seo

The Blend of Web Design & SEO

I’ve long been preaching the team effort of how great web design and great search engine optimization work together, each benefiting the other.  I’m of the opinion these days that you can’t have one without the other.

SEOmoz posted the same thoughts today looking at 7 Cutting Edge Web Design Trends That Can Actually Improve SEO.

The opening graphic on the mesh of SEO and web design growing importance on today’s web is a simple, but great one.

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For too long, many web designers and SEO’s have treated their skills on separate islands, but that’s changing.  It takes great interface design and code to properly structure your contents value and position and vice versa. 

It takes these elements working together, in a crowded space to attract links, attention, traffic and then convert that attention into something more valuable.

 

The RIGHT Place To Learn SEO & Local Search

Finding a trusted source, it’s a challenge for business owners in many things to run your business.  Good news, I have the best source for a business owner or marketing person to learn best practices of SEO and Local Search.

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Coming to the Minneapolis and St. Paul area on May 13th is Local University.  Local U is a 1-day Internet marketing workshop focused on entry level to intermediate level information for marketing online.

Who are you learning from?  Only the best.

  • GOOGLE:  Reps from Google are part of the workshop and will walk you through their Local Business Center and explain the basics you need to properly claim and edit your business information on Google. 
  • BING:  A Rep from Bing will be there to discuss their local search offering and what Bing offers as a search engine. 
  • NATIONAL EXPERTS:  Trusted, experienced and highly sought after speakers will walk you through search engine optimization for your website, social media, blogs, local search, Google maps, do it yourself tips and more.

–> View the details, speaker bio’s and sign up online now!
Use promo code five2010 to save $40!  Only $89 for the workshop!

Below are just 3 of the many positive comments from past Local U attendees:

I was completely new to these concepts, but they were well explained. It was very easy to go to the office afterward and implement everything discussed.
– Benjamin Pingel, Marketing Director for Thrifty Car Rental of Spokane, WA

I appreciated that this seminar was directed towards FREE methods of improving search results and improving site traffic.  We are equivalent to a non-profit and so we have no budget for ppc marketing. Also was impressed that the presenters are top in their field – that gave a little more weight to what they were saying.
–Sarah Reynolds

I really appreciated all of the small details that you clarified (meta tags are NOT used to classify my website? HUH?) as well as the differences between organic, maps and adwords and how to boost my status. I also appreciated knowing what I need to do to help the spiders figure out who I am and what I do. If you ever need a regular, run of the mill business person to speak at any of your events – call me! I would love to participate!
–Tia Wooley, Beautiful Photo Studio

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Local University is a great opportunity for Minnesota and I hope to see you there.  A big thanks to the support from local sponsors Deluxe For Business and ReliaCloud – Cloud Hosting from VISI.

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Business Blogging Is An SEO Weapon

Matt McGee at Small Business Search Marketing recently featured a HubSpot post on business blogging and it’s impact on traffic.  Not a big surprise to me that business’s that blog regularly see as much as 6 times the organic search traffic. Did you catch that, 6 times more?

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Matt closed his recap this powerful statement:  A good company blog is an exceptionally powerful SEO weapon.

I agree 110%, probably even more.

A key word in that statement though is “good”.  As the HubSpot article points out:

“A follow-up study shows that the mere act of blogging does not guarantee more site traffic. Anyone can set up a blog and leave it idle as initial excitements fade. Businesses that actively manage their blogs, however, fare much better than those without blogs.”

Great info to consider for any business wanting to improve online. Maybe it’s time you considered a business blog to contribute to your business efforts … not just setting it up, but managing a good one.

Search Engine Optimization Morphs To Social Media Optimization?

Search Engine Optimization Morphs To Social Media Optimization?

Say what? A recent post on Noupe.com highlighted where the web will be in 5 years and has 15 different ideas/predictions to consider. Social Media Optimization may become the focus of online marketing, not SEO.

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All 15 of them are possibilities and the article provides a ton of links and additional information on each one. Here was one that caused me to ponder.

#12 – Search Engine Optimization Will Be Less Important – In a nutshell it introduces the idea on how Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels help answer peoples questions or point them in a specific direction.  So are we really looking at less Google searches and more “Does anyone know a ….?” on these platforms? Could be a big yes.

As someone who spends a lot of time on search engine optimization and the social media space, when will social media optimization be the buzz? The two already work together on a few fronts.

Many SM experts are already out there helping businesses of all sizes understand and navigate the social web. 5 years from now it just might be common place to be social media friendly if you want new customers. Sounds fun to me. You?

Search Engine Marketing Might Shock You

A Search Engine Land article takes a great look at do-it-yourself search engine marketing in this article.

You can do your own electrical wiring in your house, but most of us don’t. The risk of getting shocked or even starting your home on fire in the future is enough deterrent for me.  I go with the professionals on this task.

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For small business owners, Internet marketing and search engine marketing (SEM) is often a task they are willing to take on themselves. Creating an account with Google AdWords or the misconception of adding keyword meta tags to their site seems easy enough.  They don’t see a risk like getting physically shocked or starting a fire so they give it a whirl.

Two things usually happen:

1. They waste money with incorrect set-up, management, analysis and think SEM is a waste.

2. They waste their own valuable time on a task they are maybe average at, instead of doing what they do best.

So why waste your valuable time when you can hire a professional and have it done right?  Easy and free doesn’t equal the best option in search engine marketing. That shouldn’t be that shocking either.

Are You Listening? Google DOES NOT Use The Keywords Meta Tag In Rankings

I realize the video below, from Matt Cutts of Google, could put a large number of SEO pretenders out of business (bummer).  It’s a good thing this vidoe clip doesn’t run on on the nightly news to burst the keyword myth bubble.  You might want to pass this on to your “webmaster”.

 

For years, Google has discounted the data/keywords in the meta keywords tag due to spamming/stuffing/misuse of it.  The small business owner is the last to know of this though.

The takeway here is to focus on quality web content and being a resource to others with your website.  While we do complete this meta tag on the pages and websites we build, it isn’t the silver bullet to good search engine rankings.  Keep in mind other engines may use this tag to some degree.

Now you know. For sure. :)

SEO Strategy: Be Valuable Enough To Be Found

I wrote a post on the Five Blog that looks at SEO in a different way.  While many businesses desire to rank well for specific search terms, few care to consider if their website or pages are a great resource for that term.  Maybe in shifting to that approach, looking to become the best resource for users/clients, their search engine rankings will improve.

Read The Post: You Want A Higher Search Ranking, But Is Your Website Worth Being Found?

Web Design Launch: Rosen Properties

Five launched a new web design today for Rosen Properties, a real estate services company.  The project featured a custom web design, search engine optimization, web content, our CMS platform for updates and managing properties, a blog and more.  In just 1 month of the new website being up, Rosen’s web traffic tripled, pageviews quadrupled and referrals from search engines like Google tripled as well.

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Visit:  http://www.rosenprop.com

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