Search Engine Optimization Trends to Watch in 2013

SEO and Search Marketing in general have both seen many changes in the past 24 months. As a webmaster or digital marketer, you are surely familiar with the two major algorithm updates, Panda and Penguin, which Google introduced in February 2011 and April 2012, respectively.

panda_penguin.jpg

Both of these major changes were not events, but rather the beginning of a new way to rank websites. Both Panda and Penguin undergo “refreshes” on a regular basis, monthly in the case of Panda.

As a refresher, the two updates were

focused on the following:

    Panda: The quality of content on a website itself
    Penguin: The quality of (i.e. lack of manipulation) of off-page authority metrics such as links

See the common thread? Quality, not quantity. Google is working hard to improve the quality of their SERPs. This is imperative to their ongoing success. This is also why the updates will keep coming.

Web marketers and SEOs have invested countless hours in reacting, adjusting strategies and adopting new ways of managing their online presence. The majority of us have finally accommodated the impact of these two mischievous little zoo creatures.

2013 is under way, and we have already seen the first Panda refresh of the year. Rest assured that Google has more up its sleeves. Let’s take a few moments to consider where they might focus their attention between now and December.
SEO Hot Points in 2013

Although Google rarely gives advanced notice of major updates, it has been very consistent in its overall SEO guidance over the past couple of years. It is adamant about avoiding shortcuts and earning rankings through hard work.

Content alone won’t cut it, though. There are several areas that all web owners need to keep in mind to maximize their online exposure potential.

Source  http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/search-engine-optimization-trends-to-watch-in-2013-019573.php

Quick and Effective SEO Tips

When you’re attempting to build up the ranking and popularity of your website, it’s all about the search engine optimization tactics you’re implementing. Whether you’re going with paid advertising, organic methods, or a mixture of the two, proper SEO is what’s going to ultimately earn you a high-ranking site. Without a site that’s ranked well in its respective niche, you’re most likely not going to receive enough traffic to survive in a competitive market.

The code of your website (the HTML) needs to be clean, neat and tidy if you want it to be scanned well by the bots! This point is highly emphasized because a lot of start-up web designers do not check that their code is clean. They simply pack things in via a drag-and-drop menu, only occasionally tweaking the actual code.

This is a very bad way to go. You need to get in there and clean up your code, making it very neat and fluid if you want the robots to scan it properly.

When you’re tinkering around with the code to clean it up, you should also use this opportunity to add certain keywords inside of your title and header tags. This is something that’s ridiculously easy to do, even if you are a rookie with HTML. The main thing to focus on is that you actually close the end of your tags. Copy and paste your code into a Word doc or Notepad beforehand, save a copy of the code just in case you mess up, and take your time adding the right tags in the main copy.

Quick and Effective SEO Tips image seoOne of the most underrated ways to build up your site’s rankings is to have a good internal linking structure. For instance, you want to use keywords and links on your homepage to redirect readers to other pages of your site, and vice versa. However, these links have to be clean. They cannot negatively affect the flow of your site’s navigation, and they cannot be jumbled up inside of your HTML. Take your time and create a clean linking structure.

Adding related images to your website is great for eye appeal. Users visiting your site will appreciate good-looking, relevant pictures. But search engine bots appreciate different captions and tags inside of your HTML. To do this, simply open up your page, view the HTML, find the photo tags, and add in different keywords and captions. These will not show on the photo itself; instead, they will be robot fodder for the bots crawling over your content to rank it.

Despite the explosion of smaller, more personal social sites on today’s web, content is still king, and all content should still contain a lot of relevant keywords. Just make sure to perform keyword research before posting any content. List your keywords in the proper context and near the top of the content, in the first few sentences, in the headers, etc. This small measure will improve your rankings.

SEO is still the best way to go if you want to improve your rankings. Use the methods listed above and you can ensure that your site ranks well in its niche.

Source  http://www.business2community.com/seo/quick-and-effective-seo-tips-0396150

Website Design and SEO Company, RevBuilders Marketing Launches New Website for Recycling and Waste Company

As part of a larger re-branding effort headed by the collaborative efforts of Brand Design, Sigma College of Small Business, and RevBuilders Marketing, EnviroSolutions, Inc. recently launched a re-designed website. The new website comes after numerous efforts by all parties to redefine the company’s image in order to help it compete with the other major players in the industry, such as Waste Management.

“I don’t think most people are aware of which company manages the waste at their home or place of business,” says Scot Small, President of RevBuilders Marketing. “That means that they aren’t considering the possibility of there being a better way. We tried to capture the different efforts which ESI makes to be environmentally friendly as part of the re-branding and redesigned their website with this focus in mind, while also giving their site a much needed overhaul in terms of functionality and style.”

“We’re excited to be launching our new website,” says Gary Hewes, Vice President of EnviroSolutions, Inc. “RevBuilders Marketing worked closely with us to develop the new website. They made the process smooth from design to launch, making it easy for us to get our message out.”

Many municipalities throughout the country encourage recycling through education-based initiatives, and many of these are sponsored by local waste companies like EnviroSolutions, Inc. These businesses are also often the first to apply new methods to reducing the overall volume of waste which is put into a landfill, as well as new ways of harvesting useful natural resources such as biogas and water from the landfills. “It’s an important job that ESI has,” says Small. “We hope our efforts allow them to provide their services to even more of the people who need it.”

About Brand Design
Brand Design has been in business for more than 17 years, providing in-house marketing and branding services. The company focuses on small to medium size businesses, associations and other non-profit institutions. Brand Design is established locally in Fauquier and surrounding counties, serving clients in and around the Washington Metro Area, North Carolina and South Carolina.

About Sigma College of Small Business
Sigma College of Small Business is a business development consultant agency and social media marketing trainer. Founded by Jamie Gorman in 2008, the company is concerned with helping businesses improve how they meet management, financial, strategic and marketing needs for their company. After several years working with small business owners in his spare time, Gorman realized the need for practical, convenient and affordable business management education for small business owners. Visit SigmaBizLearning.com for more information.

About RevBuilders Marketing
RevBuilders Marketing is a full-service online marketing & branding agency, offering a complete range of integrated online marketing services: SEO or Search Engine Optimization, Paid Search Management, Social Marketing, Email Marketing, Content Writing & Branding. In addition, through effective Web Design and conversion optimization, RevBuilders converts the increased SEO traffic into leads and sales for their clients. RevBuilders Marketing is located in Gainesville, Virginia, serving a client-base across the country. Click here for more information.

Source  http://www.timesunion.com/business/press-releases/article/Website-Design-and-SEO-Company-RevBuilders-4225403.php

2012 a Rocky Year for SEO and Medical Marketing

SEO 1 Medical has published a list of Google algorithm changes that have sent shock waves throughout the SEO Landscape and the healthcare marketing world. The published article offers remedies to address the dramatic changes and penalties that have affected search engine rankings of millions of medical websites.

Dallas ,TX (PRWEB) December 31, 2012

Dallas based SEO 1 Medical, a search engine optimization company specializing in medical marketing has published a new article highlighting the major turning points in SEO. With over 28 updates in a 12 month span, Google has fundamentally changed the criteria used to rank websites. Medical websites, in the competitive healthcare industry, were significantly affected sending doctors, medical practitioners, and SEO consultants back to the marketing drawing board.

The Motive Behind the Change
Whether this is a move prompted by Google’s desire to protect its revenue stream as many marketing professionals have suggested or simply an improvement of the search results, the changes are here to stay. The magnitude, the scope and the timing of the algorithm changes caught everyone off guard; the truth of the matter is that it was to be expected sooner or later. "Our SEO strategies have always included 'what if' scenarios designed to anticipate Google algorithm changes and avoid the rippled effects," said Rodney Brooke of SEO 1 Medical. “Google is slowly making a transition from being a technology company to being the world’s biggest advertising company."

Why the turmoil
The 2012 unprecedented updates in Google search algorithms, whatever the motives may have been, have cause havoc in search engine results. The updates meant sending millions of medical websites down pages in search engine results. For medical practices that get most of their patients through the internet, that spelled out disaster.

The Solution
Despite the harsh consequences of the Panda and Penguin update and the loss of revenue to millions to medical professionals, SEO 1 Medical has crafted a strategy to turn the newest challenge into a competitive advantage. The article titled: "2012 A Rocky Year for SEO and Medical Marketing" offers practical advice on how to address the changes and correct penalties. Updates in search algorithms will continue regardless and it is incumbent on individual website owners and SEOs to find their way around all this.

The way forward
SEO 1 medical concedes that some of the changes initiated by Google were prompted by unscrupulous SEO companies and warns against engaging in unethical SEO techniques. SEO 1 Medical advocates a holistic approach to optimization and states, “Google is providing tools to help websites that are affected by these updates, and the sooner you seek help in revamping your healthcare facility's website the better. The longer you wait the worse things will get for you and your practice”

Source  http://www.chron.com/business/press-releases/article/2012-a-Rocky-Year-for-SEO-and-Medical-Marketing-4157667.php

Search Engine Optimization Norway announces several new promotion services

Search Engine Optimization Norway is pleased to announce the addition of several new Norwegian SEO services that include video promotions, press release promotions, Norwegian article writing.

“We review clients’ websites and identify the keywords that best match their niche to generate quality traffic that’s more likely to convert, resulting in more sales. We can also offer Norsk SEO services to establish one way links from high-ranking and authority sites to improve your site’s authority and ranking,” said an SEO Norway spokesperson.

According to the company, Norwegian SEO improves inbound marketing by attracting visitors that are already interested in clients’ products and services, making search results more relevant and increasing the likelihood of conversion.

According to Search Engine Optimization Norway their new SEO services include professionally written Norwegian articles and distribution, social bookmarking, PPC ad management, facebook promotions, and press release promotions.

“Our team of professionals create a promotional campaign that is tailored to your company’s website, your industry, your current needs, and your targeted audience. SEO in Trondheim Norway ensures your website achieves your online goals.

“Campaigns include unique content and a linking strategy that will mold your compay’s online reputation, increase visibility in search engines for results in Norway, and drive targeted traffic to your website. Search Engine Optimization Norway will deliver the online results your business needs in a way that is search engine friendly and within budget,” added the spokesperson.

In a study Search Engine Optimization Norway recently completed, they found many companies either avoid or overlook social platforms like facebook marketing simply because they don’t understand how it works. The company added Fan Pages and Norwegian facebook ads extend clients’ reach on important social platforms.

Source  http://www.theaustralianeye.com/press-release/search-engine-optimization-norway-announces-several-new-promotion-services-aoi37075.html

Local Search Optimization—Capture Your Inbound Market

Local Search

According to Google, almost three quarters (73%) of online activity is related to “local” content and 97% of consumers (that’s pretty close to all) search for local businesses online.

Do these statistics surprise you?  It’s true—when it comes to daily searches for information, the majority of people are looking for local products or services that will solve or at least ease their everyday problems.

So, is your company and online content meeting the needs of local customers?  Whether it’s on your website, your blog, your social media accounts or anywhere on the Web, if your content isn’t optimized for local search, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to capture your share of this lucrative market.

Let’s look at a short list of some of the ways you can optimize your local SEO, both “on-site” and “off-site:”

On-Site Local SEO

The content on your site itself, and the SEO techniques that you use to categorize it with search engines, have a big effect on your visibility with local customers.  A few points to consider—

• Long tail local keywords—start with a good selection of highly targeted local keywords and phrases.  For example, Denver business owners are far more likely to search for the term “internet inbound marketing service Denver” than just “internet marketing service”—which could take them anywhere.  Insert these geo-targeted keywords into each page of your site, at a density (frequency) that reads naturally for humans.
• Optimize for each location—if your company has multiple locations, create pages optimized for each one.  For example, your Aurora store will not show up under keywords and meta-tags designated for Greenwood Village or Denver.  Each location and its page should have unique meta data and content that refers specifically to that geo-location.  It’s like having a home page for each location (only better from Google’s perspective), and it’s good for your inbound marketing efforts.
• Use rich snippets—Once Google understands what your content is about, you can add a feature called rich snippets.  These are short lines of text that appear under search results that describe to users what the page is about.  This is a great tool for local users who want to know information such as customer reviews, a restaurant rating or a piece of interesting news from the company.

“Off-Site” Local SEO

Apart from your site, there are many ways that you can optimize your content for local search.  Utilizing third-party sites and services, for example, can give your content a real boost by helping you to categorize and distribute it so that interested consumers can find it:

Google Places (now being migrated to Google+ Local) —Google offers this free service as a type of online Yellow Pages (you remember those, don’t you?)  Claiming your Places/Local listing gives you an opportunity to get found by the local market.

Just like a Yellow Pages ad, you can include relevant information about your business such its category, hours of operation, payment options, reviews, etc. It adds keyword-rich content to your company’s online content library and gives you visibility for your keywords, to improve organic search rankings.

Google Plus Business Page—If you don’t have a Google Plus business page, get one.  With the advent of “social search”, and search engine algorithms designed to give it a more prominent role in rankings, social media content that is optimized for local search gives you a powerful edge in your local inbound marketing efforts.

Social content is shared, and, it has a lot of clout with search engines.  You can create an entire network of connections with your page and market it on your site, your blog, etc.

A Great Local Search Tool

A great site to use to ensure you are signed up with all the local search directories is www.getlisted.org.  This is a free service that looks at the local search directories to verify that your business is listed there.  It also provides a link to each directory so you can claim your company’s listing if you are not already on it. (Note: we do not have any connection to this service.)

Link Building

Link building—Having others link to your webpage, blog or other content, especially from other local businesses, strengthens your local presence on the Web.  Links usually come to you when someone discovers your content and finds it compelling enough to share with others.  Links can come from other social media accounts, related blogs and reviews of your business on other sites.

Bottom Line

Do the above suggestions sound a little too technical for your taste?  Contact an inbound marketing specialist to give you a hand.  While the concepts are pretty straight forward, they won’t do you any good unless you implement them.

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/seo/local-search-optimization-capture-your-inbound-market-0352657#Hyv4zMtvIgMmlwPR.99

How Can You Show Potential SEO Clients That You’re Trustworthy?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is not unlike a lot of businesses. When it’s “hot”, everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon.

How many people wanted to build the next Google, Facebook, or [insert company name here]?

Same for SEO.

One of the chief reasons why I have written so many columns on SEO, and involved myself with speaking/moderating at conferences and even teaching SEO is to try and show some “thought leadership”, and differentiate my company from those that send out cringe-worthy emails boasting their prowess and guaranteeing “top 10 Google rankings, overnight!”

Still, though, it seems like a good percentage of people laying claim to “doing SEO” really don’t. And, because their rates are typically very favorable (read: “cheap”), a lot of business owners are inclined to give them a shot. Then, months later, they realize that not much is happening/changing and they walk away – thinking to themselves, SEO doesn’t work…I tried it.

That’s a damn shame.

Ex-Googler Andre Weyher, who worked on Google’s webspam team with Matt Cutts, was recently interviewed by Jayson DeMers and asked about the “biggest misconceptions or myths that he had seen about ‘bad links’ and link profile penalties in the SEO community." His response:

I think I could write a book about this topic! SEO is an unprotected title and anyone can call him or herself one. The result of this is that there are almost as many opinions as there are SEOs. Some of the biggest misconceptions that I have seen out there include; “directories are altogether bad” or “anything that is below a certain PR is considered spammy by Google”, I see a lot of people panicking and cutting off the head to cure the headache due to lack of knowledge.

Damn skippy. That’s the truth.

Whether it’s the IT guy who says “I can handle the SEO”, or the web design firm who claims to “build in” SEO with their websites or the marketing person who says “I can write a title tag”, the vast majority of “SEO advice” that people are getting is coming from folks who don’t – in my opinion – “really” do this.

OK, yes, sometimes all a website needs is some decent title tags and clean/good URL structure to make things better. However, to truly “optimize” (meaning “make it as good as it can be”), I firmly believe that the smart move is to engage someone who really does this for a living.

Would the web designer really know what good link building is, in today’s environment (or how to do it)? Would the IT guy know how to conduct meaningful keyword research or a competitive analysis, much less understand how to properly construct an information architecture or best utilize social channels towards SEO goals? Or website quality?

Still, though, the industry still has a bit of a reputation management issue. And, to be fair and completely honest, my company had a bad review on Yelp (happy to share this story with anyone who wants to discuss) and this one bad review cost me – at least – one prospective opportunity.

All it takes is one bad review for folks to say “NEXT!”, because they are completely gun shy about selecting a firm that won’t work out. We have many other (positive) reviews, but they were filtered (Yelp first time reviewers’ reviews can be filtered).

Typically, I don’t spend a lot of time on our own company’s SEO efforts, but after knowing that I had lost an opportunity, I felt compelled to do something about it.

The same person who had told me that they weren’t going to consider us because of our Yelp Review also told me “you’re not an accredited business with the BBB”. That sealed our fate, apparently. So we took the following steps:

1. Became accredited with the BBB.
2. Found a Yelp power user who was a client and asked if they’d mind writing an honest review. (We have two reviews as of this writing.) 
3. Posted a video interview with a long-time client on YouTube and optimized the title to include our company name plus the word "review". (If you do this, consider including it on an optimized testimonials page on your website.)

Now, I can’t say that any of the above has proven any attributable ROI to date (we just uploaded the video to YouTube in late October), but I have taken some additional steps to try and provide some additional peace of mind to those who may be considering our company and showing that we are worthy of trust.

Source  http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2228843/How-Can-You-Show-Potential-SEO-Clients-That-Youre-Trustworthy