire websites, so it is important to spend the time conducting keyword research properly.

Here are some areas to look at when starting your keyword research:

1. Google Analytics: If you have Google analytics set up on your website it already has a list of existing keywords that are attracting visitors to your website. This is a great starting point. Punching in each word into your keyword research tool will generate a nice list you can than dwindle down.

2. Competition: Do you currently have competitors that have well optimized websites? It is not a bad idea to take a look at their website and eyeball the meta information and content to see what types of keywords they are using. I don’t recommend copying content or meta information because that is just wrong but getting a feel for how they use the same types of keywords is ok.

3. Long Tail Keywords are Okay: When conducting keyword research don’t be scared to use long tail keywords that don’t necessarily have a tremendous amount of search volume. We are conditioned to want to go after the short high search volume keywords but neglecting the long tail is not the right approach. You have to remember that everyone in your industry is targeting those already. It is ok to go after them because naturally your website will target those types of keywords already but the long tail keywords can generate some good quality traffic fairly quickly.

4. Industry Buzz Terms: Don’t forget about searching for industry buzz terms to target on your website as well. Depending on your industry you could generate a very decent amount of traffic for your website if your business is in an industry that uses a lot of industry type terms.

5. Singular and Plural: Make sure to conduct research for terms using singular and plural forms of certain keywords. Sometimes the difference in search volume can be very drastic so don’t forget to keep this in mind when conducting your keyword research.

6. SEO Keyword Research Tools: There are several great keyword research tools to consider when conducing keyword research. Keyword Discovery is the best keyword research tool that I would recommend on the market…it is the tool that I personally use. I do not recommend using free keyword research tools as many of them tend to not show accurate and search data.

In addition to my keyword research tips, I located a video that show some great advice for basic keyword research:

Keyword research is probably the most important aspect of all your search engine optimization efforts (besides the content on your site of course!). These keywords will dictate what type of visitors you will target for your website so it is important to not only get them right but really not miss out on any that might generate a really targeted visitor for your website. So spend some time developing the relevant keyword list for each page of your site…all of your hard work will pay off if you give it the proper time!

Tagged with: affordable search engine optimization • Analytics • arizona search engine optimization • arizona SEO • Bad Idea • Deep Breath • Eyeball • google • Great Starting Point • Industry Buzz • Internet Marketing • Keyword Optimization • Keyword Research Tool • Marketing Efforts • Meta • Other Search Engine • phoenix SEO • Phrases • professional search engine optimization • Quality Traffic • Research Search Engine • search engine marketing • search engine optimization • search engines • Search Optimization • Search Volume • seo consultant • seo expert • Web 3.0

Your SEO Has No Control so Grab the Wheel!

On December 2, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

When shopping around for a search engine optimization firm or SEO service provider it is important to realize that there are some things that will always be out of the control of any person regardless what they say to you over the phone. As marketers we have the knowledge of what search engines really like to see but nobody has the power to changes things in the search results as they please.

Here are five things that no SEO person has control over regardless of what they might tell you:

1. Search Results: Any honest search engine marketing person will tell you right away that they don’t have any control of search results or even the search engines as a whole. You won’t know how many people I speak with that say that someone else told them they had a “special” relationship with Google and when they need a website to rank it does, not a chance. Run as far as you can from anyone that says this.

2. Visitors: SEO is not paid advertising. We cannot control how many people visit your website. Search engine optimization does not work this way nor can we put a number on this question. We can see how much search volume exists for certain keywords but that is about it. Nobody can guarantee how many visitors you will get to your website for performing search engine marketing efforts.

3. Sales: If your website conversion factors are not completely in place than nobody is going to buy anything. It is important to understand that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink so if your product is flawed or your website structure is off than all the marketing in the world won’t get a person to pull out their credit card and make a purchase.

4. Search Engine Rankings: You cannot predict when your website is going to get the rankings you desire. You have to be realistic with your expectations as well. If you are trying to rank for a very highly competitive keyword phrases and you just launched your website it just not realistic to expect you will be on the first page of a search results in two months.

5. Success: You can’t expect to grow your entire company from just hiring an SEO company. If you are waiting for your entire business to grow just from your SEO that you just started you might want to rethink that approach. Search engine optimization works best when many different wheels are spinning trying to grow the business. Don’t put your eggs into one basket and just wait for the search engine optimization efforts alone to grow your business.

It all really comes down to understanding exactly the type of relationship that you are looking for with you service provider or if you have the ability and time to learn how to optimize and build your SEO efforts on your own. Either way the bottom line is be realistic and diversify your online and search marketing efforts!

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SEO Tips for Creating a Strategic Game Plan

On November 22, 2009, In SEO, by Jeffrey Smith

Websites do not optimize themselves; they need SEO, a game plan and tactful execution to overcome savvy competitor’s intent on ranking in the top 3 results for any respective profit-bearing keyword.
As a result, it boils down to which site has (a) the most authority (b) the most relevant content (c) the most relevant on page [...]

Websites do not optimize themselves; they need SEO, a game plan and tactful execution to overcome savvy competitor’s intent on ranking in the top 3 results for any respective profit-bearing keyword.

SEO Tips to Develop a Tactical Game Plan

As a result, it boils down to which site has (a) the most authority (b) the most relevant content (c) the most relevant on page SEO signals and (d) the most popular off page inbound links.

The underlying multifaceted metrics of information retrieval remain the same for websites regardless of industry or topic; however, the only distinguishing metrics that shift are the degrees of optimization within each of the respective thresholds.

These distinguishing metrics are based on granular consistencies that reinforce relevance at every opportunity.

Metrics such as:

alt image continuity (using the Alt attribute for SEO)
relevant naming conventions (naming pages properly)
relevant site architecture (a well structured website)
relevant internal links (the way you link to your own content)
sufficient deep links to specific pages (linking to pages other than the homepage)
a sufficient volume of content on a topic (dedicating pages of content per keyword)

By streamlining these on page and off page metrics, a site can improve their overall relevance score and glide past clunky competitors using less refined optimization methods.

Some industries have a lower barrier to entry due to lower search volume, which is all based on supply and demand. This supply and demand are responsible for determining how steep and challenging acquiring a ranking can be based on the keyword. However, the market itself dictates which keywords are worthy targets.

Most consumers when they are hunting for something to purchase are impulsive and impatient. Understanding this, getting as many keywords above the fold (above the scroll line on a page) is the ultimate objective of SEO.

This means you must map out which keywords are the most lucrative to hang your hat on when banking on conversion and return on investment. Some keywords you can acquire with very little effort, others take month or sometimes years to rise to the top.

The key is to target a market holistically and encompass the various nodes of relevance to educate, entice and convert users based on their needs and intent. Someone looking to make an impulse purchase may not need to read 1000 words on why you product is better than your competitors; a picture with a price tag and 20 word description is more fitting for their needs.

Similarly, someone who needs more information about a product, is not ready to check out either and may look on another site or skim social media to look for feedback or reviews. By understanding search behavior and coupling that information with what people need to make informed purchasing decisions, you can position your website across a myriad of keywords and modifiers to encourage conversion by intelligently appeasing their impulse, need for information and emotion triggers that compel them to “buy now”.

On the contrary, if you cue the wrong message at the wrong time to the wrong consumer, you will repel them based upon the fact that they are not far enough in the sales cycle to engage your proposition. SEO is more about mapping the ideal page for the ideal user than it is about the actual processes or techniques that are used to execute it.

A keyword dud or lackluster page produces the same effect “absolutely nothing” so, mapping the right conversion paths to the right keywords and respective landing pages and then having something worth sharing from “marketing your product” is half the battle of conversion – which is the ultimate objective of SEO.

SEO is all about results, and optimizing a keyword dud that gets one search a week is futile, you should target keywords within reach until they are ranking in the top 5 results, then when you site matures use that momentum to target even more competitive keywords or market segments.

The takeaway here is, 75% of your time, energy and effort should be digging deep into competitive analysis and keyword research to extract the best commerce laden keywords that convert, the other 25% should be spent developing topical content, consolidating internal links and building deep links to your preferred landing pages.

Type in traffic from people using keywords is only one facet of traffic, but when a website ranks for thousands of keywords, the notion is, it is hard to conduct a search on a topic without running into it, because that site IS an authority on the topic.

The days of mini sites dominating the search engine result pages are winding down, now, search engines have needs, those needs are to serve up the most relevant, informative or entertaining content to its users.

So, invest in making your site a destination worthy or regard by mapping out which segments are more important to end users, creating conversion paths that facilitate ease of use as well as tactfully market your product and service once they arrive.

With different needs for different users, you can’t please all of the people all of the time, but the ones that you do impress should be the ones with the strongest need and / or demand for a solution from the product or server you are selling. This goes back to market research which is the precursor to SEO.

Tagged with: arizona search engine optimization • arizona SEO • Attribute • Competitor • Consistencies • Continuity • Deep Links • Game Plan • Inbound Links • Information Retrieval • Metrics • Naming Conventions • Optimization Methods • phoenix SEO • professional search engine optimization • Relevance Score • Relevant Content • search engine optimization • search engine optimization expert • Search Volume • seo consultant • seo expert • Signals • Site Architecture • Strategic Game • Supply And Demand • Tactical Game • Thresholds

Now is the Right Time to Ramp Up Your SEO

On November 16, 2009, In SEO, by Nick Stamoulis

Doesn’t it seem like everyone has an answer lately to the economic crisis? Wall Street continues to climb into record highs yet companies keep laying off employees causing a ripple effect tearing through businesses worldwide which is why now is the time to shift your internet marketing focus to search engine optimization (SEO). SEO takes time to understand and build which why now is an opportune time to really take control and understand just how important it is for your business to implement an SEO strategy into its daily business routine.

With so many businesses right now ratcheting down spending and shuttering doors now is a great time for you to learn and apply SEO to your business so when things turn around your business will be positioned exactly where it needs to be. Even with search volume currently down across all verticals there will be less clutter to push through than ever before. By taking this approach you can really position yourself for when the economy starts to show signs of improvement. What you don’t want to do is to start your search engine optimization efforts when things start to look good in the economy because than it will be much more difficult to really poke your head through the crowd.

Cost is on the minds of every small business right now which is why you don’t have to break the bank in order to get good quality SEO work done. Many SEO firms now are offering highly skilled training programs and full service campaigns for a fraction of the cost which I can guarantee you won’t be at such a low cost when the economy improves and gets better again. Now is the time to take advantage of the low costs in the industry. Search engine optimization providers understand that many businesses are shopping around and are looking for the best price but this pattern will not last forever. If you are one of those business owners that could never understand why search engine optimization costs what it does now is the time to really learn and understand it along with what it takes to get the job done right.

SEO is not a secret. If you search around you will find hundreds of blogs and websites just giving out the information for free. The time to take advantage for your businesses online marketing and SEO approach is now. SEO takes a strategic plan of attack to really work the way it is designed to. SEO is long term so if started now could really help a business ramp up online visitors and get them ready for when the economy makes it back into full swing. As more and more businesses implement SEO into their daily business plan it will become even more vital for your business to take advantage of SEO while things have slowed down in the economy.

Tagged with: affordable search engine optimization • arizona search engine optimization • arizona SEO • Business Owners • Business Routine • Campaigns • Clutter • Economic Crisis • Fraction • Great Time • Industry Search Engine • Internet Marketing • Internet Optimization • Marketing Optimization • Opportune Time • Optimization Seo • phoenix SEO • professional search engine optimization • Record Highs • Right Time • Ripple Effect • search engine optimization • Search Optimization • Search Volume • seo consultant • seo expert • Verticals • Wall Street • Web 3.0

Is Social Media ROI Unmeasurable?

On November 11, 2009, In SEO, by Dr. Pete

Posted by Dr. Pete

I’m reporting live from Pubcon Las Vegas this week, along with some of the SEOmoz team. To be honest, we’ve struggled a bit with how to cover the conference here on the blog. As someone who only hits a couple of conferences per year, I know how annoying it can be to have to hear how great an event is that you already regret not being able to go to. On top of that, sometimes information that seems brilliant in context just doesn’t translate into a quick blog blurb or Tweet. So, in the interest of providing value to those of you who aren’t here at Pubcon, we’re going to try to take some deeper dives into the content, hopefully providing some of that context you may be missing.

Is That An Elephant?

No, I’m not trying to distract you. These first two days of sessions, I couldn’t help but feel that there was an elephant in the room with us during the social media sessions. The enthusiasm for social media (and especially Twitter) has been stronger than ever, but we all seem reluctant to dampen that enthusiasm by talking about an uncomfortable fact – very few of us have really found a way to measure social media success. Sure, there are internal metrics for any given platform – Twitter followers, for example – but without something external to tie it to, those are little more than high scores in the social media video game.

The B-word

Of course, the default answer is always "branding". Unfortunately, much like "engagement", branding is too often just a distraction, an intangible excuse we use to avoid the fact that we have nothing to measure. Ironically, during a session that had nothing to do with social media, I heard something close to an answer during Q&A. No matter what you think branding is, find a way to measure it. Here are just a few possiblities:

Direct brand mentions
Links with brand-related anchor text
Branded search volume

Where’s there a number, there’s a path to calculating ROI.

Target a Response

At this morning’s keynote, we had a chance to hear from the marketing departments of various Vegas hotels. Like the rest of us, these marketers are learning as they go, trying to figure out how to use Twitter and Facebook to drive real business value. Most of the hotel marketing departments see social media as a direct-response channel, and that’s certainly a start. Put out a special offer through social media channels, and you can measure the response. Where there’s a measurable response, there’s ROI.

MGM Grand’s marketing head hinted at another possibility – their employees monitor Twitter to spot dissatisfied hotel guests, dispatching staff to help solve the problem. What’s the natural next step? Measure this response. How many problems did they intercept? How many were they able to solve? What does solving one customer’s problem equal in real dollars? All of these questions can be answered, and from those answers comes tangible value.

Find a Comparison

Finally, during a session about how social media and search intersect, we heard a great example from Lee Odden about how to put a value on social media. Lee mentioned that his firm drives about 15-20 major media mentions per month from social media. He estimates that this equates to paying a PR firm $10,000/month. This may not sound like metrics in the traditional sense, but it’s an entirely valid approach. PR costs money to generate, and social media has replaced that value.

Just Measure It

When it comes to measuring social media ROI, what are we really afraid of? If I start measuring, will I have to admit that being a 307th-level Maniac on Facebook Mafia Wars isn’t providing solid business value? Stop making excuses, stop mumbling about branding, and find a way to quantify social media success in real dollars.

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Posted by Dr. Pete