Search engine optimization is considered both an art and a science. You can learn it and fine-tune your processes to allow for your own set of SEO best practices. But as a beginner in SEO, you should expect to make a lot of mistakes. But that’s okay: it’s a good way for you to learn. However, you could also learn from the mistakes of others. Here are the top five mistakes that most SEO beginners commit: 1. Not focusing on content. Most site owners and webmasters tend to rely on tricks and so-called SEO techniques to get a better ranking on search engines. Because of that, they neglect the content of the site. This is probably the biggest mistake that anybody doing SEO could commit. Over the years, webmasters have gained artificially high ranking from getting links from link farms, or getting reciprocal links, or spamming DMOZ. There were other black hat and grey hat techniques. But over time, these tactics were found out – Read the full article
The face of one of the most innovative companies in history is their ever-changing, extremely memorable logo. While Google leads innovation in many verticals and constantly “brands” that simplistic colorful logo in our brains, there is a lot behind this work of art and its purpose is not merely to line the walls or logo mats of the Google complex. Way back in 1998, Google created the basis for what we still see today: a simple wordmark logo utilizing 3 main colors and the oddball green on the “l”. The rebellious green goes against the pattern of the main colors in a symbolic gesture that “Google doesn’t always follow the rules.” Since 1998, the main logo has only changed twice with simple changes to the gradient and letter shadowing. The colors and the font are still recognizable across all three with the Google Logo font coming from the German designer, Gustav Jaeger, entitled “Catull BQ”. What is truly inspiring about – Read the full article
Creating a social media presence for your car dealer website can bolster the credibility of your business in numerous ways. Given the increasing popularity of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, there is every likelihood that all your existing and prospective customers are on these sites. Social media would enable you to portray your dealership to your customers and prospects in the best light possible and create an intimate system of engagement that would enhance interactivity and establish your dealership as a formidable player in the automotive industry. Here are some ways through which social media can enhance the credibility of your car dealer website. Establishes your brand – Registering your dealership for a social media profile would ensure that your brand has arrived on the social scene. This would give your car dealer website a phenomenal online presence and make your brand appear authentic and trustworthy to your fans. Professionalism – The popular adage “pictures speak a thousand words” holds – Read the full article
Increasingly, people are accessing the Web from smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. It’s not just the desktop and laptop anymore. This means that, as a business owner, Internet marketer, or SEO professional, you have to come up with a search engine optimization strategy that’s specific to mobile – a strategy that will help you get found online more easily and quickly. Let smartphone users and mobile consumers find you whenever they search. Here’s a mobile SEO checklist to get you started: Plan for it. Set a strategy, identify your targets, and plan accordingly. Like any other SEO campaign, successful mobile marketing takes plenty of research and preparation. Know the various mobile search engines. There’s Google XHTML, Google Mobile, Bing Mobile, Yahoo! Mobile, AOL Mobile, and abphone – among many others. Familiarize yourself with these by using your own mobile phone or tablet device. “Mobilize” your website. There are plenty of plug-ins and tools for building a mobile version of – Read the full article
Blogs have increasingly become valuable multimedia hubs where personal bloggers and companies provide information through all types of media in various categories of interest. When bloggers write posts and get them published, they expect readers to find them. The fact, however, is that your blog is one among millions of others – probably even hundreds of millions – existing in the Web universe. Instead of waiting to be discovered, you need to find a way of telling the world that you exist. The best way of doing this is to promote your blog to social media sites. Once your post is published at your ‘hub’, you should let your followers and fans find the post where they hang out. With more than 200 million Twitter users and about 800 million on Facebook, having your post promoted through social media is crucial in giving your blog much needed exposure. There are several major platforms where you can publish and enable people – Read the full article
Because our WordPress themes posts have been so popular, we’re bringing you yet another one. This latest list features 30 premium WordPress themes that are suitable for all business, regardless of size and industry. By “premium”, of course, we mean they’re certainly worth paying for. Of course, by choosing WordPress (our favorite CMS here at Lakeshore Branding), you already know you’re getting an awesome set of features. Whatever your goals are, you can leverage the platform to enhance cost-effectiveness, simplify your Web design, add customizations, and improve your social media and search ranking performance. A suitable theme completes the look – and gives you the competitive edge that you need to stand out in your industry. Think this list is awesome? Share it by tweeting, posting it on Facebook, bookmarking, commenting, or adding on to the list! If you have a favorite premium WordPress theme that we missed out on, please be sure to let us know and leave a – Read the full article
Small business owners often rely on leads in order for them to keep their business afloat. The only problem is that online lead generation can be a very difficult thing to master, especially when the goal is not just simply to come up with a huge list. The quality of the leads is something that owners need to consider as well. Trying to hit both goals can be very tricky. Most people assume that the numbers are all the matter in online lead generation. But what is the use of a big list if it consists mostly of unqualified leads which cost not just money but time as well? Online lead generation is a tool that allows business owners to make attractive offers to prospective buyers. In order to keep you from engaging unqualified leads, wasting both time and effort, here are a few tips. 1. Conversion Mechanisms Should Be Consistent with Purchase This is a very simple concept which – Read the full article
Great content comes from great authors. At least that’s what Google thinks. That’s why, in an effort to recognize the people who write original stuff on the Web, the search engine company has recently rolled out a new authorship markup feature. “(It’s) a way to connect authors with their content on the Web,” wrote Google software engineer Othar Hansson in a company blog post. “We’re experimenting with using this data to help people find content from great authors in our search results.” It gets a little technical, but the development is in line with Google’s attempt to encourage more original content to be published on the Web, all while minimizing the influence and performance of low-quality content (from content farms) in search results. Google’s support for authorship markup extends to include: Prominently displaying the names of authors of articles within search results Enabling people to use Google search results to learn more about, find other works by, or contact and – Read the full article
