Posts tagged SEO Techniques
5 SEO Myths Conspiring to Kill Your Rankings
Mar 10th
Well-structured, expert SEO help is essential to the success of just about every site on our big, blue internet nowadays! Yet, there are still so many myths and misunderstanding that we encounter regarding SEO … sometimes these misunderstandings cost rankings, sometimes they cost money, sometimes they cost entire businesses. At least make sure that you understand these five things about SEO … More >
5 Ways to Ensure Duplicate Content Doesn’t Dupe Your SEO
Mar 4th
You can’t dupe the duplicate content filter! However, you can have a fairly serious impact on your SEO by having too much duplicate content on your site, even if it is properly credited and legally allowed. There is ongoing confusion over the best way to deal with duplicate content on your site; here we check out the main methods.
Ignoring SEO Information
Aug 15th
There is a massive amount of information on the net about SEO and web marketing. That is because everybody involved in the industry knows that fresh content is a must for good rankings, and so will blog and write articles often. Unfortunately, the ‘not so good’ SEO practitioners write just as many articles as the true experts.
So how can you tell the difference – how do you know whose SEO advice to listen to? Here is a quick checklist to help you sort the wheat from the chaff.
Do they walk the talk?
Is the SEO company you’re getting advice from listed in the top 10 results for one of their core keywords? If not, they probably aren’t using the right strategies … and won’t be able to give you the right ones either!
Ask in person
If its appropriate, ask a question about SEO in person. You can do this via phone, but a better way to do this is at industry events and conferences. Information on a blog can be a bit one-sided; the process of conversation will help you work towards a better understanding of SEO, quicker.
Check their references
Most SEO companies list their major clients. Check on Google how the clients rank for some keywords you would expect to be important to them – if they don’t show up in the top thirty, there’s a chance their SEO might not be so hot!
Search engines aren’t always the best people to ask
Many companies refer to Matt Cutts (of Google’s) blog. It seems like inside information – but in reality, Google has its own agenda. It wants the best quality and most relevant sites to rank at the top for a search … and they won’t necessarily feel that’s your site. Their company goals are not the same as yours.
Listen to your test results
With your webmaster’s help, listen mostly to the results of tests set up to check on your SEO health. When something improves, pay attention … listen!
15 Words to Cut From Your Site Copy
Apr 2nd
As Seth Godin once wrote (yes, I promise he did … I just can’t remember when!), fear is one of the two biggest killers of creativity. The other is a lack of imagination – just so I don’t keep you hanging for the rest of the post! What fear means in a copywriting and SEO context, is that you are worried about your business seeming unprofessional through your copywriting … and consequently fill your writing with a boatload of business clichés because of it.
Parental Advisory - Cliched content
Clichés annoy your site visitors – ‘Couldn’t they have thought of something original to say?’ – but it also does your SEO no favours. No searcher types ‘innovative business solutions’ into the little black box on the Google front page. Unless you’re researching for a blog post – in which case you’ll find that even with quotes around the phrase to return only exact matches, there are 57,000 web pages with that term. Hardly makes you unique … or even innovative! But this isn’t the only SEO-killing, unimaginative cliché that people use in their copywriting. Here we explore some of the most annoying!
- Solutions
You might feel that your business provides solutions. Most of your customers will feel that you provide you provide a lawn-mowing service. Don’t use it! - Innovative
Your business may truly be innovative – however most customers don’t really care about this. In a way, the majority of businesses are innovative – most have a Unique Selling Proposition. So in being innovative, you’re being just like the rest… - ROI
In some cases it is necessary … just don’t overuse this one! - Dynamic
You know how much your business changes, but most of your customers don’t. Nor do they care – they only want to know what your business does at the moment they want to buy something from you. - Challenge
A watered-down version of having a ‘problem’. Of course, this one is appropriate sometimes – but again, don’t overuse it. - The missing piece of the puzzle
Well, I’ve been guilty of this one
. But I’m happy to cop my dues, along with everyone else! - Customer centric
This phrase tells customers that you are an out-and-out liar. If you really cared about making things easy for your customers, you would never use a phrase like customer-centric. - Market-leading
Not everyone can be a market leader … but everyone uses this phrase in their copywriting - Seamless
This means very little, apart from the fact that you’ve reviewed your product or service and found that there are no bugs or inconsistencies. Something that should come naturally, but is not a selling point. - Robust and scalable
Unless you’re in the field of IT, this won’t float any of your customer’s boats! - A new breed
You might do some things a little different to your competitors, but you aren’t an entirely new breed. I’m not aiming to denigrate your business here, just wanting to point out that when you exaggerate these things, everything else you say is less meaningful. - Integrate
Of course, there are many businesses that integrate things. Watch that you don’t make this the focal point of your sentences, though – it’s a very vague word. - Results-driven company
Ironically, all this phrase makes me think of is the fact that the business is making money off me. The result they want is obviously profit. Very clichéd … very much needs to be replaced! - World-class
Your company may very well be world-class. But there are two words that mean little to your customers, and are never going to drive clicks to your site from Google. So communicate your ‘world-classness’ another way! - Core competencies
This sort of language belongs in the office, but not on a website, where you’re speaking to real people.
Go over your website now and see if you can identify any places where you are taking up space that could be used for SEO, with meaningless copywriting clichés.
How to Beat a Behemoth SEO Competitor – Final tips
Mar 30th
Beating a well-established Google number 1 in their own niche isn’t easy … but it is certainly possible. The greatest crime would be not to try …especially when we’ve given you so many awesome tips for doing it! Here’s the last of the bunch.
Yes, it can be done...
1. Build some unique, authority content
I once worked with a company that sold doorknobs, lever handles, knockers and locks, etc. One of the biggest traffic drivers to their site (thousands of visitors a month, for quite a niche business) was an authority piece on cleaning brass items. The company did an extensive amount of research, and put together a comprehensive 2,000 word guide to cleaning brass door furniture with household items. People just keep coming for this sort of content – it needs to complement your product or service and truly aim to help people. Don’t think about word limits when you’re building this content … you’ll end up with just another of the hundreds of pieces of mediocre content on the web.
2. Always use anchor text
Rather than saying ‘Visit www.yourbusinesswebsitehere.com.au for great deals on business websites’, say ‘Keep researching deals on business websites now’. People … and Google … understand the intention a lot better!
3. Get personal with database marketing
This is a big task, but definitely worthwhile. Create an email database with as much information about each recipient as possible, and then use it for targeted marketing.
4. Get personal with a blog, a Facebook Page, a Twitter account …etc
Social media creates a far richer face to your company than just whether you’re in the number 1 or number 5 spot on Google’s front page. This added dimension has flow-on benefits for SEO too, though – the greater your visitor count, the higher your ranking. And the more you interact with customers, the more people are likely to link to your website from their own.
5. Get an expert on your side
This is one of the most important things to remember. SEO is no longer an amateur’s game, and if someone ranks at the top of Google for their search term, it’s because expert web marketing help put them there. If you’re going to compete on a level playing field, you’ll need to call in the professionals as well!
By the way, the only reason tip 5 wasn’t at the very beginning of the article set is that we thought it might stick in your head a little better back here … and it is the most important SEO technique to remember.
How to Beat a Behemoth SEO Competitor – The Big List continued
Mar 29th
One of the greatest pities in the SEO world is when a great company fails to optimise their site because they feel they can’t compete with another large company that has more online experience, more Google Juice, and a bigger website. It’s a pity not only for the company itself, but for the general public and potential consumers who may miss out on the option of having a stellar product! Today we continue our look at how you can actually beat a big SEO competitor. Even the mighty must sometimes fall…
1. Don’t compete on price
It’s the lowest common denominator on the web. It’s tempting to think that if you offer a cheaper product than your big competitor, you’ll eventually siphon off all their customers, link popularity, etc. Not true. In many cases, you just end up being seen as the cheap alternative to the ‘good’ product. Being at the top of Google is an automatic ticket to being seen as a ‘trusted’ brand, according to surveys. Being cheap, and lower down, just makes you seem ‘safe to ignore’.
2. Look first to thyself
Sayeth the God of web marketing to his true believers! Make sure your offering is great, that your web design is awesome, that your customer service is in order, before you engage in a full-scale assault on that top Google ranking.
3. Spy on your competitors … to create a point of difference
It may sound sneaky … but it all depends on how you use the information. Copying your competitors tactics will not usually help you beat them. As Ries and Trout (the 27 Immutable Laws of Marketing) suggest, it is better to be first than it is to be better. However, if you want to know how to market yourself as different to potential customers, you need to know what makes you different. Which means knowing what the customer experience at your competitor’s business is like.
4. Ask what your customers thought about transactions
People LOOOVE being asked what they think! And this tactic doesn’t only endear your customers to you … it provides valuable information about improving your business for the future. There may be a tiny piece of the puzzle that your competitor has mastered, but you’ve so far missed completely. Implement a ‘Feedback’ form on your website, or get in contact with people who have had orders delivered via email and find out what they thought about the transaction. It works on eBay!
Keep watching for more ideas from the big list for beating those SEO behemoths at their own game!
How to Beat a Behemoth SEO Competitor – The Big List of Underdog Tactics
Mar 26th
Sometimes an SEO campaign seems hopeless. Much like at Kokoda on the Owen Stanley track, your larger competitor outnumbers you in staff and resources. They seem healthier and more experienced … but if you have the guts and determination, and use a little ingenuity in your SEO and general web marketing strategy, it is certainly possible to beat them! Today we start our catalogue of tips for beating a seemingly unbeatable SEO competitor.
Not such a mammoth competitor after all!
1. Persistence
This is the first thing you need to remember as you launch into an assault on the top position. If you only half-finish an SEO campaign, you waste all of it … not just half. Be prepared to go the distance – know that it is possible!
2. Know your market
In some cases a ‘competitor’ may not truly be competing with your business. If you have a slightly different offering, aim to be at the top of Google for the search terms that best describe your business. Know your unique selling point, and exploit it to the max!
3. Use review sites to boost your business name
Ask your customers to leave reviews of your business on well-respected review sites. If you’re in the tourism industry, Tripadvisor is the big name – but every industry can use sites like www.productreview.com.au. Please avoid the temptation to use review sites to denigrate your competitor(s)’ reputations, though! Keep it clean, people.
4. Don’t forget Google Local
Make sure you use your Google Local profile to the fullest extent possible. Add all the information you can Add your prices in Google Local as well – so many people use the internet for price comparisons, and may simply pass over your business if getting a price is too much like hard work. Price isn’t always the determining factor in supplier choice for the majority of people, anyway.
5. Don’t forget Google Local Reviews!
These may be one of the first things that prospective customers see – Google Local results often show up very high on the results listing, and click-throughs are a lot more evenly spread for these ten results. Get your satisfied customers to leave reviews here to start boosting your traffic.
Stay tuned – we’ll be looking at more ways to beat a behemoth SEO competitor in the coming days.
4 Biggest SEO Cash Leeches
Mar 19th
SEO can be great for business. Can be really, really great for business. We’ve personally seen quite a few companies make million-dollar differences to their bottom line, in as little as 12 months. These aren’t the steps to getting to your goal (the number one rankings, the traffic, etc). This IS the goal! But unfortunately, there are a lot of ways you can waste money with ineffective SEO techniques. Today we look at some of the biggest cash leeches in an SEO campaign – they are all give and no take.
1. You’re paying for ads on the Google content network that are not highly targeted
For starters, we are firm believers in the idea that organic SEO has a huge range of benefits over and above pay per click, which is the way the Google Content network is designed. Click on the image above to view it at full size, and tell me if you think the advertisers in question were actively trying to target ‘travel insurance’. If your ads are displayed like this, there is a far lower chance of getting clicks, and of getting conversions from clicks that you pay for.
2. Not using analytics
I love John Wanamaker’s quote – “Half of the money I spend on advertising is completely wasted. I just have no idea which half”. John Wanamaker was the inventor of the price tag and a department store owner himself, and obviously lived in the time before Google Analytics! Ask your SEO company about setting up analytics, if it all seems a bit too much like hard work.
3. Designing, building and writing content for the company, not the customer
You can have the prettiest website and the most grammatically correct content in the world. But if it doesn’t speak in the same language as your customers do, or appeal to them visually, then it is terrible. Why? Because it isn’t achieving its goals.
4. You are paying to get traffic to an old, non-functional or poorly designed site
Without an attractive, usable website at the other end of the click-journey, you’ll be paying for SEO that is driving up not much more than you bounce rate. In fact, many SEO companies can help you with your web design as well. You may not need to switch companies for this little cash leech – just ask about additional services.
Getting to the top of Google is not a license to print money, unfortunately. There are plenty of other SEO-related factors you need to keep an eye on in order to make money in the long term. Talk to an expert SEO strategist if you want any pointers for your own site!
5 Acceptable SEO Techniques to Learn From the Black-Hatters
Feb 22nd
One thing that few self-service style SEO guides make clear is the distinction between white-hat and black-hat tactics. SEO is a tool that can be used in a variety of different ways … so while a fork can be used to pick up food, it can also be used to stab somebody. Google is trying to avoid being stabbed with the forks they hand out, in the form of the reward that their algorithm provides to different sites! However, every current black-hat technique started out as a legitimate way for Google to differentiate between sites for relevance. So how can you get back to basics, and safely use those ‘black-hat’ style techniques?
Black and White Hat SEO are opposite sides of the same thing...
1. Hide your text
Black hatters use hidden text for nonsensical keyword stuffing. Legitimate sites can still get the benefit of any keywords that may be located in hidden text, but without cluttering the page itself, using JQuery effects like mouseovers to make text appear, etc. Here is a legitimate example (text in the question marks).
2. Mis-spelled terms
It is a popular black hat technique to try and rank for misspelt versions of popular terms, for example, ‘credtit report’. If you have a common misspelling in your industry, define it somewhere on your page, and let visitors know the correct version.
3. Grow your own farmed links
Create a network of related blogs in house, each focusing on a niche within your company or industry. A single person should be able to manage four or five, still very professionally.
4. Pay for your links
But not in the standard black hat way – donate to charitable organizations or community organizations that have a ‘Sponsors’ page with followed links.
5. Do some brand jacking
Do you have a legitimate tale of disappointment from a corporation? People love to complain, and they love bad news, and they love to hear about how terrible a place is before they do business with them. It is a legitimate purpose – just don’t overdo it, your site will develop a negative ‘aura’!