Archive for the ‘SEO’ Category

Q: What are the basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) things that I need to know as a website owner?

A: (Part 1)

Search Engine Optimization is a long and tedious process and you, as a website owner will, most likely need a team of people to help you with several SEO aspects of your business. However, there are a lot of basic SEO things that you should know and could do yourself to help us, your hardworking SEO team.

1) Your Domain Name

As we wrote in our previous blog post about domain names, it’s always encouraged to think about SEO even when you are only starting your business and before you even have a website setup. Lot’s of companies in our day and age will first look up domain name availability BEFORE even registering their Company Name. Making sure you have a unique domain name that is search engine friendly is very important, so choosy wisely.

2) Your Design

Depending on the nature of your business, you will be designing a site that reflects your personality and work style. This is a crucial part of your SEO process. Make sure you find a programmer who understands SEO. Or better yet, hire an SEO consultant who will oversee your overall website design project, and will make sure that you follow all best practices and your site is search engine friendly.

3) On-Page Optimization

Most business owners don’t like when we tell them that they do not have enough html copy on their homepage. This is one of the most common mistakes in SEO, and the one that you could fix easily. There are lots of creative ways to expand your homepage copy without sacrificing the design and usability of your site. You want to have at least 200 words of clean html (search engine optimized) copy on your homepage.

4) Java vs Flash

Do you want your site to be a little more interactive? Choose Java Scripts instead of Flash (mention this to your web designer, as he/she might not think about it). Flash is not visible on devices like the iPad and iPhone, so don’t miss out on this important target segment.

5) Title Tag

Title Tag is what you see in the top of your browser when you open a page. This is one of the most important on-page SEO optimization factors. Make sure to keep it clean and very targeted. Do not include too many keywords, or keyword phrases in a title. Keep it to 2-3 targeted phrases and use them throughout the copy on that page.

To be continued…

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for Part 2!

Q: How long will it take for my new site (page) to get indexed in Google?

A: This is a great question! I will answer using a metaphor ☺ It will take the same amount of time as for my new haircut to “get indexed” in my husband’s head! ☺ Sometimes he would notice it right away, but sometimes it might take him a bit longer. Here are some factors that would help my haircut to “get indexed” faster (don’t worry, we are still talking about your web page

1) Size does matter

One of the factors is how dramatic of a change my haircut was. If it’s just a little trim, then I would need to try hard for it to get noticed.

If it’s a major makeover then my chances are way higher.

Same with your website. If it’s a small tiny page, or a minor change on your (not-so-frequently-updated blog), then it will take longer (without extra help) for your page to get indexed. If it’s a full -on, user-friendly, ( or user-generated) website with valuable information, then the chances of being noticed by search engines are much higher.

2) Clues

So, what would be a decent clue that my husband needs to get in order to notice my haircut?

To look at the Visa statement, of course!

Same with search engines. If another website links to your new site or page, that’s one of the best ways to tell Google (and other search engines) that your site (page) exists. The more links you have, the faster your page will get indexed. The more important the linking sites are the better.

Simple things that you could do yourself:

- Use social media. Tweet your new site or page
- Bookmark your site on social networks like delicious, stumble upon and digg, etc.
- Share it on Facebook and Linked In

That being said, search engines are getting smarter and smarter at finding new content on the web. So, don’t get discouraged if your page is not indexed the next day you publish it.

Quick tip: Make sure to install an xml sitemap on your site or a blog. This will make search engines’ lives easier and your pages get indexed faster.

Need help with your internet marketing? Give us a shout!

Q: Does my domain name choice matter for SEO? For example – .com vs. .ca

A: Yes, your choice of a domain name plays an important role for your search engine optimization. As you may know, search engines follow complex algorithms that allow them to understand what your site is about, which in the end defines how well your site is going to rank for a certain keyword (or keyword phrase).

Here are some of the things that your domain name tells search engines:

• It tells them the location of your business. If it’s a ccTLD (country specific domain name) like .ca (Canada), then it’s a clear sign for search engines that your site belongs to a Canadian business or person.

Keep in mind that not all country domains are restricted. For example, anyone could register a .me (ccTLD for Montenegro) domain name, but to register a .ca domain name you have to be “related” to Canada. That’s why it is a good idea to register a .ca domain name for a Canadian business.

So, in case of a .ca domain name it will definitely be a clear sign for search engines that your business is Canadian and your website will most likely rank higher for Canadian searchers.

If your target audience is in Canada, then definitely, you will want to register a .ca domain and have it as the primary address for your site. If a .com version of your domain name is available, then it is recommended to register it as well, just to protect your brand, and in case, one day you decide to expand your business (and search engine) horizons.

• Another important factor to keep in mind when choosing a domain name is, whether it is possible to include your primary keywords in the name. For example – www.cucumbermarketing.com includes “marketing” and since marketing is what Cucumber Marketing Inc is about, our domain name will be that extra clue to search engines that we want to rank for keyword phrases that include “marketing.”

• Also, keep in mind that some domain names just naturally (for whatever reason) do not rank as well as others. For example; a .info domain name is historically considered* to be a not so search engine friendly domain name (if compared to an equivalent .com (or .ca for that matter) domain name). No offense to the .info Registry!

Long story short, yes, your domain name choice plays an important role in your overall search engine optimization project. Choose wisely!

Thanks for reading and happy optimizing!

Give us a shout if you need help with search engine optimization.

*claim made based on SEO industry best practices and experimental research.

Sitemaps are one of the most important and quickest things you can do to improve your site’s visibility on the web. Sitemaps tell Google and other search engines how many pages you have on your website, and essentially it creates a shortcut access to your website content for search engine robots.

Google, being one of the biggest search engines (for now ) out there, always makes sure that webmasters have the right tools to make their content more accessible. Now, you can even optimize your video content and create a Video Sitemap to make it easier for Google to find your clip.

Happy Optimizing!

Need help creating your very own Sitemap? Contact, the SEO experts (us ) today, we’d be happy to help!
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I’ve (SEO) optimized my site, now what?

Just like any other SEO (Search Engine Optimization) specialist I get this question all the time. Needless to say, this is probably one of the most desired answers people would love to know, too! So, I thought I would write a post about it, hoping to shed some light, and make your site’s SEO prospects more clear for you.

First of all, , SEO is a long-term process and nothing happens overnight. That’s just how things go. There are some rare species that get indexed overnight and start ranking well within a month, but this is not the usual scenario, especially if you are in a highly competitive industry.

After you optimize your site, all you can do is to continue building links to it, be patient and hold your breath hoping that your competitors are not as hard working as you are (SEO-wise).

Why?

Example.

• Your site has been optimized recently and you are now super excited, checking your ranking position in Google every morning, hoping to see it on page one any day now.

Hold your horses and let’s put things into perspective here. There are roughly 234 million websites out there (as of December 2009) and there were 47 million NEW websites launched in 2009. Obviously, just like you, owners of all of those new sites want to be ranked on page one in Google and other search engines, too.

• Now think of this situation as if you WERE Google. How would you choose those top ten for that lucky first page of yours? That’s a pretty tricky task I would say, wouldn’t you? Just like when you meet a new person, it takes a while for you to start trusting them. You, most likely, will ask some mutual friends if that person is trustworthy or not. You will then meet with them several times before you start talking about personal stuff or invite them to your home.

The web world is the same.

-    It takes time for Google to gather information about your site.
-    It takes time to compare your site to other similar web properties
-    Lastly, it takes time to decide why your site should be trusted more than your competitor’s

What can you do now?

There are several things that you can (and should) do if you want to gain a decent ranking position and stay(!) there. (Given that your site is optimized and all basic on-site SEO factors are all intact.)

Three SEO must-dos:

1. Continue building links to your site. This should be your number one priority.
2. Build content. Write useful articles for your clients and partners. If Google sees that you provide helpful information to users it then will add some brownie points to your site.
3. Watch what your competitors are doing. You want to make sure that you are not only on par with their SEO initiatives, but that you have a plan on how to out-smart them.

One last thing. If you do meet an SEO company that promises you page one in a month, that’s not a good sign. No one can promise you that, and if they do that, it means that they are using some dirty SEO techniques (black hat SEO) that you could pay for in the future. If your site gets caught, Google may penalize and remove it from its index for good.

So, how long will it take? It can take anywhere from one month to a year (in a highly competitive field).

Evaluate your objectives, set realistic SEO goals and keep up the hard work. SEO is a long and tedious process, but it’s so worth it once you see your site on that so looked-after page one (or even two) of Google.

Still have more SEO questions? Give us a shout and we will be happy to provide a free SEO evaluation of your site.

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A Quick SEO Tip:

Wondering if Twitter is beneficial to your overall SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

Some early stats show – yes.

Tip: Tweet your Blog updates or your site’s URL (but do not spam , the more ReTweets you get, the more juice you add to your SEO.

Happy Tweetin’

P.S

If you are using a URL shortener in your tweets, check out this page to learn which service would be your best option:

URL shortener review.

If you have your business website or a blog up and running, you have probably already heard the term “duplicate content” (SEO).  If not, then here are some pointers that you need to know if you want your site to be on the “nice” list in *Google’s records this year.

What is duplicate content?

It is when you have several copies of the same content under different URLs (pages). For example, it could be a duplicate article on your own website, or a copy of your site’s article on a third party website. It happens often when people write for other blogs and then post the same content on their own site. It also happens if you don’t have proper blog settings on and your articles are posted under several categories, etc.

Why is duplicate content bad?

Imagine your Mom tells you a joke. Then you ask your Dad to tell you something funny, and he tells you the same joke. Then you ask your friend, and he repeats the same joke again. How annoying would that be? Google thinks the same way. It doesn’t want to show the same page in its search results several times, when people are searching for, let’s say, “different ways to fold a napkin.” That’s why when Google finds duplicate pages on the Internet, it decides which one has more value and then adds it to its index.

In order to decide which page has more value, Google will assess the site’s reputation. The site that has a better reputation in Google’s eyes will be indexed and will appear in the search results. The other duplicate page might or might not even be indexed after all.

How could it affect your entire site?

If you have a lot of duplicate content on your site, Google will slowly start losing interest in it. It might crawl your website less often, which will affect your organic ranking position in the long run.

That’s why you want to make sure that your content is unique, because that’s what Google is aiming for – to deliver valuable search results to users.

How much duplicate content is too much? When does it become evil?

No one knows how much is too much exactly when it comes to duplicate content. The general rule of thumb is to stay away from it as much as you can, and make sure that your content is as authentic as it can be. That being said, there are some situations when you cannot avoid duplicate content (e.g. you share your research results or white papers with your clients, etc.), and Google understands that. Just try to be as natural as you can, this is the main rule when it comes to Google.

Also if you do write for other blogs, you might want to consider saving a high-quality copy for your own blog and write a separate, simpler, shorter one for distribution.

Not sure if your site is in good standings with Google? Give us a shout and we will be happy to help you figure it all out.

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*By Google I really mean all search engines. Google is the biggest one out there, so I use it in my example.

That’s right, none of the major search engines use the Meta Keywords Tag anymore. Yahoo has been the only engine that supported the tag, but last month they made it official and revealed it to the public that they are not using it for search results anymore.

So, how does this affect you and your website? It doesn’t really. It’s ok if you still have this Meta Tag on your site, but I just wouldn’t worry about it when creating new pages.

Just keep this in mind and use your primary keywords in the actual copy of your site, this is the best place for your keywords and phrases. Keep your text as natural as possible, stick with only ethical SEO practices and do not over-optimize your page with the same keywords, Google doesn’t like that.

My clients often ask me what exactly monthly SEO management involves and why they need it, so I thought I’d write a quick post about it, in order to get a little bit more into details of the mysterious SEO management.

I am not alone if I say that SEO is not solely about optimizing your site. Quite the opposite actually, to make your site more search engine friendly (to rank higher and to bring targeted traffic), you (or your SEO consultant) will have to do a lot of work outside of your website. Off-site as they prefer to call it in the industry.

I know, it sounds strange but Search Engine Optimization is not 100% about your site, it’s actually only 25% about your site and the rest 75% is about your site’s representation or reputation if you want, on the web.

Yes, it is still extremely important to have your site in order, well structured and all, but this is only the beginning of your SEO journey, so to speak.

If you already have worked with an SEO specialist then you know (have heard) about title tags, meta tags and other fun stuff like that. This is usually done in the first/second step of your SEO project. The third and the most important step is the actual SEO management (monthly SEO if you will).

It’s three paragraphs already into the article, and not a word about the actual third step. Ok, here it is. This list will give you a better understanding of how it works.

Tops 10 SEO monthly initiatives (please add your thoughts in the comments if I’m missing something):

1)    First and foremost important initiative of your monthly SEO package is link building. It’s a very (and I mean it), tedious, and time-consuming task. I had a post about link building earlier, so make sure to check it out.
2)    Participation Marketing – social networking, social bookmaking, forums and chats, etc.
3)    Content development and distribution. Often involves writing articles on a related topic, or updating your site’s content. Press releases are also often used for SEO purposes.
4)    Going local. Adding your site to the biggest local portals and industry directories.
5)    Niche directories submission.
6)    Keyword research and maintenance (tracking changes of your keyword performance, etc.).
7)    Site traffic analysis.
8)    Site performance analysis.
9)    Keeping an eye on your competitors.
10)    Documenting, documenting and documenting again. It’s imperative to track the data for future evaluations.

So, as you can see, SEO is so much more than just optimizing your site. It seems like an SEO professional nowadays (and probably has been for a while now) is your online good-will ambassador (of some sort), so choose one wisely.

Link Building is a process of obtaining links to your website from other sites. These links are often called “back links” or “incoming” links.

Why are back links so important?

Back links are determining your site’s popularity so to speak. Simply because if people are linking to your site, then it shows that your site is useful. Google and other search engines count all the back links and assign a “popularity rank” to your site. A page (or a site) that has the most number of incoming links will have the highest rank. The more popular your site is, the better your ranking position (position on the search results page) will be, and it’s as simple as that.

One of the most important factors to take into consideration when you acquire back links to your site is that you don’t want any link; you want links from reputable websites. For example if you have one link from a well established government website and your competitor has 10 links from his friends’ blogs that no one is reading, then your link will overweight his 10 links. (It’s obvious that it will be much more difficult to get a really good link from a government site than from your buddies.)

Link building is a long and tedious process. It involves countless hours of search to find that ideal linking partner who will agree to link to your site. If your site has unique content and it brings value to the online community, people will want to link to your site without you even asking them, but to be honest with you, for this to happen you have to have really, really good (unique) content. It’s more difficult if you have an e-commerce site. You have to be very creative in your link building strategy.

Link building is usually offered as a part of an ongoing SEO Monthly Management Package by SEO companies.

Give us a call for a free SEO evaluation.