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Posts Tagged ‘link building’
Friday, January 13th, 2012
The art of SEO for small business has changed considerably in recent years. Google has certainly changed the way small businesses develop their websites – at least, it should have. In most cases, business owners have stuck to their traditional approach, then moaned a little when a Google update has resulted in a drop in their site’s search results placement.
Whether we like it or not, if we rely on traffic from Google, then we need to play by their rules. Yet those rules are really fairly simple – provide quality content that has been created for your visitors. The term “natural” is bandied around a lot today, yet that is really the best approach to designing a website.
What then is meant by the term “natural”. You can look at this term in two ways – what you publish on your website and what other people publish on their website. Your website should be user-focused. Links are a good example. Your internal link structure should be “natural” in that keywords used to create links are a natural part of the document and the link is a natural flow – in other words, if you have a page that discusses horses, you don’t have internal links to chickens unless there is a natural link. At the same time, your content should contain links to external sites that are, once again, “natural”.
You can then extend this philosophy to your external link building campaigns. Links are still important, although they will, over time, become less important. If you are building external links to your webpages, keep those links “natural”. Those links should be designed to add value to a reader rather than annoy, or look totally out of place.
Does “natural” mean you ignore other SEO for small business strategies? Certainly not. You can still develop keywords while remaining natural. You can still optimize images and videos, and you can still create page titles that are search engine friendly. In the first instance, focus on your visitors, then focus on search engines while not undermining a users experience. It’s a bit of juggling act, however, it’s still achievable, and you are satisfying three masters – the user, the search engine, and your business.
Tags: external links, internal links, link building
Posted in SEO for Small Business | 3 Comments »
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
If you look at several websites, you will see different links that will take you to related content. This is a great way to pull your website into the related content. How do you do it? It’s actually quite simple and you will be amazed at why you have not used links more.
There are a lot of different techniques but the main one is using document sharing sites. On document sharing sites like Scribd, you can upload your documents into a pdf file. They can then be distributed all over the Internet. Create links in the document back to your website. This increases your chances of getting found in the search engines.
At the same time, you can also search for relevant content to add to your website. This is a great way of sharing information and using various ways of getting back to your site.
It’s also important to link to previous content within your own website. You may have written an article or something a couple of years ago. But it is still relevant and will get readers to read that as will.
Link building or link marketing has been around for a while but it is still a very resourceful tool for your online business. You can always visit with consultants to find out which link building technique or sites that are best suited to your needs.
One thing to remember, where you get back links is more important than what you do. Be sure to use multiple sources to get the best exposure.
Tags: content, internet marketing, link building, links, online marketing, small business
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 5 Comments »
Saturday, December 10th, 2011
How many times have we all gone to a website only to have a dozen things flying off the page at you or taking over your screen and you inadvertently click on something wrong? It happens a lot. A lot of people do not like these fly-in pages.
Not everyone is computer savvy and many people don’t even know what those pages are. Users want a clean, simple and user-friendly site. That will clearly state what the website is about and list some of the items that may be for sale if it is an e-commerce website.
Navigation is also key. Have clear, easy-to-read links to other pages within your website. This way, viewers can easily navigate from one page to the next. It is also important to make sure you have a clear place for reader comments. Be sure to read them and answer them. They may very well be a question about something they want to buy or maybe a suggestion about something. Interaction with online customers is just as important as face-to-face customers.
Making sure your links are working properly in addition to working shopping carts. This is the single most aggravating thing for a viewer. They have gone through the process, get to check out and the shopping cart is empty. Instead of going back and doing it again, they will just leave the site. You have then lost a sale. Another thing no one will wait on is page loading times. If your pages load too slowly because of the graphics, people will leave.
Take some time to visit your website and see what your visitors see. You will be able to determine where you need improvement.
Tags: internet marketing, link building, links, website, website development
Posted in website development | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
When you think of doing business online, do you first think about those big businesses with million dollar budgets? You don’t have to. Small businesses are alive and well on the internet.
So, where do you fit in? What’s up with all that talk of keywords, SEO, social media, and such? There are three basic elements that will drive your business online. They are:
- On-Page Content – If possible, have mixed content on your site. Take advantage of articles, videos, etc. and provide your site visitors with a wide range of content to match their interests. Optimize your content to help it rank better in the search engines for your most profitable keywords.
- Off-Page Content – Content you create for marketing off of your website is good for building links back to your site and delivering new visitors to the site.
- Behind The Scenes Content – This is the code that makes your website visible to search engines and web browsers. You can have too much and you can have the wrong kind. Make sure your code is optimized for better results in the search engines.
Since the internet is growing by leaps and bounds, it is very important to have these elements successfully optimized on your website. It sounds complicated, but it really is not.
With the right guide and a good web marketing strategy you can build a great website with excellent on-page content, a wide variety of off-page content that drives traffic to your site, and great code that gets you well deserved rankings in the search engines.
Tags: advertising, google, keywords, link building, PPC, search engine optimization, SEO, small business
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
As I’ve written before, having a successful SEO strategy involves a number of elements, with getting your content out there being foremost among them. But having links is still an important part of the larger strategy. Recently, I’ve written about the importance of making your links diversified and able to fit naturally into a body of text. I’d like to now try to complement that advice with another important link consideration: locality.
A successful inbound link is one that can appropriately mirror a potential consumer’s internet search. If your business sells replacement tires, for example, the keyword “replacement tires” may appropriately boost your page rank with your target consumer. The consumer will, theoretically, go online, search Google for the keyword, and then click on a website with one of the highest page ranks for search results.
But consumers treat Google searches as a modern form of white pages: not only do they seek out a product, such as replacement tires, but they want to find that product somewhere near their home. Someone who lives on the East Coast would have no interest in a tire company located in California, no matter how applicable that company may be to their search or how high it may appear on Google’s results.
As a consequence of this, many Google users will try to track down a business by entering a desired product and then a local area. They may search, for example, for “replacement tires Chicago” or “replacement tires 60614.” These searches are far more beneficial to the potential consumer. Not only can they narrow on a business, but they can find one that operates in their area.
A business that is looking to boost their SEO through inbound links should keep this in mind. If you operate in a local area, making that area part of your keyword can improve your page rank while saving you money. After all, most people click on one of the first few results when performing a Google search. To move up the list and have a page rank that high for the search “replacement tires” is quite a tall order. For most companies, it would probably require a tremendous amount of time and money. But being one of the top results for “replacement tires Pittsburgh” is probably more attainable. And – most importantly – it can ultimately bring you more business.
Tags: link building, local search, SEO
Posted in SEO for Small Business | 3 Comments »
Monday, October 24th, 2011
Internet marketers have had a phrase – a mantra – that we’ve repeated over and over since the very first days of the Web. That “mantra” is “Content is King.”
To the Internet marketing newbie, that phrase may not mean much. But to those of us who have been doing this awhile, it means everything. Content is the master of all. The big question is, Why? And does is still apply just as well today as it did in 1995?
You bet it does.
Here’s a question to ask yourself. If I build a website with no content and point a hundred links to it, getting it to rank No. 1 for a specific key phrase, will that benefit me? I think the answer is obvious, don’t you? A website that ranks No. 1 for a key phrase but that can’t close a sale due to lack of content is an ineffective website.
Now ask yourself this question: If I build a website with great content that achieves mediocre rankings and has no links to it, can it still make me money?
Yes it can. All you have to do is drive traffic to that website by any means and if if the content is well written with good calls to action, it will make you money. So content is king.
Ideally, you want a website with great content and great links. You should consider links to be a part of your overall content strategy instead of seeing it as a separate activity from your on-page content. Building a web business means doing all the things necessary to help you succeed. That includes building links. But it starts with writing great content.
Tags: content, content marketing, internet marketing, link building, SEO, website content
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 2 Comments »
Friday, September 9th, 2011
SEOmoz used its Whiteboard Friday column this week to talk about the demise of exact match anchor text. I’m just curious if anyone else has thought about this.
The idea is that partial match anchor text will be the way search marketers build links in the future. In other words, if I want to rank for “SEO” as a key term, then I don’t have to make every link that points back to my website link for the specific term “SEO.” I can use other phrases like “SEO technique,” “this is great SEO,” and “small business SEO tactics.” In other words, the anchor text links rely in part upon the keyword I want to rank for rather than entirely upon that keyword.
I thought the best search engine marketers were already doing that. But maybe not.
Google has emphasized anchor text as a key ranking factor for years. SEOs have, for the most part, preached exact match anchor text. Now, SEOmoz, which has been one of those exact match proponents, is saying to do something else. The best practices are about to shift.
I can see the point. I think a part of the reason this shift is occurring is because the advent of social media. Google+ itself is changing the game for social media and for SEO. The question for search marketers, really, is this: To what degree will anchor text be important for SEO going into the future. Any ideas?
Tags: anchor text, link building, SEO
Posted in SEO for Small Business | 4 Comments »
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
When you go about your link building campaigns, do you bother yourself with ensuring your links are varied in nature? That is, do you use the same anchor text all the time or do you strive to create a more diverse link portfolio? The truth is most SEOs only use one primary keyword for their anchor text.
Link diversity means several things. It isn’t all about anchor text. That’s only one part of the equation. The key is to build a link portfolio that looks natural.
Here are some things to think about in your attempts to build a solid link portfolio:
- Use between 10-25 different anchor texts for each web page you are targeting.
- Build your links from a lot of different types of websites (directories, blogs, forums, etc.) within your niche.
- You can also add a few links from outside of your niche if they are natural links.
- Don’t target only high PageRank sites; to build a solid link portfolio, you need links from websites with a varying degree of authority.
- Make sure some of your anchor text targets long tail keyword phrases while others target general phrases within your niche.
- You can also throw in a few non-keyworded links such as “click here” and “go to” links as those represent a different type of call to action.
- Don’t just link to your home page. In fact, most of your inbound links should point to an internal page.
A good link portfolio is diverse. That means targeting different types of websites for your links as well as different anchor texts.
Tags: anchor text, link building, link diversity, links
Posted in link building | 1 Comment »
Sunday, June 19th, 2011
Veteran Internet marketer Debra Mastaler has an interesting post on how to obtain new links, a process she calls “link marketing” instead of link building, for your website today. If you look at the list, it’s really nothing new. In fact, she tells you as much before she dives in. But there was one thing that caught my eye about her list.
1. If you use directories in your linking efforts, replace the word “directory” with “document sharing site” and search on your keywords to find new submission sources. Consider submitting your content in various formats in addition to print.
In other words, instead of searching for directories to add your website to, search for document sharing sites and upload a .pdf or other document that will get you a backlink to your site.
I hadn’t thought of that, but document sharing is becoming the new directory submission. That’s not to say that directory listings won’t still work. They will, but document sharing is still new enough that the search engines haven’t been inundated with spam. Therefore, their algorithms are behind the curve. Rest assured, however, that document sharing sites will become like directory sites and be overly saturated with spam at some point.
I like what Debra says about being first. You don’t have to be creative with your link building efforts if you beat your competition to the tactic. In her own words again, she says:
It’s never been about what you do, it’s always been about where. Find fresh sources to use standard tactics and you’ll keep the links coming.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks, Debra, for a great tip!
Tags: directories, document sharing, link building
Posted in link building | 1 Comment »
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