5 Steps To A Great SEO Campaign

The first real step to anything is research, and lots of it. The most important step to any SEO campaign is keyword research.

The first step to consider is the niche you are in, and the products or services that you are promoting. You should come up with a list of potential keywords that your customers would use to find you on the web.

After that you could use the Google keyword search tool to analyze your list, checking the competitiveness, number of monthly searches and the strength of the competitors currently on page one.

A competitive market analysis is the next important step you should take. After you have your final keyword list, create a spreadsheet with all the keywords, and then list all the competitors from page one of Google.

You could use a program like SEO quake to collect some of the data that you will need, such as their page rank, number of indexed pages, inbound links, whether or not they have a site map and much more. This will tell you how difficult and how long of an SEO campaign you will be embarking on.

Next step should be the on page SEO factors of your website.

First and foremost is content, if you are not providing quality content that solves people's problems then your efforts will be in vain. Great content will keep your visitors coming back on their own which will greatly assist your SEO efforts.

Make sure all the on page dynamics such as header tags, meta tags, alt tags for images and HTML code is done correctly.

These are the simple things that improve your 'findability'. You also want to ensure that you have a proper site map created and submitted to the search engines, this will increase your chances of all your pages being properly indexed.

Number four is off page SEO strategies.

The biggest and most important overall here is back linking. Google views every back link your site has as a vote for your site from someone else. The best back links you can get are called one way links. One way links are where another website links to you without you having to link back. Good examples of this are article marketing, blog commenting and directory submissions.

Reciprocal linking is where you link out to website a and website a in turn links back to you. These are also good links but you should only focus on the ones targeted to your niche and those having a higher page rank than you. Good back linking takes time and effort, this cannot be accomplished over night.

You should also avoid any link scams, link farms or questionable linking strategies. If you have to stop and wonder if it's ok to do it then it probably isn't.

The last step that is very crucial to your SEO success is the overall promotion of your website. There are several ways of effectively promoting your products and services via the internet.

1) Video marketing
This can be promoted in conjunction with your website or separately for added exposure.

2) Email marketing
This allows you to keep track and communicate with your customers and potential customers.

3) Web 2.0
These are blogs, hub pages, wikis and such. Also a great source of quality back links for your site.

4) Article marketing
If done correctly this will establish you as an expert and help you to generate back links and additional traffic to your offers.

5) Local search marketing such as Yahoo local and Google places
If you have a business in the offline world you certainly want to use this method to promote your business. Google places for instance typically will come up first in the search results.

These are just a few of the strategies that you can use to begin a successful SEO and web promotion campaign. The most import step you will take is to take action. Everything you do should be with the intent of growing your business.



About The Author: Byron Cole Smith - Learn how to take your website to the top of all major search engines, contact Columbus SEO Services. Click here to see how Professional SEO Services can help you achieve the results you want.

Introducing The Bloggers Network

As you may know from my previous post: Latest Blog Changes and Tools, I've been busy making some changes and enhancements to the blog.

Some of these changes and enhancements include a Contact Tab, a widget at the bottom of your browser which has a selection of tools that allows you to like, tweet, share, translate and search my latest blog posts, plus a Facebook fan page where you can view the latest blog posts, have discussions with other members, plus keep up to date with the latest blog news and developments.

My work hasn't stopped there... and to help support the large number of blog owners who visit my blog for marketing tips etc, I am pleased to announce that I've setup a Facebook group for bloggers called the Bloggers Network.

The Bloggers Network is a group for bloggers to network with each other. Advertise your blog, post your latest blog posts, plus discuss anything to do with blogging. You can access the group by visiting:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/BloggersNetworkGroup

If you're looking for more visitors to your blog, need help and advice, or just want to chat with other bloggers to share ideas and marketing tips etc, the Bloggers Network is the place for you. Join us today and start networking!

Another addition coming soon to compliment the blog and to help my visitors will be a Business Network group for small business owners. Notification of it's launch will be announced soon on the Facebook fan page.

Finally, I will be updating the Top Blog and RSS Directories list within the next couple of days with new sites. As this list is updated often as and when new services become available, don't forget to bookmark the page so that you have access to the latest services.

As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on Facebook or subscribe to our feed at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog

You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509 and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
http://www.facebook.com/DereksHomeandBusinessBlog

Until my next post, have a wonderful day!

Blekko & Bing Use Social To Improve Search

Blekko.com is a great search engine concept where users can use their Facebook friends to filter their internet searches and get the most from their search. In other words, when a user enables the service, the search engines crawls and collects data from the individuals Facebook friends to places (including websites and pages) that the friends have liked.

This endorsement of sorts from the users friends acts as a screening for the user and allows them to curate their searches and make the most out of their search launch. The concept is, if their friends like it, then they will too.

Blekko.com launched in November 2010 with a focus to use human editors to scan for authoritative websites all across the web. However, early in January 2011, Blekko revamped their approach to this and incorporated the current system that they now have. By approaching social networking and search engine results in this way, they have increased the sites popularity and the interaction of friends and users on the site.

In recent developments with Microsoft, a new social search engine was launched called Montage. This new service is currently in its experimental launch, but Microsoft is aiming to create media-rich and real-time online experiences that users can share with friends in their databases. Through the search function, users will be able to find, share and post information that is both aesthetically appealing and current for the purposes of sharing news and visuals. The launch is being geared up and worked with a team of 30 developers, writers and webmasters to ensure that it offers users a genuine experience and will hopefully become viral.

The direction of Blekko.com and the new release by Microsoft appears to be centered at customizing and targeting users online search time. The end goal result of both of these industry leaders is to create optimum search results for its users.


Many thanks to Jen Williams, guest author for Pronet Advertising for the content of this article. If you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on Facebook or subscribe to our feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog

You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509 and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
http://www.facebook.com/DereksHomeandBusinessBlog

Google: Search Engine Spam On The Rise

If you've noticed lately that Google's search results are a bit spammy, you're not alone.

In a blog post, Google Principal Engineer Matt Cutts acknowledged that "we have seen a slight uptick of spam in recent months," and that tech watchers are growing critical. Cutts then outlined a few new initiatives to improve the quality of Google's search results.

Among them: Google has a new "document-level classifier" that's better at detecting the hallmarks of spam, such as oft-repeated keywords; Google is improving its ability to detect hacked sites, which were a big source of spam last year; and the company is evaluating other changes, including a crackdown on Websites that primarily copy other sites' content.

But on the issue of "content farms," Cutts didn't have all the answers. If you're not familiar with the term, you've probably stumbled upon some content from purveyors. For example, many in the media call sites Demand Media and AssociatedContent content farms. Rich in search keywords and produced on the cheap, content from these sites appears prominently in search results but seem geared solely towards appeasing search algorithms.

Although Google tweaked its algorithms last year to give content mills less prominence, the problem hasn't gone away, and Cutts' blog post offered no further solutions. "The fact is that we're not perfect, and combined with users' skyrocketing expectations of Google, these imperfections get magnified in perception," he wrote. "However, we can and should do better."

Cutts reiterated that Websites don't get preferential treatment by purchasing or displaying Google ads. Their rankings don't improve and they're just as likely to be punished for violating Google's quality guidelines.

I suppose it's comforting to hear Google address issues of search quality, especially as criticism grows louder. Notably, new search competitor Blekko has created a spam clock to count how many spam pages have been created since the start of the year. Google says its results have half the spam they did five years ago, but that count is meaningless if low-quality content mills are able to game the system and get high page rankings.

With Google co-founder Larry Page stepping up to chief executive, the pressure's on to improve search while cultivating newer ventures such as software and social networking. Hopefully Cutts' blog post is just the beginning.


Many thanks to Jared Newman, contributing editor of PCWorld for the content of this article. If you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on Facebook or subscribe to our feed at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog

You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509 and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
http://www.facebook.com/DereksHomeandBusinessBlog

Until my next post, have a great week!

How To Use Twitter For Business: 5 Tips For Twitter Newcomers

Twitter is a wonderful business tool, not least because it's free. All it will cost is your time (and if that's in short supply, you can hire a social media marketer to manage it for you).

Used well, Twitter can provide good exposure for your business, but you can also damage your brand with social media marketing if you're not careful, so it's worth learning the biggest do's and don'ts before you start using Twitter.


Tip 1: Be Yourself and Be Human

The beauty of Twitter is that it's a huge global community of human beings (mostly; there are spammer accounts but they're easy to spot, block and report). So do show your human side, especially when using your business account. Talk about things that matter to you: funny things your children say, recent achievements, your favorite band or TV show, and so on. Join in with conversations that interest you - be friendly, show emotion, and use smilies if you want to.

On the other hand, don't be too human. Don't share anything you wouldn't share at a real-world business networking event; keep intimate health problems and controversial or potentially offensive opinions to yourself.


Tip 2: Watch How You Write

Some people write well, others don't - that's true in all areas of life, not just on Twitter. You don't need to be a bestselling novelist to use Twitter, but it helps if you have basic literacy skills (and if you use Twitter at the website instead of through a client, your Tweets will be spellchecked as you type anyway - which helps).

However good (or bad) your writing skills are, with Twitter's 140-character limit you'll need to be creative with your Tweets. Your Tweets need to be concise yet informative, and often you'll be trying to squeeze in a URL too (URL shortening services like bit.ly and tinyurl.com are lifesavers).

One definite don't is using text speak. Text speak is fine if you're 13, but as a professional adult promoting your business you're just going to look silly, and won't communicate your messages efficiently - unless you're targeting 13 year olds.


Tip 3: Share and Share Alike

If you have some good news - related to your business or your personal life - share it; everybody loves a good news story.

Do share links - to your website, your blog, your local news service, or anything else that interests your followers. This is a great way to get conversations going. But do remember to explain what the link's about, or your followers will feel less inclined to click it. And don't Tweet the same link over and over; people will quickly become bored and may stop following you.

Do retweet your friends' links, too. They'll be grateful, and so will your followers if the link is interesting and relevant. But here's a very big 'do' - DO make sure you click the link and read the content before sharing it with your followers, or you could end up sharing a page that's irrelevant or offensive, or which contradicts your usual position on the subject.


Tip 4: Be Part of the Community

Don't treat Twitter as your personal billboard. It's not. It's a community, millions of members strong, and the community as a whole is not very tolerant of users who constantly advertise. Try to stick to the 80-20 rule when you use Twitter for business: no more than 20% of your Tweets should advertise or self-promote, and at least 80% should be non-promotional. If you can get the ratio down to 90-10 or 95-5, even better.

Listen to what people are saying, and join in. Twitter is a network of conversations, so it's good practice to listen and respond to parts of those conversations that interest you. Don't just stand in the middle of the room with a megaphone, shouting "I'm fabulous! I'm selling widgets at 20% off this week!" Again, if you wouldn't do it at a business networking event, don't do it on Twitter.

Do retweet your friends' requests for help (for example, charity appeals and sponsorship requests), and do introduce friends that are new to Twitter and could do with some followers. And again - do retweet useful, interesting links from people you follow, but always check links before sending.


Tip 5: Mind Your Language

Don't use offensive language when representing your business on Twitter; even mild swearwords can put sensitive souls off following you (and besides - cursing in public is hardly professional).

Use Twitter to answer customer questions and solve their problems by all means. Many organizations use Twitter as a customer services tool very effectively. But never, ever use an impolite or impatient tone with a customer. On Twitter, everything you say is out there for everyone to see, so leave your followers with the best possible impression of your brand at all time... the Internet has a very long memory!

Finally - consider this a bonus tip, since it's not really connected to any of the previous ones. Try to enjoy yourself when you use Twitter. Try to embrace all that's good about Twitter - the new friendships and business contacts you'll make, the fun hashtags and trending topics, the strong community spirit - and before long you'll be singing (or is that Tweeting?) Twitter's praises to anyone who'll listen.



About The Author: Debs Williams is Managing Director of debbidoo Ltd, a marketing company in Caernarfon, North Wales that provides marketing, website design, copywriting and internet marketing services to organizations of all shapes and sizes in a variety of industries. Debs is a self-confessed internet addict and keen social media marketer, providing Twitter account management and Facebook page management services to clients who don't have time to manage their own social media marketing activities.