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February 7, 2012

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Top 6 tips for ranking high in google places

July 29, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Ranking in Google Places for several searches is not just easy. This also shows that Google Places has evolved to become very important. Google Places usually occupy the top segment of the result page for a search phrase. As a result, you may rank number one in a particular keyword, you would notice that more than three Google Places are ranking above your number one position.

Now, what techniques are effective when it comes to ranking high in Google Places?

  1. Business Page Set Up
    The initial step towards ranking high in Google Places is to set up your business page. This is as simple as filling out your profile on Google Places. Google account is what you need and it does not cost you anything to own one, it is also easy to set up.
  2. Getting Listed
    Getting listed is very necessary if you must generate the most excellent citations. Their sources could be from pages like Superpages, Yahoo, Insiderpages and others. When you are listed, it becomes easier to provide Google with each bit of information relevant to your business. Ensure that you include every possible detail, do not leave any essential field. This is very beneficial, detailed information is capable of influencing your rankings for a wide range of search terms.
  3. Citations
    Simply put, citation is mentioning of your business and its offerings on another website. Try your best to get the closest you can to the precise match of your Google Places. Therefore, ensure that your description, link, contact info and just any relevant info matches your Google Places page. Your organic ranking would be positively affected as well.
  4. Ensure that Your Citations are Accurate
    This includes the existing citations and the ones you are getting listed for. It would be a fruitless effort if you get listed with the wrong information.  Check for accuracy in the aspect of your names, phone numbers as well as addresses. Also, check for accuracy regarding the details on your website and ensure it is exactly the same as the one to be listed.
  5. Reviews
    Reviews are proof of trust; it is a powerful tool when it comes to getting citation indexed  and attaining high rank in Google; it also helps in Google Places listing. So, strive for as many reviews as possible from different sites. Encourage both suppliers and customers to leave reviews. Also, you can secure mutual agreement reviews from companies or businesses within your industry.
  6. It is Helpful to Build more Links
    This is not just the regular SEO link building that points back to your website; go ahead with more local links that include your address, business name, URL as well as phone number.

These valuable tips are too effective to be neglected! Swing into action without delay.

Filed Under: Featured Articles, Google, Google panda Tagged With: , , ,

Straight from google: Techniques for optimizing your website

July 27, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

The SEO tips and techniques featured in this article were culled from the live chat that Google’s Matt Cutts granted on YouTube.

Tip One: All hope for regaining ranking is not lost for penalized websites
A big company’s website was penalized due to excess paid links featured on their site. The company which is JC Penney did a lot of work to fix the issues and filed a formal request for another chance afterwards. Well, it may interest you that filing a formal reconsideration request was possible for the company in question because of its size. Well, a small company may go down the drain when such issue arises. Therefore, it is better to play safe by using only endorsed or safe link generation techniques.

Tip Two: Google’s Panda is being considered by Google for more language options
The target of Google’s Panda update is content farms (also known as article directories) as well as poor quality sites. Well, it is not as though these types of website are as common in multiple languages. However, Google is set to bring out the Panda update to multiple languages when the testing period is over.

Tip Three: A Ranking Signal to Look out for is Data from Blocked Sites
It is possible for people searching through Google to block sites in search result. When sufficient number of users block a particular website, this is a signal that the blocked site is of poor quality.

Tip Four: When pointing links to your own website, do not use the nofollow attribute
This rule which was rolled out by Google’s Matt Cutt also applies to links to privacy policy on your website. The nofollow attribute should be employed for external links that are not completely reliable. The reputation of a site could be dented by the site you link to.

Tip Five: Another ranking signal is going to be Google’s + 1
Presently, Google’s + 1 is the answer provided by Google to Facebook’s ‘Like’ button.  In no distant time, Google is likely to offer this feature to those who own websites. The feature would also become a ranking signal.

Tip Six: Your site’s IP address can be a determining factor for its ranking
If you desire to rank high on Google, your chances would be high if the site features a French IP address.

Tip Seven: Prevent duplicate content by employing the canonical tag and 301 redirects
These tools would help you keep off from duplicate content issues, especially when you have the same content in several URLs on your site.

Finally, you can use Top10 Optimizer to get direction on how to acquire SEO skills to optimize your webpages for Google ranking.

Filed Under: Google, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation Tagged With: , , , ,

The fastest way to get listed on Google search result page

June 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

The quickest way to have your website listed on Google’s search result page is to ensure that your website features all that is required by Google. And what are those requirements?

  1. Your server has to be Google-friendly, in such way that it becomes easier for Google to index your page.So, what should you do to make your server and webpages Google indexing friendly?
    • Get rid of the ‘disallow’ lines in your robots.txt file if necessary.
    • Do not feature ‘noindex’ tags on your webpages – check to ensure that such tags are not found in your webpages.
    • Also, your web server would not be Google indexing-friendly if it uses cloaking scripts or bot blocking software.
  2. Google indexes webpages with quality backlinks faster.Google bots often visit websites that have more quality backlinks pointing to them. Thus Google would be fast to feature your webpage on its search result page if your site has good backlinks that point to it.

    Bear this in mind; you need to wait for a while before Google can display your site on its search result page – why? Here are the reasons below;

    • Technical reasons: it is the procedure with this search engine, for an optimized website to wait for a while before it is indexed. Even when the bot eventually visits your website, it may only crawl some pages and leave some, and not all the pages crawled by the bot would undergo indexing.For the indexed pages, they would be parsed – the parsing process assigns the indexed pages to search queries. Again, why you must wait for a while is that Google would need to assess the content featured on your site and compare it with other websites’ contents, and subsequently rate your site in terms of quality. The entire process drags on for a while. However, if you have more backlinks pointing to your site, the process will speed up.
    • Competitive keywords: getting listed on Google search result page takes longer time for competitive keywords. So, you may need to target less competitive keywords first, then after achieving chains of top 10 ranking for these keywords, your chances of ranking higher for the highly competitive keywords would increase greatly.
    • Also, Google would take time to evaluate the quality of a new website, so ranking on Google’s top 10 search result page takes time for a new website. But as the website gets older and generates multiple quality backlinks, the chances of getting to Google’s result page increases.
  3. Make your website meaningful to Google
    Google is slow to index single-page site. Google is likely not to find substantial valuable content on such site, especially a completely Flash site.
    Do not focus on just few pages of your website when optimizing your site, work on all the pages and fill them with valuable contents worth presenting to visitors. Google is concerned with presenting the most excellent webpages to web visitors who pass through it to search for information.

Don’t be deceived, there’s no short-cut to climbing to Google’s top 10 search result page. High quality content and valuable backlinks are necessary.

Filed Under: Google, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation, Search Engine Positioning, Search Engines Tagged With: , , , ,

Business Going Local – Using Google Places to Rank Higher on Google

February 7, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

Places Search is one of the latest developments on Google. Google Search is the former Google Local/Google Maps. Sites listed in Google Places are currently listed on top of the search result pages when local searches are conducted. If your business is local area based, it is an excellent idea that you get listed in Google Places.

Tips on Optimizing Your Google Places Listing

There are several factors that influence the way your website is listed on Google Places. Some of those factors include your business’ location, your keywords as well as the industry your business is inclined to.

  • First Ranking Feature: Your Address

Do you want to rank high for keywords associated with a given city? If yes, then it is necessary that your business be located in such a city. For instance, if you want your business to be discovered for local searches in New York, then the physical address of your business must be in New York.

  • Second Ranking Feature: Your Business Category Listing Must be Correct

It is important that your business be listed in the appropriate category on Google Places. It would be a serious mistake and to your disadvantage if you list auto business under real estate category on Google Places!

  • Third Ranking Feature: Put Your Main Keyword in Your Business Name

If you want to improve your chances of being listed in the Google Places results for higher ranking in the main Google result page, then you must ensure that your business’s name contains your main keyword – the keyword you would want visitors to find you with. For instance, if you run an auto business, try and incorporate auto or car in your business name – e.g. John Mark’s Auto.

  • Fourth Ranking Feature: Your Business Web References or Citations

Web references or citations refer to the mentions of your business information – especially your business name and address on other websites. It doesn’t matter whether or not the webpages referencing your business name are linked to your website or not. Some webpages that may list your business address without linking to your site include the local chamber of commerce or yellow pages directory. Citations of your business helps improve its chances of being listed for local searches, hence higher ranking.

  • Fifth Ranking Feature: Positive Reviews

Basically, Google Places is a recommendation search engine; all it does is to recommend local businesses in the search results; it recommends local plumbers, restaurants, hotels and many others. Ensure that your business is worth recommending by offering quality products as well as services.

Positive reviews as well as ratings enable Google to place more value on your business. Thus, it is good idea to encourage your customers to leave positive ratings and reviews when they are pleased with your services.

  • Sixth Ranking Feature: Nearness to the Searched Location

The nearer your business is to the search location, the more chance it has to be listed in the search results.

Take advantage of Google Places today. Target your customer base within local domains and extend your business reach by increasing your search engine ranking for local searches.

Filed Under: Google, Google Places Tagged With: , ,

Getting your Business on Google Places: How it works

December 11, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Google Places: A whole lot of local businesses strive to attain top ranking in Google with a judicious inference of relevant keywords or phrases that the users ought to be searching for. You can find a wide range of information sources on how to get your site into the Big Search Engine – Google. However, one of the essential things missing in such articles is the mention of Google Places as one of the best means to get on top of the Google search page.

‘Places’ is the default business directory of Google; the previous Google business directory was replaced by  Google Places, which provides more versatile ways of promoting a business, as well as the ability to include video, photos, promotions or coupons. Google Places also enables you to include updates that have similar status as Twitter.

Someone who already has Google local business listing is integrated already and can simply sign in to experiment with the new features. If everything is new to you, get the directions here.

Google Places Listing – Why it is important

Google Places account is as important to every business as food is to living beings. Google wants to ensure that valuable and relevant business listings are made available to web visitors searching for those who provide services locally. For instance, in a situation where a person residing in Tucson, AZ is searching for Tucson florists on Google, it will display a set of Places listings for florists in Tucson AZ. In search results for real estate, these placements are the most excellent that you can find. Literally, they are showed first since Google sees them to be highly prioritized in terms of relevancy.

Therefore, if you are yet to be listed, you have missed massive valuable traffic that has high potential of translating to real business. Do you know that you don’t even need a website to be listed in Google Places? Some business owners who were not able to generate meaningful traffic have attested to the fact that their traffic skyrocketed immediately after they created a Google Places account. If you are a local business owner, you are doing your business a lot of harm by not getting listed on Google Places.

Tips on Setting Up Google Places Account

You must have a Google account to set up Google Places account. This is not a big deal; Google will walk you through the process on how to get it done if you don’t have Google account.

Note:

  • If the Google account you currently have is just as your personal account such as gmail, it is necessary to sign up for a separate account dedicated to your business.
  • Verification of account is necessary; this can be achieved either via voice call, text message or via mail. The essence is to prevent any scam or fraud.

To create your Google Places account:

  1. Log on to http://www.google.com/places

Start filling out all the details for your business; then click next.

  1. You will be asked if you have an already existing business listing; depending on your answer, choose either ‘Add Listing’  or ‘Claim Listing’
  2. Verify your listing immediately via phone to quicken the publishing of your listing. Other options are mail and SMS.

Once your account is verified, you are listed in Google Places! Note that if you choose ‘verify by phone’ you must keep your phone handy for Google call.

Filed Under: Google, Google Places Tagged With: , ,

Tips on selecting suitable Domain Names for international business

August 27, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

There are some very important and essential factors that need be considered when choosing a domain name for an international business.

First of all, it is amazing how some brand consultancies make scary errors of recommending names that are intended for international business without first checking the availability of the domain names being recommended.
Again, when trying to decide on branding, do not forget to bring the domain into view –  given the fact that the two in recent time are too closely linked to be separated and especially so, when it comes to the international scenario.

Marketers tend to follow the single global identity
Single identity has a wide appeal to marketers. The evidence is clear with the popularity of dotcom built sites among global marketers. But the simple truth is that single identity may be ideal for some, but not to all. Above all, the global inference of going for a single identity, rather than going for something that catches the attention of the CEO is also there to consider.

English or Keyword – Which One Suites, A Single Name?
For a potential global player, it is sensible to avoid the first snappy English name that comes to heart, which perfectly seems to give the description of your service. Here’s an example, if you are a globally known localization consultancy, it will be a shabby idea to choose your domain name as ‘Localization.com’, especially if you have intentions of running the same domain name across the entire world. Here’s the reasoning: it is possible and easy for most of the English-speaking population to assume that you only miss-spelt the word ‘localisation’.

On the other hand, if you intend using a keyword domain name, here are essential things to do:

  • Verify the meaning of such a keyword in the different languages; don’t commit some blunders that were previously committed by many when they choose a brand name which simply meant genitals in certain languages!
  • You may save yourself needless heartache in the future by checking the global trademark registrations.
  • Verify the registrations in a vast domain names set, it is not sufficient to check only the dot com, you may be surprised to discover that another person is using that name actively in different markets.

A good number of trademark registrars are equipped with online systems to help you verify if the registration trademarks you intend to use are already existing or not. A simple means to checking the word-meaning of your intended name in other languages is to reset the Google Keyword Tool to show ‘all languages’ and ‘all countries’. If you eventually come across huge amount of search results for a keyword you supposed to be flawless, take a closer look and you may be amazed to discover certain unanticipated and funny meanings that you would not want to associate your business with.

Abstract Names – Secure Abstracts
Generally, it is quite difficult to come across a reasonable domain name that causes no problem either in English or other languages. The option that most people prefer is an abstract name. Such abstracts may entirely have no meaning; example is concise acronym which may stand for anything. Alternatively, it could be a coined or invented name usually based on combining various Latin words into an entirely new name.

Filed Under: Google, Internet Marketing Courses Tagged With: , ,

Keyword research – The bedrock of a successful SEO campaign

August 9, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

There is no controversy about it; keywords are the basis of any search engine optimization campaign. They will either make or mar it.

If you choose keywords that are highly competitive, getting result will take an extended period of time, and that too, with much struggle. And if you opt for very generic phrases, just be sure of poor conversions. This is just what it is all about. Now, it is clear to you that extensive keyword research and choice of good keywords are very essential.

How can you carry out thorough keyword research?

Check the tips given below.

  • Begin with a thought-provoking session that will lead you into identifying and listing all the likely keywords and terms that web visitors are likely to enter to search for your offering.
  • Also in this brainstorming segment, it is important that you bring yourself to think just as what the potential customer would do.
  • Carry out further research to keep on building the keyword list.
  • It is also sensible to have idea of the keywords or terms that your competitors are using; so you need to research on your competitors.
  • Thoroughly examine your web stats and logs; this can offer you a valuable source of keyphrases and terms that visitors are already entering to look for you on the search tools of the search engines. Get those keywords and improve your rankings on them so that your chances for better traffic can be increased.
  • Another place to look within your website is the search tool/feature (if you have one). The logs on this feature will reveal to you what visitors are looking for when they come to your site. This will also give you an idea of what words and phrases to include in your keyword list.
  • Next, carry out an analysis on the keyword list you’ve built to find out the degree of traffic they can generate, and their rate of competition as well.
  • Now, it’s time to segment your keyword list. Bring out the longer-phrases keywords (low hanging fruit) that are less traffic prone.
    These keywords can serve as your starting point since they can rank easily, and reasonably swifter.

Then, bring forth the words or terms that are relatively competitive, more traffic-prone and will rank for a fairly longer time – this will be your second segment list. The segmentation process is worth it; while you await the relatively more competitive keywords to start yielding result, the low hanging fruit list must have started generating traffic for you already.

Remember, too generic and less-targeted keywords will take considerably prolonged period of time to rank; also, conversion of traffic is most likely not to happen. Using very specific key phrases would not generate you substantial traffic as well. So what do you do?

Employ a three-level technique;

  • Broad Based:
    It consists of single keywords and relatively short phrases, lots of traffic, generic to the industry, and relatively low conversions.
  • Focused Keywords:
    Here you will find phrases that are fairly shorter. The phrases are centred on your offering. Higher traffic numbers is also a feature of the ‘focused’ level.
  • The Long Tail Keywords – Laser Focused:
    This consists of more targeted and longer key phrases, higher conversion rates, and smaller traffic numbers.
Filed Under: keyword research, Rankinf Factors, Search Engine Optimisation Tagged With: , , , ,

Google officially announces page upload speed as ranking factor

July 20, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Google has in a recent statement, made it public that they have commenced using website upload speed as part of the 200 signals that determines the placement of a website in Google’s search result page.

Since the speed of a page upload shows the response time of a website in replying to a web request, Google has decided to consider site speed in their search rankings. In order to ascertain the speed of a website in comparison with other websites, they will employ a wide range of sources.

Effect of the decision on your website ranking
Math Cutts from Google affirms that the new development will affect only certain websites and that less than 1% of search queries will be altered as a result of including website speed in their ranking factor. This implies that only fewer search results will be affected. This is because, the average search request returns about 10 search results on each page.

Although 1% seems insignificant, it may pose an issue if your website is among the webpages that will drop in their ranking.
Presently, this is only applicable to web visitors who are searching on Google in English.

Techniques for Keeping your Web Pages Listed on top Google Search Results

Take a tour of these simple techniques and enhance the speed of your web pages.

  • Go for a fast and dependable web host that has excellent connection to the internet. You can encounter problems by settling for a “cheap” web host.
  • Merge external JavaScript code files into a single file. When the server has fewer files to request, your web pages will load faster.
  • In order to make the JavaScript smaller, you need to compress your JavaScript code.
  • Merge external CSS files to a single file, and then compress the CSS files.
  • Enable gZip compression; but this is only if it is supported by your web server. This is what a web host can help you achieve.
  • The images in your website should be as fewer as possible, and ensure that the images are compressed. A good number of graphic tools will give you the option to select a compression rate when an image is being saved for the web.
  • At the end of your web pages, include tracking codes as well as JavaScript snippets.

Those who search the web are usually desirous of immediate result, and as such are not willing to wait even a moment longer. When your web pages load faster, there is an increased chance of visitors getting to see your website contents.

Web page speed is not the top ranking signal used by Google. This is confirmed by a statement made towards the end of Google’s page speed announcement; “Although site speed is a latest signal factor, the relevance of the page is weightier than its speed when accomplishing ranking”.

However, it is essential that you optimize the speed of your web pages; you also need to have other features of your web pages optimized in order to be listed on Google’s first result page.

Filed Under: Google, Rankinf Factors, Search Engine Optimisation Tagged With: , , , ,

Best 5 ways to gain a higher rank on Google

July 14, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Webmasters would do their best to get listed on Google’s first result page. However, a vast majority of them do not embark on the right techniques necessary for achieving this end.

A single strategy will definitely not get you listed among the first 10 rankings on Google’s result page. You need to work on all possible elements of your website in order to increase the chances of being listed.

Explore the top 5 factors listed below that influence your website’s ranking on Google’s search results:

1. Accessibility of the Website
It is senseless to embark on optimization of your web pages when your web pages are not accessible by search engines.

  • The accessibility of the search engines to your website should be made possible by your robots.
    Txt file. If this file has errors in it, then a lot of search engines will not access your site, or even list it.
  • Also, the underlying HTML codes of your web pages must be free of errors, the correct response code should be returned by your web server.
    Your web page contents should be such that the search engine spiders can read them.

Prior to your web pages optimization, verify if the contents of your web pages are readable to the search engines. This can be achieved with a spider simulator.

2. Site Architecture
Google is only interested in displaying relevant sites in the search result page. Ensuring that there is relationship between the pages of your website is a good way to be ranked among the top 10 positions in Google search results. Therefore, don’t structure your website in a way that makes it look more like a collection of random web pages.

The arrangement of your web pages should indicate to Google that your site is related to a central topic. It is necessary that the pages of your website be linked. A web visitor should be able to access your site with few clicks.

The categorization of your website contents should be made easier for search engine by the way you structure your links and directory.

3. Keywords
Among the top secrets of earning a higher ranking on Google, is the right choice of keywords.
A wrong selection of keywords means total failure of your campaign.

  • Different pages of your website should be optimized for different keyphrases.
    It is better to have more pages of your website optimized.
  • Begin with highly targeted keyphrases that have different keywords -
    e.g. “get a cheap web designer in Chicago”
  • When you have attained good ranking for your targeted keyphrases, move on to the ones that are more general -
    e.g. “web designers in Chicago”.

Generally, the conversion rate for targeted keywords is much higher when compared to general keywords.

Again, consider the nature of visitors that will be attracted with the keyphrase based on whether they want to make an actual purchase or just need some information.

4. Uniqueness of Website Content
If your website contents are a mere duplication of articles and links from other websites, then don’t even hope to earn high rankings.

Distinguish your site from the crowd by creating high quality and unique content; also ensure that the articles are centred on your general topic.
Your website should contain useful resources.

5. Other Websites that Link to Your Website
One of the top factors for ranking high in Google is the links from other websites. But ensure that such links are from relevant and quality websites.

Filed Under: Google, Rankinf Factors, Search Engine Optimisation Tagged With: , , , ,

How to convert ezine subscribers to potential customers

July 2, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

10 Effective Strategies

A business website is capable of pulling huge traffic and is potentially capable of creating clientele from the attracted traffic; however, without appropriate Ezine subscription procedure, the odds of generating customers from internet traffic is low.

It is difficult for a website to attract customers without providing resources that would benefit a targeted audience. And even with the availability of sufficient information, those who visit a particular website do not usually buy the product or service being advertised.

People do not often patronize a product or service without being familiar with the provider of the offerings. To this effect, it is important that you give a reason for visitors to keep being interested in your business. The most effective way to achieve this is by giving a free Ezine-periodic publication, disseminated via e-mail and often in newsletter form, video, ebook and various helpful resources that may be needed by your target audience.

Top 10 Tips

  • Tip 1:
    Having the right visitors is very important.

To convert online traffic to actual customers, you need the right visitors. These are visitors that need your product or service. Make sure you use the appropriate keywords and link your website to businesses that will suit the information being conveyed by your website.

You can keep track of the traffic you are generating by using Google Analytics (it’s free), this will help you carry out proper analysis of the outcome of your efforts. Know that traffic from referrals have more potential to metamorphose into actual customers.
Content creation, exchanging links with relevant businesses as well as guest blogging are powerful ways to refer traffic to your website.

  • Tip 2:
    Let your visitors know what you expect from them.

Look for a way to tell your visitors what to do with the resources you made available for them or else they may not know. To this effect, your homepage information and direction should be kept simple – don’t create confusion with much information and choices. Tell your visitors to sign up free for your ezine and don’t forget to tell them if it is an ebook, newsletter etc.

  • Tip 3:
    How easy is it for your web visitors to take action?

It is useless if your visitors cannot find the useful information you have for them. The best place to place your subscription section or box is the top left side of your homepage to enable easy visibility. It may also help to place the signup form on each page of your website to achieve increased visibility, regardless of what page generates traffic. Also, make your signup form of an easy and user-friendly nature – no too much of clicks.

  • Tip 4:
    What will your visitors benefit from your offer?

Don’t forget to explain what the freebie for your Ezine is, and the value it will add to them. A good number of successful Ezines give some kind of enticement to sign up. Again, you need to clearly state how the resources you are offering could be accessed; is it downloadable or is to be emailed?

  • Tip 5:
    Keep your visitors’ mind at ease.

Remember to state outright that the information they are providing will not be transmitted to a third party in any way. Your privacy policy should make this known and they should be able to unsubscribe if they wish.

  • Tip 6:
    Let your subscribers know the next step to take.
  • Tip 7:
    Tell your subscribers how to white list you.

This will prevent your mail from being sent to junk mail by email programs. Tell them to also white list your entire website.

  • Tip 8:
    Ensure that your confirmation email is customized.

You can personalize your confirmation emails and employ same graphics and language used on your website. This will help remind the subscriber about who is sending them the information. Avoid using generic language.

  • Tip 9:
    Ensure that you keep up to your promise without delay.
  • Tip 10:
    Don’t forget to send a ‘thank you’ mail to your subscribers; make is clear, concise and information rich.
Filed Under: Google, Link Building, Search Engine Optimisation Tagged With: , , ,