Search Engine Optimization
Based in the Ottawa area, we help our clients with their computer and Internet needs. Our specialty is modifying our client's website content to ensure that search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing give it a high ranking. In addition, we offer assistance in the design of web stores to simplify the shopping experience and enhance revenue.
While search engine optimization (SEO) is our specialty our clients often have other computer related needs. Our expertise allows us to help our clients in a variety of ways. We also offer webmaster services, computer network services, data recovery and other computer services.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Top 10
Looking at the title you might think this is a top ten list. Instead, this post is about getting into the top ten.
I have seen a variety of techniques discussed a dozen different ways but the simplest technique is the best.
1. Choose the expression you expect a user to enter into a search engine.
2. Enter that expression into the search engine.
3. Review what comes up.
4. Ask yourself if you can beat anything presently in the top ten.
That's it, that's all. If your site is as good or better than the results that do come up but you are not in the top then you have ten examples to look at and learn from. A big part of how search engines rank sites is based upon the links that sites have. Reviewing your competition involves finding out what links they have.
If you follow these simple steps you should be able judge if your site can get into the top ten.
I have seen a variety of techniques discussed a dozen different ways but the simplest technique is the best.
1. Choose the expression you expect a user to enter into a search engine.
2. Enter that expression into the search engine.
3. Review what comes up.
4. Ask yourself if you can beat anything presently in the top ten.
That's it, that's all. If your site is as good or better than the results that do come up but you are not in the top then you have ten examples to look at and learn from. A big part of how search engines rank sites is based upon the links that sites have. Reviewing your competition involves finding out what links they have.
If you follow these simple steps you should be able judge if your site can get into the top ten.
Labels: Blogging and Search Engine Optimization
Monday, October 5, 2009
Google versus the Yellow Pages
A good client is worth their weight in gold. I firmly believe that most businesses are run by people who remain ignorant of the importance of the web. For example, there are plenty of companies out there who spend a lot of money for yellow page ads but are reluctant to pay a fraction of that for a good website. What these companies often do not appreciate is that many people do not have a land line and therefore don't have that yellow book at home. Chances are people already have a cellphone so what do they need a land line for?
The other aspect to this is that the most valuable consumers are people with good disposable income who tend to be older. Thus, using the yellowpages is still very effective at this time because most people with high disposable incomes have land lines. That said, a smart business should focus on bringing in new clients and a young client who likes your service may eventually graduate to being an older wealthy client.
Based on this one would think that every business would want to ensure they have a good presence on the Internet. My experience is that many businesses think they do but they do not. For example, I've yet to meet someone in a business who did not claim that their page was optimized for Google. That's great. Unfortunately, the people who tell me this have rarely understand what it means.
Modern search engines rank your website according to on page factors and links to your site. Of these two, the links to your site are more important provided the links have some relevancy to the content of your site.
The truth is clients don't care about website optimization. They just want to be at the top of Google for keywords that potential clients will enter into a search engine to find them. If you are #1 on the results page would you care about website optimization?
You would if you were proactive...
The other aspect to this is that the most valuable consumers are people with good disposable income who tend to be older. Thus, using the yellowpages is still very effective at this time because most people with high disposable incomes have land lines. That said, a smart business should focus on bringing in new clients and a young client who likes your service may eventually graduate to being an older wealthy client.
Based on this one would think that every business would want to ensure they have a good presence on the Internet. My experience is that many businesses think they do but they do not. For example, I've yet to meet someone in a business who did not claim that their page was optimized for Google. That's great. Unfortunately, the people who tell me this have rarely understand what it means.
Modern search engines rank your website according to on page factors and links to your site. Of these two, the links to your site are more important provided the links have some relevancy to the content of your site.
The truth is clients don't care about website optimization. They just want to be at the top of Google for keywords that potential clients will enter into a search engine to find them. If you are #1 on the results page would you care about website optimization?
You would if you were proactive...
Labels: Blogging and Search Engine Optimization
Thursday, August 6, 2009
SEO Practices
One of my clients runs a gold recycling business. His business is very interesting from my point of view because gold recycling on the Internet is very competitive. His business is split between clients who mail in their gold and clients that he meets in person. In the course of doing regular SEO for him I check his rankings for various terms. One of these terms, "cash in gold" gave me a very unexpected result. Specifically, it lead to this... business.
For some reason the business at the second link has copied data from my client's site and provided it as content for their own business. Copying information from one website to another is very common however one should ask to copy the information or, at least, provide the source of the information unless the information is designated public domain.
I'm very curious to know how effective their website really is. Would someone wanting to sell gold feel good about visiting a site with a bunch of advertisements, one nice picture and some random content that they found at another source? I feel this is a case of setting up a website without any thought given to the desired result. There is nothing wrong with making your website more appealing to search engines but ultimately every website is there to communicate to a person and that is who it should appeal to.
For some reason the business at the second link has copied data from my client's site and provided it as content for their own business. Copying information from one website to another is very common however one should ask to copy the information or, at least, provide the source of the information unless the information is designated public domain.
I'm very curious to know how effective their website really is. Would someone wanting to sell gold feel good about visiting a site with a bunch of advertisements, one nice picture and some random content that they found at another source? I feel this is a case of setting up a website without any thought given to the desired result. There is nothing wrong with making your website more appealing to search engines but ultimately every website is there to communicate to a person and that is who it should appeal to.
Labels: Blogging and Search Engine Optimization
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Why Search Engines like Blogs
For the most part my clients do not run web businesses but use their websites as a brochure. Using that analogy, they look at producing a website and then leaving it alone. The problem with this is that search engines like new and updated content. When a webpage gets old Google and others tend to reduce its ranking.
Thus far, my clients have not chosen to incorporate blogs. I find this rather surprising because it is no more difficult than writing an email every once in a while. That said, this blog (and my website generally) is often neglected...
Ideally, a blog intended for SEO will feature content relevant to the search terms you want to rank well for. In an ideal world you write a blog for people however there is no shame in writing a blog for a search engine. This one is definitely written for the webrobots though I hope some people find it informative.
Having played with Blogger now for a while I'm tempted to go with Wordpress for future blogs. It provides you full control over the look of your webpage whereas Blogger inserts that silly line that you see at the top of this one...
Thus far, my clients have not chosen to incorporate blogs. I find this rather surprising because it is no more difficult than writing an email every once in a while. That said, this blog (and my website generally) is often neglected...
Ideally, a blog intended for SEO will feature content relevant to the search terms you want to rank well for. In an ideal world you write a blog for people however there is no shame in writing a blog for a search engine. This one is definitely written for the webrobots though I hope some people find it informative.
Having played with Blogger now for a while I'm tempted to go with Wordpress for future blogs. It provides you full control over the look of your webpage whereas Blogger inserts that silly line that you see at the top of this one...
Labels: Blogging and Search Engine Optimization