Archive for the ‘SEO’ Category
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Tired of your company website?
Is your company website boring even to you? People are more and more obsessed with flashy, bright, shiny objects and websites are no different. Yes, you will need to have killer content on your website that is easy to understand and explains your product or services in a way that will make anyone want to buy it, but first – you have to get their attention – and in a positive way.
A Website is an Experience
As you browse through a site, you experience layout, colors, fonts, photographs, and content until you begin to feel a certain way. Of course, when it comes to your customers, you want that ‘certain way’ to be a positive one, one that converts to sales. Creating those positive experiences through design is what our team does best.
Remodelling: Ideas and Considerations
If you were to think about your website as the large billboard that everyone will see as they sit in a movie theatre and wait for their film to start – what would you want them to see? I use the theatre example because, in this instance, you have a somewhat captive audience and the time frame is relatively lengthy. Your website IS a marketing piece and it should fit with your branding as well as your vision and mission for the company.
However, you want more than a brochure or a static, unchanging picture as your website – you want to engage the audience and make them feel that you are right there with them. This can be done with a custom layout that makes finding information for your users simple and almost automatic, it can be done with content that makes them feel instantly at home and trusting, it can be done with colors that evoke the emotional response you ultimately want your customers to have, and it can be done with images, videos, and sharing options where they can find out what their friends think of your product or service, and inform the rest of their friends of their opinions about you as well.
Your Website is the First Touch
Your website is the first touch you have on your customer; it is extremely important for it to be a positive experience and that it entices your target audience to take that next step and contact you. Ultimately we have websites to initiate a customer relationship and to sell something, whether it is advice or kitchen spoons, we are all in a business to make some kind of money – whether sales or donations for a non-profit to support a meaningful cause, the desired result is the same. As you have probably heard in business, it takes money to make money. Designing your website is not free – but if it is done correctly, it IS worth it.
Think about it – if you wouldn’t stay on your company website for more than 2 minutes, then why would anyone else? You have a lot of competition in the online world, so make yourself stand out. If you need ideas or a quote, check out our web portfolio or call us at 775.322.3663 or 800.233.0239
Tags: blog, Design, graphic design, internet marketing, Marketing, reno marketing, search engine optimization, search engine ranking, SEO optimization
Posted in Blog Design, Design Meanderings, Online Advertising In Reno, Online Marketing, Reno Marketing Meanderings, Typography, web design, Website Copywriting, Website Design, WordPress | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
SEO (search engine optimization) has become a necessity for being found on the internet. There are estimated to be over 153,000,000 websites on the internet. So how do you optimize your website to be found by search engines? What separates your website from the other millions of sites out there?
One of the main things, here, is to understand how users reach your site. Meaning, what terms they type in to find your website. Reviewing this information for your site and then comparing the keywords that are found on your site by search engines, like Google, can help you see if you are on the right track with getting found. It is important to see how the content you are writing on your website matches up with the words that people are searching on the internet in order to find your site. If these two areas are not matching up then you need to adjust your keywords on your site and in your content to match the words or phrases that people are using to search for you or your product in order to be found.
Do you know your keywords?
Often people and businesses have self-proclaimed SEO experts set up their search engine optimization, which is fine, as long as it is being done correctly. It is important to understand what the keywords are on your website and why these words were chosen. Don’t be afraid to ask for the reasoning behind the keywords and the list of keywords that are being used for each page of your website. This is information that belongs to your website – not the website designer or developer. You have a right to know what is on your site and how it is being accessed. If you aren’t sure what is on your current site, and would like to know how your SEO is ranking, feel free to call Integris Marketing today at 775.322.3663 or, for a Free Website Assessment, click here.
Tags: internet marketing, Reno SEO Expert, Reno Social Media, search engine optimization, SEO, SEO optimization, Social Media
Posted in In-Bound Links, Local SEO, Online Advertising In Reno, Online Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Website Copywriting | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
Relevance in Search Results
When you use a search engine, like Google, you are looking for the match to the keywords you type in that are most relevant. This means they may have a local aspect if you are searching for restaraunts or movie theatres, as well as a date. Most of the time when we search for something, we want the most up to date results. If we are asking about information on movie times, we want them in a chronological order – with the most recent events first.
The Google Algorithm
Google is not only aware of this need, but they have worked out several updates to their algorithm that will impact the results returned based on the data stored about the pages – including dates. So what does this mean and why do you care?
A Common Problem
Here at Integris Marketing, we have several inquiries each week about how to show up at the top of the search engine results page. There are several things that can help, but we found this blog from Entrepreneur.com that covers an online strategy which we often promote ourselves as a continuing solution for keeping your website up to date and in the recent search engine results – a blog.
The Solution
Having a blog ensures that your website will be considered ‘updated’ each time you create and publish a post. This won’t solve all your problems, because it is important to have highly searched and relevant keywords set up in the meta fields for each of your website pages, but that is simple SEO and is fairly static. The solution with blogs is that Google will notice that you are updating and posting new information on your site, and as the blog describes, those that are not posting new content on their website will be left off the search engine results pages more and more in the future.
Additional Benefits of Blogging
This will not only give you the benefits of updating your website each time you post something, but it can also increase the engagement of your audience. You want to gain more customers, but with a good blog you can also build brand loyal customers, who trust you for pertinent information. Blogging can be easy and is often free, depending on the platform you use, so don’t delay – start your blog today!
If you would like customized help with setting up a blog and even finding content for your blog, please contact us today at 775.322.3663 or toll free at 1.800.233.0239!
LINK: http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/220662 blog post about increased need for blogs on websites in order to be found by search engines
Tags: blog, internet marketing, Local SEO, reno marketing, Reno SEO, Reno SEO Expert, Reno Social Media, search engine optimization, search engines, SEO, SEO optimization, WordPress
Posted in In-Bound Links, Online Marketing, Social Media, Website Copywriting, WordPress | No Comments »
Saturday, August 6th, 2011
SEM, SEO, and SERPs….Oh my! What the heck is the difference and what does it mean to you?
Here’s the low-down:
Search Engine Marketing, (SEM), according to Wikipedia, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) through the use of paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion. This is different than Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which “optimizes” website content to achieve a higher ranking in search results, for example, by incorporating specific keywords or links associated with the website.
Search Engine Marketing is basically a way to pay to put your name out there in all the search engines.
Some of the SEM Tools
“SEM uses ad words, pay per call (particularly beneficial for local providers as it enables potential consumers to get in touch directly to a company with one click), article submissions, advertising and making sure SEO has been done. A keyword analysis is performed for both SEO and SEM, but not necessarily at the same time. SEM and SEO both need to be monitored and updated frequently to reflect changing usage.”
If you have questions about how SEM can specifically help your business, we’d love to help! Visit our page on SEM, or contact us for a personal review of your website!
Tags: Marketing, Reno SEO Expert, search engine optimization, search engine ranking, SEO, SEO optimization
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
The Basics for In-Bound Link-Building
Easy enough. It just takes time & planning to manage your approach.
In-Bound Link Building is Important for SEO Success. Whether Your Business is Local (Reno), Regional or International, search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing use this seemingly simple search engine ranking parameter as an indication your website’s relative popularity. This in turn influences the search engines decision in rating your relevance for search queries and ultimately affects your search engine ranking or opportunities for first page display.
In-Bound Link Bottom Line: If you don’t have inbound links and your competitors do, then to put it bluntly, you will not rank as well as them. (Want to learn about the top Search Engine Ranking Factors… then go here >)
Here Are 2 Things To NOT Do For Building In-Bound Links
It all makes sense if you think about it or understand the industry and the sophistication of Search Engine ranking algorhythms (Here is a link to an older March 2007 article but the thrust is a solid foundational concept for this).
It really boils down to 2 things of what not to do for inbound link building:
- Don’t Use Link Farms (See This Wikipedia Page for more information about Link Farms). According to Google, “a site that participates in a link farm may have its search rankings penalized”, and “Links from related sites carry more weight than those from irrelevant sites”.
- Try not to use Off-Topic Links (Relevant On-Topic Links build credibility in the eyes of Search Engines… And yes, they do know.)
Six Basic Strategies for In-Bound Link Building
Anyone and everyone with a website should make some effort to include these 6 Link Building strategies if you are serious about top performance for Search Engine Ranking.
- Make More Content! – Search Engines need content in order to deliver relevant and current results to search queries. Better results from search engines mean more people will use them. This in turn makes them a better platform for advertising dollars (This is America after all). The bottom line is search engines need the new content just as much as you need to generate it, distribute it and have it link back to you. The solution is to write articles, publish them online (on a relevant blog site or an ezine or article website – There are tons of them out there such as articlebase.com).
- Social Media – Serious about in-bound links? Then get serious about social media. There are lots of ways to leverage this. If you don’t know how, take a class, talk to some social media guru, or just dive in. Be conscious of the appropriate linking patterns and partners out there and be careful you don’t spend too much time doing this. It can be a real time sink. Think of it as something to adopt over time and that you will keep up with. It is better to do a little dribble consistently then do a lot and then burn out and drop off the map… especially as far as Search Engines are concerned.
- Relevant Online Directories – Online Directories are a great place for links. That’s what they are for… listing websites. Some are free and some are pay. Do what you can to get in them and have a budget (time and $$$) that makes sense for you. Here are the biggies: DMOZ (can take a while to get listed), Yahoo (Expensive). Some other well known online directories include: Business.com, BestOfTheWeb.com, GoGuides.com and MassiveLinks.com. There are many others that have narrow niche appeal. The best approach is to identify the best ranked ones and then submit your listing to them. Rinse and repeat.
- Online Video – First a quick question… Do you know what the worlds second most used search engine is? If you guessed YouTube you guessed right. So Videos can get you inbound links, visibility and some brand or service awareness. If you get it right it can even go “viral”! There are tons of video sites out there (YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo to name a few). If you do video then distribute them to different sources and watch and compare results and see which ones work best for you. And be sure to have some fun along the way. (Note: Professional Video production can be quite costly. You need to balance quality and budget to get the most bang for your video buck. And don’t forget, there is always the webcam on your local computer approach if you are on a shoestring.)
- Online Classifieds – Yep, this often overlooked little gem will get you inbound links. Think CraigsList.org or any of the other online classifieds (some are free and some are pay). And who knows.. besides the link you get, maybe someone will buy what you are selling!
- Online Press Releases – Huh? That’s right.. you can distribute your own online press releases. (But I recommend hitting your local news outlets first so they can get the “scoop” before it hits the big ol’ web. It’s a professional courtesy thing.) This is a great way to get in-bound links. You can use the paid versions such as as PRweb.com or go for the free ones such as PRlog.com. As with all things online there are lots of options so be sure to compare apples to apples when it comes to getting your press release sent out online.
Hope that helps! This is the basic approach that we offer clients as starting points for their in-bound link building campaign. And if you want to share a reciprocal link with us, just send us a note or give us a call, and we will see what we can do!
Tags: classified advertising, google search, inbound link, internet marketing, internet search engines, link building, link farm, Local SEO, Marketing, Reno, search engine optimization, search engine ranking, search engines, SEO, web search engine
Posted in In-Bound Links, Local SEO, Online Marketing, PR, Reno Marketing Meanderings, SEO, Social Media, Uncategorized, Website Copywriting | No Comments »
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Hey Reno Businesses… Want a Cool WordPress Blog Design?
Who doesn’t… but what you need to know is that having a “cool blog design” is no longer enough.
An Optimized WordPress Blog Design needs to capture visitors, show value, sell products or services, capture leads and keep up with the latest web technologies.
In the old days of the web… having a website… any website, whether a traditional static website filled with words, or a site of pretty pictures or even Flash animations was enough. It had the “wow” factor… All just because you had the site.
No more… Websites have become a very sophisticated platforms that are an important part of the promotional and marketing effort. The artifacts of yesteryear, such as the notoriously expensive, sales-rep hyped, and ineffective Yellow Page Ads or other less-than-targeted marketing vehicles and publications are becoming increasingly less effective. This is especially true for businesses who are forward thinking in their promotional approach, or have more sophisticated audiences they need to communicate with.
What’s the solution? First let’s look at what a website needs to do and fast-forward to today’s website demands before we decide.
- A website needs to be able to be found by people who are searching for your product or service (Think Search Engine Optimized or Local SEO)
- Once they see your listing on Google (Hopefully first the page of Google or other search engine) it needs to be somewhat compelling in order for people to click on the link
- The website needs to be inviting once they get there and give them relevant options for interaction, sales or sign-ups
- Convey a sense of credibility and sophistication
- Provide a comfortable experience that delivers value
- Has ways for you to engage and track visitors
A tall order for any website no matter how big your budget is. Once you start considering the cost of website design, maintenance, updating and modification, content generation, software upgrades and you have the potential for a hornet’s nest of expense, complexity and less than optimal results.
The coolest, least expensive, most powerful, and highly customizable blog design platform that any business could hope for.
WordPress levels the playing field of the World Wide Web. The technology that WordPress uses, used to cost 10′s of thousands of dollars. But thanks to the WordPress and the Open Source community that supports it, WordPress has made the old expensive web paradigm a thing of the past. The powerful technology that is built into WordPress is free! And the plug-ins that support it… they are free too or are offered at a very low or modest cost.
A well executed WordPress Blog Design is the answer for what small businesses need to succeed on the web whether the need is superior design, uber-optimized SEO, or super-charged local search engine optimization.
In short, a well executed and well designed WordPress Blog embodies what the internet was designed for… optimized search engine results through relevant content generation.
If you need more information about how a WordPress Blog Design can help your business, you can give us a call (775.322.3663). But watch out, we love WordPress, so don’t be surprised if we talk your ear off.
Tags: Blog Design, blog software, content management system, cool blog, Local SEO, Reno, Reno SEO, search engine, selling products, SEO, SEO optimization, web design, web technology, WordPress, wordpress blog, Wordpress blog design
Posted in Blog Design, Local SEO, SEO, Uncategorized, web design, WordPress | No Comments »
Sunday, May 30th, 2010
Part 6 of 6 – Reno SEO Expert* Shares Some Phase 1 “Secrets of Local Google Dominance”
It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients
The Conclusion to the 5 Most Important Tips for the Do-It-Yourself SEO-preneur or Small Business Owner
- For this mini-article, we will look at 5 areas of basic SEO concepts (Conclusion below: ). These are important to business who wants a local, top-performing search engine presence. By faithfully following this approach you will improve your Search Engine Rankings giving you superior Local Search Engine Results.
The final Tips and Summary: Top Ranking Search Engine Results Are What You Want
There are lots of SEO tips and tools to keep everything moving forward for real-world and effective search engine ranking results.
If you can incorporate these basic principles I have outlined in the previous blog posts, build on them over time, consistently implement the strategies (schedule it), and use the Right SEO Technology and you will achieve Dominance in the Local Search Engine Results.
I have seen these principles prove themselves time and again and am amazed at how fast local businesses can get to the first page of Google by following the tips I outlined. Often within 1,2 or 3 months for some basic keywords. Then just use the formula for other keywords and over time you will climb the ranks.
As my final piece of “Great SEO Tips for Small Businesses” I give you the following list of more actionable items.
- Register with local search engines, local directories and social media portals (Think Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL, Ask, Local.com and TrueLocal and many others. They all want your info so they can give the best results to the people who use their service and so they can sell more advertising!) Also be sure to use Craig’s list, Insdier pages and many other local sales and review directories.
- Put your business name and local terms in you page titles — (not non-descript terms such as “Home page”, “About”, “Welcome” , etc. My example is Integris Marketing | Reno Marketing Firm | Reno Graphic Design
- Now do the same thing with your HI and H2 tags (especially using the local terms)
- Then do the same thing with your body copy (more local terms with the service or product offered)
- Put a Google or Yahoo or Mapquest generated map on your website with your street address… really super for local search results (just go to Google maps
- How’s your InfoUSA listing? Or Dun & Bradstreet? Go check to make sure they are current and have your correct address, web link, etc.
- Local News? Well you can’t compete with local papers or local info or entertainment portals, but you can add local content that is relevant to your business or your favorite causes. If you have a local mailing address where your business lives.. add that too! (On every page is a great way to go)
- I’ve said it before and I will say it again and again.. Add a blog (One that you control on your web domain and where you can 100% control all page content. So stay away from the free blogs…even blogger)
- Get “Local Inbound Links”! Search engines are using this kind of ranking criteria as an ever-more important element in local search results. So get into “legitimate” local directories in every way you can… Make sure they don’t just list your web site but also link with keywords for services you offer if you can.
OK… so that should be enough for most local businesses to cling to the top of the local search results. Want more success? Get your Google, Yahoo and Bing business listings, run some online display ads and you will have 3 or more places where you show up on the first page of Google… not bad for a small business these days, especially considering that over 65% of buyers look for local resources online (and some say the number is as high as 90% of all buyers use online search for local results).
*Reno SEO Expert. A paid professional who can provide measurable results and demonstrate ROI for promised SEO services and also be able to share success stories for past clients they have worked with.
Tags: Reno, Reno SEO Expert, SEO optimization, Sparks, web design, WordPress
Posted in Local SEO, Online Advertising In Reno, Online Marketing, SEO, Social Media, WordPress | No Comments »
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Part 4 of 6 – Reno SEO Expert* Shares Some Phase 1 “Secrets of Local Google Dominance”
It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients
The 5 Most Important Tips for the Do-It-Yourself SEO-preneur or Small Business Owner
For this mini-article, we will look at 5 areas of basic SEO concepts (Tip 4 below). These are important to business who wants a local, top-performing search engine presence. By faithfully following this approach you will improve your Search Engine Rankings giving you superior Local Search Engine Results.
Tip 4 of 5) Knowledge, Research, Curiosity and patience:
This aspect of Local Search Engine Ranking is partly a thinking exercise and partly a research effort. To get started just ask yourself, “What are the different things people might type in to find my services online.” Then make a list of those terms. Even though Google and Bing are aware of your location it helps if you tell them you are looking for local results so be sure to include “Reno” or “Sparks” or “Truckee Meadows” with your keyword phrases if you are searching in this area for best local search engine results.
Next see what happens when you search using your keywords list you just made. Make lots of tabs and notes and visit the top-ranking sites that came in from your search (just look at the top 3 or so) and see what you can gleen from their site.
Learn from these top performers. If you know how, and I recommend you learn the basics of how, look at the source code of the top-performing websites and get an idea of the keywords, header tags and meta-descriptions they are using. Look at how their information is organized on the page, look at how many words are on the page and what words are at the top middle and bottom. Get curious and take the Sherlock Holmes approach. You will be amazed at what you will learn if you look closely enough. Then take notes that you can use to implement their success tactics.
And if see something you don’t understand… look it up or hire a SEO consultant (Yes, we do that too!) to help you understand what you are up against.
Now this is a simplistic overview but it will yield results for any competitive local market. But you have to invest the necessary time and you have to commit to making incremental progress.
So get started, be patient and watch your results. I guarantee you will make headway if you incorporate this approach.
One note of caution. Older websites and domains have quite a bit of advantage here. All things being equal, Search Engines will give older sites a higher ranking. So in order to overcome this you have to be better on your subjective quality score.
Coming next: “Time and Commitment”. Date for next post will be March 12, 2010
*Reno SEO Expert. A paid professional who can provide measurable results and demonstrate ROI for promised SEO services and also be able to share success stories for past clients they have worked with.
Tags: Best local search engine results, Local search engine ranking, Reno SEO Expert, Reno Small Business Owner, SEO Consulting
Posted in Local SEO, Online Marketing, SEO | 1 Comment »
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Part 3 of 6 – Reno SEO Expert* Shares Some Phase 1 “Secrets of Local Google Dominance”
It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients
The 5 Most Important Tips for the Do-It-Yourself SEO-preneur or Small Business Owner
For this mini-article, we will look at 5 areas of basic SEO concepts. These are important to business who wants a local, top-performing search engine presence. By faithfully following this approach you will improve your Search Engine Rankings giving you superior Local Search Engine Results.
Tip 2 of 5) SEO Strategy:
The BEST and LOWEST COST SEO Technology for Small Businesses
In a word: WordPress. Our website is built on it (and so is this blog) and as of this writing (March 8, 2010) we are at 38 days of being live and we are quickly eclipsing several local firms who have been around for years. And if we can do this so can you! We went from no-where’s-ville to actually getting page 1 Google ranking for several primary and secondary keyword phrases… And we are just getting started.
Why WordPress? Because it works. Not only as a base package but also because there are a slew of 3rd party plugins that will Super-charge your Local SEO Performance unlike those low-cost “website builders” or “website generators” out there with all sorts of marketing hype attached to them. The problem is they all stink from the perspective of SEO (IMHO). They just under-deliver when it comes to SEO because they are not built on a strong understanding of what it takes to succeed with top-ranking SEO Performance.
But just because WordPress is “Free”, be sure to NOT use the “free WordPress themes” out there, but instead, opt for professional themes that are designed to be optimized for SEO. These are built with better code and also don’t have the built-in back-links to nefarious websites that can get you black-listed in Google (Not a good thing). Also be sure to include a solid set of 3rd party plug-ins or choose a WordPress template that is already set up to optimize your site for the leading search engines, most notably, Google and Bing.
And remember, search engines are the friend of local businesses and should be apart of your online marketing strategy, no matter if you are in Reno, Sparks, Tahoe or New York City. Most people use the internet to find local businesses they can buy from.
So whether you are on a budget and just getting started, or if you are an established business with a strong website, WordPress, if set-up and managed consistently, can help you with your local search engine rankings. I like to think of blogs, and in particular, WordPress Blogs, as today’s digital business card for your growing enterprise.
Coming next: “Knowledge, Research & Curiosity: Learn about your competitors”. Date for next post will be March 10, 2010
*Reno SEO Expert. A paid professional who can provide measurable results and demonstrate ROI for promised SEO services and also be able to share success stories for past clients they have worked with.
Tags: Local SEO Performance, Lowest Cost SEO Technology, Optimized for SEO, Reno Online Marketing Strategy, search engine optimization, SEO, WordPress
Posted in Local SEO, Online Marketing, SEO, WordPress | No Comments »
Friday, March 5th, 2010
Part 2 of 6 – Reno SEO Expert* Shares Some Phase 1 “Secrets of Local Google Dominance”
It’s Not That Hard If You Understand a Few Basic SEO Ingredients
The 5 Most Important Tips for the Do-It-Yourself SEO-preneur or Small Business Owner
For this mini-article, we will look at 5 areas of basic SEO concepts. These are important to business who wants a local, top-performing search engine presence. By faithfully following this approach you will improve your Search Engine Rankings giving you superior Local Search Engine Results.
Tip 1 of 5) SEO Strategy:
Divide and Conquer and look for the little successes first. In my case, Let’s say I want to get to top rankings for Web Design and Graphic Design. A fairly competitive field for local results becuase these are the people that know what they are doing and have been around a long time. What to do? Look for other things that you offer that local people might be seeking and concentrate on those. For me it was things like Reno Copywriting and Online Marketing Reno and some other niche offerings. Now if I make some content about that (Think text) then it’s easier to get top ranking since there is less competition for those terms.
Once you get some “Google top ranking words or phrases” for your local market associated with your website, you can begin to build on that success. The theory is that once you get some success in Google it is easier to get more becuase Google likes a winner and if you can get on that path then you can build on your successes… one step at a time.
Coming next: “The BEST and LOWEST COST SEO Technology for Small Businesses: WordPress”. Date for next post will be March 8, 2010
*Reno SEO Expert. A paid professional who can provide measurable results and demonstrate ROI for promised SEO services and also be able to share success stories for past clients they have worked with.
Tags: Google Top Ranking, graphic design, Lowest Cost SEO, Marketing Reno, Online Marketing Reno, Reno, Reno Copywriting, Reno SEO Expert, SEO Strategy, web design, Wordpress. Small Business
Posted in Local SEO, Online Marketing, SEO, WordPress | No Comments »
