Posts Tagged ‘SEO for Small Business’

You’ve Created a Great Website and Video, Now What…Get Found on the ‘Net Using Inbound Links

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

You’ve created your website, and you’ve even gone to the trouble, and perhaps expense, of creating a video. Your small business is all set to be found on the ‘net.
But nothing’s happening.
You checked your rank, again and again. You’re not gaining ground. Google, or none of the other major search engines seem to be checking you out.

What can you do to establish your presence on the Internet?

One of the best ways to improve your rank is by having inbound links, (also known as backlinks).

When it comes to videos, make sure you’re using a strong site such as YouTube. Google looks at the page rank of the site you are linking to—and determines how important that link is. The higher their page rank is, the higher you’ll (eventually) rank as well.

Your goal is to get that video seen and one of the best ways is simply by asking for links–from people and companies who know you and those you have something in common with.

Type in your keywords and find other similar sites. Visit them, leave a good comment on their blog, and ask them for a reciprocal link. Instead of seeing them as potential competitors, view each other as cohorts–you can exchange links and ideas–and each of your can specialize in your own niche market and still leave plenty of room for the other guy.

Remember on the Internet, broad keywords won’t yield as good of results as finding your audience by what you specialize in. Make your keywords specific–there are still thousands looking for exactly what your small business has to offer. When you narrow the search, you increase your odds of being found.

If you’re going to the trouble to make a video, then be sure to create a press release/news release promoting it. News/press releases are easier than you think. Check out my post on Press Releases to get some pointers and find some great free press/news release sites such as 24-7 PressRelease, ClickPress, and PRLeap. Consider paying to post your news release. Paid sites have good ranks, and they will link people directly to your site.

Don’t wait to be found–submit to those directories and social bookmarking sites yourself.
Be sure to submit to Digg, Technorati, Delicious—and don’t forget that StumbleUpon will allow you to submit your site for links. Don’t forget your social media sites. MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn all rank well. When you upload your video there, be sure to let your “friends” know you’ve got a new video.

Webmasters everywhere are looking for content. Your video is content!
Again, start with your keyword search and email some website hosts and introduce yourself, mention your website and that you have a new video—would they like to post it on their site? If you created a good video that’s more than a simple advertisement—meaning, you actually offer content that’s helpful, then they’ll appreciate your video and want to post it.

These helpful tips can help to highlight your small business video on the web.
Make it easy for others to find you by getting those inbound/backlinks you need to rank well.
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Small Businesses Take the Lead in SEO Marketing

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

SEO for small businesses is pretty much the same as for large corporations, but this is one case where bigger isn´t better. Smaller businesses actually have the advantage here because they can move faster than a company that needs to confer with all CEO´s or have a board meeting in order to make decisions.

Being able to make fast decisions is only part of the advantage that smaller businesses have. They can also enjoy the benefit of experimenting freely with different styles of SEO, without having to worry too much about drawing negative opinions or press. The ability to be creative and test new ideas in small business SEO is a huge plus.

The main problem that many small businesses have is that they are afraid to try. They mistakenly assume that a little guy can´t possibly compete in the SEO arena with major corporations. This is not true at all. With some careful keyword selection and targeted webpages, it is very possible to beat out the big dogs in the search engines and gain the majority of the traffic for your keywords.

If you are hesitating, still wondering if your small business should even attempt SEO, it´s time to stop thinking about it. You can´t succeed without some form of online advertising these days and SEO is probably your best bet for getting great traffic and good search engine rankings. Now is the time to start working on SEO for your small business.

Caroline Melberg
Small Business Mavericks
Small Business Mavericks Blog