In 2012, so much has happened to reshape the search landscape. Many of the techniques that have served the industry well for years have been outlawed by Google, leaving search marketers looking for the “new SEO.”
In September 2012, SEMPO, a global non-profit organization serving the search-marketing industry, published its State of Search Marketing Report 2012. The industry continues to grow, with a predicted annual value of more than $20 billion in 2012, but faces challenges both from changes to the nature of search itself and from technological advances.
Continue reading 2012: The Year of Unexpected Changes in SEO
Posted in SEO | Tagged Google Panda, Google Penguin, local search, mobile search, Search marketing |
When search-engine optimization was young, the holy grail of search marketing was reaching the first page on Google – “rankings” were everything. Today, few SEO professionals produce ranking reports unless clients ask for them, and most clients now realize that rankings without traffic mean nothing. Driving traffic to your site isn’t hard if you use tried and tested methods, and the formula isn’t that complex.
It helps if you are an authority in your chosen niche – but if not, don’t despair. With a little effort, you can build your profile and attract followers who hang on your every word. Authority sites are those you can use as reference sources – sites that contain hard information with a twist of interpretation and a sprinkling of original opinion. Discover a topic that deserves an airing, and you’re in business.
Continue reading Forget About Rankings – Think Traffic and Everything Else Comes to Pass
Posted in SEO | Tagged best practices, driving traffic, SEO strategies |
Yesterday’s storekeepers wouldn’t recognize the 2012 retail industry, and many marketing professionals argue that since the advent of the Internet, this sector has seen more change than any other. Gone are the majority of Mom-and-Pop shops that were commonplace in the mid-twentieth century, replaced for the most part by out-of-town malls or e-commerce websites where you can browse, buy and take delivery with a few clicks of your mouse.
Today’s typical consumer is increasingly impatient, wanting to find products or services and choose an outlet at any time of day or night, in any convenient location. The ready availability of smartphones and mobile computing devices makes this an increasingly simple task, and one which more and more users choose to do “on the go”. The age of mobile search is upon us …
Continue reading What’s Hot and What’s Not in Your Local-Mobile Retail Search Scene
Posted in Mobile Search | Tagged local mobile search, local search, mobile seo, SEO marketing |
You’re on vacation, driving through Western Arizona on Route 66, when hunger strikes. Looking for a diner, you see two boards, each advertising a “Traditional Route-66 Diner.” There, the similarity ends. One board is freshly painted, promising home-style cooking, easy parking, accessible restrooms and a souvenir shop; the picture of a thick, creamy milkshake has you salivating before you even make the turn. The other board is faded and looks as though it hasn’t been updated for years. It’s hard to read and you can’t even be sure if the place is still open for business.
Which diner do you choose? It’s a no-brainer, right?
Continue reading The Dangers of Drive-By SEO – Don’t Let it Happen to You
Posted in SEO | Tagged best practices, Increase CTR, SEO, SERPs, techniques |
For much of 2012, owners of small online businesses have been under the hammer. For most entrepreneurs, the parlous state of the U.S. economy has been enough to contend with, but Google’s monochrome menagerie has been throwing its own spanner in the works since mid-2011. Companies that relied on Google to deliver business growth are suffering more than most, as once-accepted SEO practices are coming under the microscope, and websites are falling out of SERPs with no sign of a parachute.
Small businesses are at greater risk than most simply because they’re small, and typically have limited resources for search marketing and optimization. Owners with no real understanding of search take on the task themselves, or engage low-cost SEO companies that employ dubious tactics. The result – websites, loaded with weak content and surrounded by a vicious circle of spammy inbound links, that are entirely open to the attentions of Panda and, since April 2012, Penguin.
Continue reading Why Penguin Poses Huge Risks for Small Business SEO
Posted in SEO | Tagged Google Penguin Update, SEO, SEO marketing, SEO Strategy, Small business SEO |
One year on from Panda, and still in the wake of Penguin, you can understand why many search marketers develop persecution complexes. One minute you can rely on any number of link-building tactics to promote websites, the next you’re penalized for anything that remotely resembles a spammy link. Within the space of weeks, content that was sufficiently original to support high SERPs rankings becomes stale and worthless.
Today, the SEO value of images is under the microscope – they’re an essential element of any site, but how do you use them to best effect?
Continue reading Image Optimization and the Infographic – A Modern-Day Fairy Tale?
Posted in Content Marketing | Tagged Image marketing, Infographics, link building, SEO |
People often misunderstand the role of search engine optimization (SEO), within the context of a broader marketing program. As a result, they are frequently disappointed when SEO fails to accomplish something it’s not designed for, like lead generation.
In this article, we will talk about the close relationship between SEO marketing and website lead generation. Specifically, we will look at some techniques you can use to get more leads from your SEO-generated traffic.
Continue reading SEO Marketing and Lead Generation: How It All Ties Together
Posted in SEO | Tagged Lead Generation, SEO and lead generation, SEO marketing, strategy, techniques |
It’s one of the most common questions among first-time webmasters. “I just put a new website online, but Google hasn’t found it yet. I need search engine traffic to grow my business. What can I do to speed up the process? How do I get my website found by Google?”
It’s a legitimate concern. If people can’t find you by doing a search for the exact name of your website, how will they ever find you by Googling generic phrases related to your business? Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to get your site recognized by the search engines. In this article, you’ll learn how to get your website found by Google within 48 hours or less.
We will talk about the how factor in a moment. But first, let’s talk about why it’s so important to be recognized by Google.
Continue reading How to Get Your Website Found by Google in 48 Hours or Less
Posted in Content Marketing, Link Building, SEO, Uncategorized, Website Development |
When used properly, blogs are an ideal tool for search engine optimization. You can use a blog to grow your web presence, boost your search engine rankings, and attract more visitors. This article offers a variety of blog SEO tips and techniques to help you achieve such results. But first, a bit of Panda talk.
It has been 15 months since the Google Panda update first went live, and people are still talking about it. It just goes to show what a profound impact this algorithm change has made on Internet publishers. An entire book could be written about the specifics of the update (if they didn’t involve corporate secrets and proprietary technology). But most of it can be summed up in a single sentence: Bloggers and Internet publishers must work harder to develop quality content, if they want to rank well in Google.
Continue reading Blog SEO Revisited: Post-Panda Optimization Tips
Posted in SEO | Tagged best practices, Blog SEO, blop tips, Google Panda |
Demand Media Studios, a leading content and social media company, cast what amounts to a vote in favor of Google+ Authorship when it circulated its content team suggesting that all freelance writers should register as Google+ authors. Demand, owner of informational sites that include eHow.com, LIVESTRONGSM.com and CRACKED®.com, relies on freelance contractors to create the majority of content for its online properties, and generates around two-thirds of its annual revenue from online advertisements carried on its sites.
Continue reading Demand Media Endorses Google+ Authorship – “A Potentially Great Benefit”
Posted in Social Media | Tagged Google+, Google+ Authorship, social media |
In 2012, so much has happened to reshape the search landscape. Many of the techniques that have served the industry well for years have been outlawed by Google, leaving search marketers looking for the “new SEO.”
