Let’s face it, online marketing is more than just advertising your company on the internet. Google has evolved into a verb for searching, and your page rank is essential. Be it your personal blog, or your online business, search engine optimization is crucial for securing the top position on a search. Many people underestimate page rank because they do not understand just how important it is to be the top rank. In some cases, the 1st position is clicked 90% more than the 2nd position. With an average click difference of 50-70%, page rank and SEO is not to be taken lightly. There is no perfect formula for SEO. There are literally hundreds of factors that determine your page rank on Google with some factors that weigh heavier than others. Here are 5 plugins for your WordPress that can boost your website in a search engine. 1. Super Cache One big factor is how long your website takes to load. – Read the full article
Google is not the only search engine in the world. In some large countries like Russia, it isn’t even the most popular. It has been estimated that only one fourth of the Internet’s 2 billion users speak English as their native language. Only one fourth! That means that if you are only optimizing your site for people who speak English then you may be missing out on 1.5 billion potential customers! Obviously if you want to expand your market globally, you have to start thinking about targeting local areas around the globe that search on the Internet in different languages. This means translating your site, among other things that will help SEO-wise, and you should do so because it has been proven that people searching on the web trust their native speaking tongue when it comes to making a purchase on the Internet. Where to Start You must first decide if you want to target by location or by language. – Read the full article
A business today needs to be mobile. Your customers are using their cell phones to access business information. If you aren’t easily accessible on their mobile phones then they’re going to start overlooking you in favor of businesses that are. Here are the tools that you need in order to go mobile with your business: Reinvent your website for the mobile platform. You may have a really amazing Flash website with a lot of interactive features that looks terrific on a desktop computer. However, that’s not going to work correctly on most mobile phones. You need to also have a mobile version of your site. (Lakeshore Branding has a list of really sweet tools here.) Each different mobile platform offers a browser WebKit to help optimize sites for the web. It’s worth it to work with a professional who is knowledgeable about making your website ready for mobile devices. Do local search engine optimization. Doing SEO for your website means taking – Read the full article
Foursquare sounds like fun. We’ve said it before: as a location-based social networking platform, it is able to engage mobile users to explore neighborhoods, do “check-ins”, find friends, play social city games, unlock cool badges, win “Mayorships”, and earn points and rewards. And thanks to its innovative social mechanics, Foursquare is making city after city a social media playground. Let’s admit it, though. Foursquare doesn’t sound business-y. It doesn’t exactly have the feel of a traditional corporate strategy – and if you had to present this in the boardroom to your marketing director or CEO, you might be disposed to think you’re speaking in a language that they can’t understand. Here’s some good news. Foursquare – if leveraged properly – is as viable a marketing tool as any, perfect for boosting your business. Foursquare users check-in at all kinds of places – cafes, bars, shops, malls, hotels, restaurants, parks, homes, offices, recreational areas, day spa, and events, among many others. – Read the full article
Instant just got mobile. It was only last September that Google introduced Google Instant, a search enhancement that allowed users to view search engine results as they typed. Promising better, faster results, Google Instant also saved a lot of typing and time – about 2 to 5 seconds per search, according to the company. As covered by our very own Brandon Zeman, as well as of guest writer Phyllis Roe, the new feature introduces new implications on SEO and gives rising importance to efficiency in search. Two months later? Google has taken Instant search to mobile platforms. In an announcement made Thursday on the Google Mobile blog, Google is rolling out the beta release of the search service for mobile phones, particularly the iPhone and Android-powered devices. According to the company, Google Instant on mobile is tied to a new implementation of AJAX and HTML5, which thus allows dynamic page updates and eliminates the need to load a new webpage – Read the full article
If you’re thinking of starting your online business, then you’re part of a race where millions are striving for successful brand recognition on the Web. To win, you have to build an online brand that stands out in the competition – a brand that has a unique, likeable personality. Online brand building means thinking of ways you can make your Web identity more accessible to your potential customers, all while boosting your sales and building a reputation that engenders trust and credibility. Let me first raise some of the aspects of brand-building across the Internet: Quality Creatively built web identity Customer service Promotion and marketing Consistency Quality of products or services is your niche and is arguably most important. It’s better to have a single product that does well rather than having a hundred that perform really badly. Your product should be more innovative and superior than what the next guy has to offer. To make a product with distinction, – Read the full article
Link building is currently one of the most important methods used in search engine optimization (SEO). Websites receive high popularity ratings due to the use of search engines with relevance as a basis for measurement. As a result of this link building, a website receives quality traffic taken from relevant sites, thus making it a valuable resource. Credibility, visibility, and awareness are established and a website receives a wide search engine exposure as long as the strategy focus is with link building. The three ways in link building include a complete link, one-way linking, or reciprocal link structure. The first method is the most favorable strategy because it gets links for your site and directs those that do not require a reciprocal relationship. There is a possibility, however, that this link building method will only feature sites that are relevant to their content. This means that the link should have the same theme for search engine optimization. With the one-way – Read the full article
The Internet has provided many businesses with new exciting opportunities. We know that an increasing number of consumers are turning to the Web when it comes to purchasing products and services. As a business owner, this means that it’s vital that you maintain an online presence. You’ll want to give potential customers the best possible chance to buy your services. The first step on the road to achieving this will be to build a website. Many small business owners take that first step, but too few think about what to do next. The reality is that having a website will be of very little value unless consumers can actually find it. This is what makes search engine optimization (SEO) so vital to any business that’s aiming to succeed online: appearing at the top of the search engine rankings will give you the best chance of being noticed. Hiring a suitable SEO consultant is thus going to be important to your – Read the full article
