Marketing on the Web
Google uses page load speed as one of the signals in their ranking algorithm. While they previously provided an indicator of your sites speed in Webmaster tools, but it wasn’t on-going (they only sampled periodically). With this announcement, Google has added Site Speed To Google Analytics. I think page load speed is something everyone should be monitoring, especially if you’re in a share hosting environment (like most of my customers). It will also be beneficial in identifying slower page...
MoreCreating Quality Content
It is often said that “content is king”. However, more content is not necessarily better. Content must stay focused on the subject of the site. Sections should only contain information that is closely related. Pages should focus on a single topic and contain variations of key phrases to be relevant for a wide range of searches. So how do you create great copy? The key to creating great content is to think in terms of solving a problem. Then describe the problem and the solution in generic ...
MoreReview Your Site Architecture
My clients will tell you that I am always preaching the importance of site architecture (or information architecture). Your site’s architecture, links, and navigation communicate how information is related within your site. Each page in your site passes rank to the pages beneath it. If your site lacks organization, Google must rely on other factors to determine the importance and relationship of your pages. WordPress and SEO guru Joost de Valk has a great write-up on this topic. https://yoast...
MoreUpdating Your Linked-In Profile
Google takes its signals from a variety of sources and Linkedin seems to high on its list. I just read a piece by Ron Jones on updating you LinkedIn profile. I would add that if you don't have a company page, you should create one and ask your employees to update their profiles to ensure that they they are linked. Also a good article on Marketing your business on Linked in
MoreSketchy SEO Practices, Just Say No.
There's a great Google Webmaster Help thread about a sketchy SEO firm. You know firms like this, ones that promise "first place in Google search results guaranteed". Ok there are dozens (hundreds?) of firms that promise results like this. The problem is that these sketchy "black hat" SEO tactics can work for a while. Truthfully, you may see great results from these shysters for six months or so until you trip an circuit breaker in the algorithm and your website disappears from the Search Resu...
MoreEight Tips for Better Ranking
Optimizing your site for search can be a daunting task. Here is a list of eight things you can do to help your content rank better in Search Results. Optimize the Structure of Your Site (Information Architecture) Clearly communicate the organization of your site through navigation, breadcrumbs, and file path. Organize Your Content Display whatever you are promoting by category and cross-link to related categories to support searches for category, location, country of origin, brand, etc....
MoreYahoo Marketing to MSN AdCenter Transition Complete
Looks like the Yahoo Marketing to MSN AdCenter cut-over is now complete (I had several email notices to this effect this morning). With this change, customers will no longer be able to differentiate bids or ads between these platforms. To make this more clear in the reporting for my customers, I have updated the campaigns that previously read MSN (cpc) and Yahoo (cpc) to display as “Bing (cpc)” in their Google analytics traffic reports. Several in the industry are reporting wild gyrations...
MoreDifferentiate Affiliate Clicks from Bounces
A bounce is a visit to your website that doesn't result in a second pageview or a desired action. If your site participates in affiliate marketing programs such as Google AdSense, an outbound click may very well be your desired action. To be able to properly optimize your website and your marketing campaigns, you need to differentiate someone clicking out on an affiliate link from someone who doesn't find what they are looking for and just leaves. The "proper" way to do that is to either trac...
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