By Bob Speyer – Web Success Team
SEO conjures up the worst fears and the most apprehension for those looking at it as a necessary evil. Companies know they need it but aren’t confident in its results. Many have spent thousand of dollars without much return and are reluctant to spend more. Part Two of this article helps navigate the SEO waters and avoid the whirlpools where money drains away by showing you red flag to watch out for so you can make more informed decisions before hiring an SEO firm or specialist.
Continue reading “10 Red Flags to Help Avoid Choosing a Bad SEO Service – Part Two” »
By Web Success Team
There are arguably three components that make up the lifeblood of a website: content, SEO, and the SEO value you get from linking, aka: link juice. Link juice is becoming more important for brands as people flock to social media to share links and other information they find. The benefit of exposing your brand through social media outlets will enable you to become more visible on search and increase your rankings on Google and the like.
Continue reading “Getting Link Juice Out of Social Media” »
March 23, 2010 at 12:38 pm
By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team
Mark Twain once remarked, “Reports of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated.” The same holds true for Blogs. Statistics show that Blogging is still one of the most effective ways to promote your company, expand your Internet footprint, position you as an authority, and generate increased website traffic, leads and sales.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
I’ll share with you some ways to squeeze more productivity out of your Blog, but first here are a few mouth-watering statistics by Technorati on the 2009 State of the Blogosphere.
- Over 133,000,000 blogs were indexed by Technorati since 2002.
- 77% of Internet users read blogs.
- 66% of bloggers are male; 75% of all bloggers have degrees.
- 61% say they blog to supplement their income.
- 72% self-employed bloggers want to attract new clients.
- 57% plan on increasing their blogging.
- The average to update a blog is 2-3 times per week.
- 82% of respondents post photos to their blog.
- 56% say blogging enhances their reputation in their industry.
Top Six Reasons to Blog?
Blogging does pay dividends, but like anything else, to get results you need to put in the effort. Ideally you should blog as often as possible or at least 2-3 times per week. Below are reasons and useful tips to make your Blog more effective and, most importantly, well-read. Blogging helps:
- Build brand awareness
- Boost search engine rankings and visibility
- Establish a relationship with your customer base
- Position yourself as an authority in your field
- Target your marketplace
- Acquire new clients, generate more leads and sales
Turning Termites into Sales
Next you need to create blogs that people will relate to and want to read. You are writing for their edification, not your own. If people find your information useful, helpful and full of great ideas, they will bookmark your blog, become part of your blogosphere even share it with colleagues and it will go viral. Here is a good example:
Let’s say you sell termite inspection and removal services. You might want to discuss how the industry is handling the consumer’s concerns about the environment and what effective alternatives to harmful chemicals exist to treat the problem. Once educated, a consumer will have confidence in your expertise, your technology and may contact you for an inspection.
In this scenario, you are satisfying the visitor’s need for information about a specific termite problem and then are addressing their concerns. It’s all about them and if they are reading and enjoying your engaging Blog article.
Increase Your Blog IQ
Here are a few more ways to improve your Blogging effectiveness:
- Read top Blogs in your industry to see what your competitors are doing.
- Track the Comments section read what your customers or potential customers and saying.
- Creating an open dialogue is the best way to be sure visitors will respond to your content. Always invite people to comment.
- Write “How to” and “Best Tips” articles.
- Break up the Blog content with engaging sub-heads.
- Use a resource box at the end of each article so people can contact you.
- Add photos and images, podcasts and videos. People like visuals.
- Don’t be too corporate and starchy. Write like you are talking to a friend. Add some spice to your posts. Be funny, unique, filled with personality.
- Reread your post to make certain it is written for the reader, not you.
- Get readers involved by adding a poll to get their feedback.
- People rarely read the entire article. They scan, looking to see if it is worth their time. Give them a reason to stop and read. Make an outrageous statement and back it up. Offer an opinion, be insightful. Don’t be passive or boring! Mix it up.
- Encourage others to post articles on your blog – guest authors, industry experts, customer comments.
- Utilize the social media like Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin to promote and drive traffic to your Blog.
- Review your statistics to see which articles are gaining the most traction and what topics garner the most interest. Then write more of them.
- Use your keywords and of course optimize your Blogs for search.
Whistle While You Work
Following these simple guidelines will produce big results. And like anything, the more you blog the better you will get. Make it fun, informative and creative. Most of all, don’t think of it as work. If done correctly, blogging is a shortcut to achieving web success.
Comments anyone?
I also encourage my readers to add their own voice in the Comments section below.
The Web Success Team specializes in developing and marketing direct response websites that take full advantage of the latest developments on the Internet. The Team has an arsenal of effective web strategies, online marketing tools and proven customized social media techniques to promote your products and services. And we’ll show you ways to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your site.
For more tips, tools and articles of interest, become a fan of the WebSuccessTeam Facebook page and learn more about online marketing, SEO and social media. Visit us at http://www.facebook.com/WebSuccessTeam. Contact the Team today for a complimentary consultation to your web success.
December 3, 2009 at 12:56 pm
By Bob Speyer, President – Web Success Team
Today I got a disturbing call from Bank of America’s Fraud Department concerning a payment to “Web Success” that their customer “didn’t” make. During our discussion, I realized the payment was made to Web Success NOT to Web Success Team. Hence the problem.
Speak Honestly and React Quickly
Obviously there was identity theft of their customer’s credit card and some entity used part of our name for fraudulent purposes. When I asked the bank representative how they got our telephone number, she replied, “I Googled your company.” Well at least our SEO efforts are effective as we are ranked #1 on the search engines. The amount was small ($79) but significant, as crooks often use small amounts to keep under the radar.
I am glad the banks are checking fraudulent charges to try to contain or catch the perpetrators. But as a legitimate company who has a reputation to protect, it is paramount for us to be on top of any incident, no matter how seemingly small. Because these things can take on a life of their own, protecting your reputation, no matter how fraudulent the claims, is critical. We have spent years building a significant online presence and efforts as an honest, customer oriented company. We will not tolerate our hard earned reputation or name of being tarnished (or even a part of it, as web success is one of our keywords).
The Best Defense Is an Offense!
Be advised that people can post anything negative on the Internet, with impunity. So what can you do to manage your reputation? You should attack it head on and minimize the incident. I spent time talking to the bank representative until she was satisfied. We are then writing this blog to further document what happened. If ones online reputation has been besmirched then more aggressive tactics need to be implemented.
However, it can take 2-3 months to eliminate the unwarranted bad press. If you or your company needs reputation management, the Web Success Team has a program designed to help you monitor, combat and prevent negative posts on search engines. Identity theft or negative press can happen to anyone, and usually does. Contact the Team today to find out how we can help you repair the damage and protect your reputation and your bottom line.
Please Stay Tuned…
The Web Success Team will be blogging a series of other web related issues that can directly effect your business and your ability to do business online.
August 28, 2009 at 12:21 pm
By Bob Speyer, President, Web Success Team
Duplicate content is pervasive on the web. It’s so easy to take someone’s article or text and place it on your website or blog. “Everybody does it, so why shouldn’t I?” There are a great many reasons why you shouldn’t and this article will address them and make a good case for putting in the extra effort and develop original content. I will also discuss how you can eliminate duplicate content and therefore improve your search engine rankings and visibility.
How Search Engine Spiders Find Duplicated Content?
Duplicate content is when the search engine spiders detect content that has the same correlation and scoring with two or more web pages. They detect “edit distance,” in which the spiders determine how many changes are made to make it look like another document. Another determinant is they first identify and then eliminate items such as Nav Bars, Footers and Headers before comparing the documents in question. On a larger scale, they sort documents in similar categories and compare those groups to detect the duplications.
Detecting and Eliminating Duplicate Content on Your Website
If sites are determined to run duplicate content, then those questionable pages are barred from the search engine results pages (SERPs) and they will not appear in a search. However, there are tools that can help you identify the offending content in a website and help you restore the page in the SERPs.
Fortunately, there are tools out there that can help to identify Duplicate Content within a Website and assist in restoring the Webpage in the SERPs. Select a tool that will identify the exact correlation between a multiple number of documents and between your website pages; and not ones that just compare two pages. Once you make the corrective changes, run the tool again to see the results.
Of course there are things you shouldn’t do, such as: not writing content that is placed in a common area and shared (like the Header, Navigation and Footer). Also avoid changing words to their synonyms, like car and automobile or switching word order. And make sure you have enough content on each page, the less content the greater possibility of duplication detection.
Be Original, It Pays Off
Play it straight. If you develop content that is original you will greatly benefit. For starters, you position yourself as an authority on your subject matter. You site will get better rankings and hence more visibility. You will attract more authority links or inbound links that also help with search engine ranking. If you don’t have the time to write content consider hiring a ghostwriter. You can do the research and give them the direction. And remember to add content to your website at least once a week. And anything your write should have your keywords embedded for search. Take the time, it will pay off and you won’t have to worry about not being searched. Remember the spiders aren’t human and do not hold grudges. They simply go tirelessly around the clock searching for ways to knock you down on the rankings. Don’t give them the satisfaction, be original!
The Web Success Team
SPECIAL: Solopreneur Package – Jump Start Your Business
The Web Success Team’s Solopreneur Package includes a 5-page custom direct response website fully branded and optimized for Search Engines with 6-months of online marketing, social networking, blogging, article marketing and much more. Lock in your special pricing now before the rate goes up! Contact the Web Success Team at 818-222-5643 or email bob@websuccessteam.com. To your web success!
